Upon arrival, he held a press conference and was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Donald Tusk in the afternoon in an event also covered by the media.
Around 100 people, including children waving Polish flags and holding posters celebrating Poland's Ignis space mission, welcomed the astronaut at the arrivals hall.
The gathering was organized by astronomy popularizer Karol Wójcicki, who had been rallying public support online and live-streamed the event.
Polish astronaut greeted by defence minister after historic space mission
Shortly after Uznański-Wiśniewski landed at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz praised him via social media.
The minister called Uznański-Wiśniewski a “national hero” who inspires both Poland and the world.
Uznański-Wiśniewski is a project astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA), the second Pole in space after Mirosław Hermaszewski, and the first Polish national to step aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (centre), his wife, Polish MP Aleksandra Uznańska-Wiśniewska (left), and Josef Aschbacher, director of the European Space Agency (right). Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
The Ax-4 mission including Uznański-Wiśniewski, alongside American Peggy Whitson, Hungarian Tibor Kapu, and Indian pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, began on June 25. Their Dragon capsule docked with the ISS on June 26, and the crew returned safely to Earth on July 15.
The next day, Uznański-Wiśniewski began post-mission recovery at the ESA’s European Astronaut Center in Cologne, western Germany. There, at the German Aerospace Center’s “Envihab” facility, rehabilitation took place under close monitoring by the ESA’s space medicine team to ensure health and fitness.
Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski landed in Warsaw on Thursday after completing his space mission 100%. He is the first Pole on the ISS. Photo: Ministry of Development and Technology/Ministry of Science and Higher Education
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Source: IAR/PAP/MON/Facebook.com/ZGlowaWGwiazdach/X/@MRiTGOVPL