ISS-based cosmonaut/lawmaker joins session of Moscow city legislature

MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. Cosmonaut and TASS special correspondent Oleg Artemyev took part in the session of the Moscow City Duma as an MP while onboard the International Space Station for the first time. The video link-up with the city lawmakers from space was aired in the Moscow legislature’s online resources. "Dear colleagues, respected deputies of the Moscow City Duma. I welcome you from onboard the ISS. It’s 10 hours 18 minutes and 4 seconds Moscow Time. Now the ISS is flying above Japan, to the right, and is approaching the Kuril Islands," Artemyev said. Artemyev supported the initiative to introduce a new title called "Distinguished worker of informational technologies and communications in the city of Moscow." "I have contacted different people from the space on numerous occasions, but today for the first time I’m fully participating in a session of the city parliament and I’m ready to fully carry out my mandate as an MP given to me by the citizens of Moscow. For this, I have digital signature and an ID card, which I can demonstrate," he said. According to him, "no parliament on the planet has ever seen such precedents." "The Moscow City Duma is again confirming its leadership in digitalization, in introducing in its parliamentary work the most advanced information and communication technologies," Arteymev said, stressing that "Moscow is the planet’s most noticeable city from space." Artemyev was elected as a lawmaker to the Moscow City Duma in 2019. On March 18, he arrived at the ISS as part of the Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft’s crew, which also includes cosmonauts Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov. On the same day, the TASS news office aboard the ISS resumed its work, led by TASS special correspondent Artemyev. The Expedition 67 crew is expected to stay in orbit for 195 days. In addition to his main duties, Artemyev will tell TASS readers about life and work on the station, send photos and video clips from orbit. His reports will be available in the special section of the TASS website "TASS on ISS." TASS and Roscosmos signed a cooperation agreement on November 17, 2021. Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin became TASS’ first special reporter on the station. His mission lasted for 12 days. Read more