AFP UK

Thousands of climate protesters braved torrential rain in Glasgow on Saturday to take part in worldwide demonstrations against what campaigners say is a failure of crunch UN talks to bring about the radical action needed to tame global warming.

Dozens of events are planned worldwide to demand cuts in fossil fuel use and immediate help for communities already affected by climate change, particularly in the poorer countries in the South.

In Glasgow, organisers and police said they ultimately expected up to 50,000 people to parade through the streets of the Scottish city.

Demonstrators began gathering on Saturday morning in a park near the COP26 summit venue, chanting: “Our world is under attack, stand up fight back!” 

“I think a lot of politicians are scared of the power of this movement,” said a 22-year-old Norwegian protester who gave her name as Jenny.

She said it was important to fight for people from smaller nations who could not travel to the conference, which has been beset by accusations of exclusion. 

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

At the halfway stage of the COP26 negotiations, some countries have upgraded their existing pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while there have been separate deals on phasing out coal, ending foreign fossil fuel funding, and slashing methane.

– Widespread demos –

The promises followed a pre-COP26 estimate from the UN that said national climate plans, when brought together, put Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century.

With just 1.1C of warming so far, communities across the world are already facing ever more intense fire and drought, displacement and economic ruin wrought by global heating.

And a major assessment last week showed global CO2 emissions were set to rebound in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels.

Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg said the summit had gone nowhere near far enough in a speech at Friday’s youth march in Glasgow, where she labelled the conference “a failure”.

In Australia on Saturday, protesters in Sydney and Melbourne — some dressed as lumps of coal or Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a vigorous defender of the mining industry — echoed that sentiment, calling the talks “a sham” and their national leader “an absolute embarrassment”.

“No more blah, blah blah. Real climate action now,” read one sign at a protest in Sydney.

South Korean capital Seoul saw roughly 500 take to the streets demanding immediate action for communities already hit by the fallout of a heating planet.

About 1,000 people gathered in London outside the Bank of England with placards reading “Less talk more action” and “No More COP outs”.

But others have urged critics not to rush to judgement about the UN-led climate process. 

“COP26 has barely started,” tweeted Michael Mann, director of Penn State’s Earth System Science Center.

“Activists declaring it dead on arrival makes fossil fuel executives jump for joy.”

– ‘Words not enough’ –

Security has been boosted in Glasgow and many city-centre shops closed for Saturday’s march, which is expected to draw a variety of groups including Extinction Rebellion.

“Many thousands of us are marching right across the world today to demand immediate and serious action,” said Scottish activist Mikaela Loach. 

“We’re clear that warm words are not good enough — and that the next week of talks must see a serious ramping up of concrete plans.”

COP26 negotiations will continue on Saturday before pausing on Sunday ahead of what is shaping up to be a frantic week of shuttle diplomacy, as ministers arrive to push through hard-fought compromises.

Countries still need to flesh out how pledges made in the Paris deal work in practice, including rules governing carbon markets, common reporting timeframes and transparency. 

Brianna Fruean, a Samoan member of the Pacific Climate Warriors, who addressed a world leaders’ summit at the start of COP26, said it was time for leaders to take note of protesters’ demands.

“It can’t go on like this,” she said.

“We refuse to be just victims to this crisis. We are not drowning, we are fighting and on Saturday the world will hear us.”

Pompeii archaeologists said Saturday they have unearthed the remains of a “slave room” in an exceptionally rare find at a Roman villa destroyed by Mount Vesuvius’ eruption nearly 2,000 years ago.

The little room with three beds, a ceramic pot and a wooden chest was discovered during a dig at the Villa of Civita Giuliana, a suburban villa just a few hundred metres from the rest of the ancient city.

An almost intact ornate Roman chariot was discovered here at the start of this year, and archaeologists said Saturday that the room likely housed slaves charged with maintaining and prepping the chariot.

“This is a window into the precarious reality of people who rarely appear in historical sources, written almost exclusively by men belonging to the elite,” said Pompeii’s director general Gabriel Zuchtriegel.

The “unique testimony” into how “the weakest in the ancient society lived… is certainly one of the most exciting discoveries in my life as an archaeologist,” he said in a press release.

Pompeii was buried in ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, killing those who hadn’t managed to leave the city in time. They were either crushed by collapsing buildings or killed by thermal shock.

– ‘Rare insight’ –

The 16-square metre (170-square feet) room was a cross between a bedroom and a storeroom: as well as three beds — one of which was child sized — there were eight amphorae, stashed in a corner.

The wooden chest held metal and fabric objects that seem to be part of the harnesses of the chariot horses, and a chariot shaft was found resting on one of the beds.

The remains of three horses were found in a stable in a dig earlier this year.

“The room grants us a rare insight into the daily reality of slaves, thanks to the exceptional state of preservation of the room,” the Pompeii archaeological park said.

Experts had been able to make plaster casts of the beds and other objects in perishable materials which left their imprint in the cinerite — the rock made of volcanic ash — that covered them, it said.

– Slave ‘family’ –

The beds were made of several roughly worked wooden planks, which could be adjusted according to the height of the person who used them.

The webbed bases of the beds were made of ropes, covered by blankets.

While two were around 1.7 metres long, one measured just 1.4 metres, and may therefore have belonged to a child.

The archaeological park said the three slaves may have been a family.

Archaeologists found several personal objects under the beds, including amphorae for private things, ceramic jugs and what might be a chamber pot.

The room was lit by a small upper window, and there are no traces or wall decorations, just a mark believed to have been left by a lantern hung on a wall.

The excavation is part of a programme launched in 2017 aimed at fighting illegal activity in the area, including tunnel digging to reach artefacts that can be sold on illicit markets.

The Villa of Civita Giuliana had been the target of systematic looting for years. There was evidence some of the “archaeological heritage” in this so-called Slave Room had also been lost to looters, the park said.

Damage by grave robbers in the villa had been estimated so far at almost two million euros ($2.3 million), it added.

A rain-soaked Glasgow was bracing for a second day of protests on Saturday as part of a global mobilisation against what campaigners say is a lack of urgency to address global warming at a crunch UN climate summit.

From Paris to Sydney, Nairobi to Seoul, dozens of events are planned worldwide to demand immediate action for communities already affected by climate change, particularly in the poorer countries in the South.

In Glasgow, organisers and police said they expected up to 50,000 people to parade through the streets of the Scottish city near the COP26 summit venue, which is under tight security.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

At the halfway stage of the COP26 negotiations, some countries have signed up to pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, with separate deals on phasing out coal, ending foreign fossil fuel funding and slashing methane.

The promises followed a major assessment that showed global CO2 emissions were set to rebound in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels.

But activists have been left unimpressed by the summit so far, with Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg labelling it “a failure” at Friday’s youth march in Glasgow.

In Australia on Saturday, protesters in Sydney and Melbourne — some dressed as lumps of coal or Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a vigorous defender of the mining industry — labelled the talks “a sham” and their national leader “an absolute embarrassment”.

“No more blah, blah blah. Real climate action now,” read one sign at a protest in Sydney.

South Korean capital Seoul saw around 500 take to the streets demanding immediate action for communities already hit by the fallout of a heating planet.

“At COP26, the expected ‘blah blah blah’ is taking place,” said Climate Strike, one of the organising groups of Saturday’s march in Seoul.

Michael Mann, director of Penn State’s Earth System Science Center, urged critics not to rush to judgement about the UN-led climate process.

“COP26 has barely started. Activists declaring it dead on arrival makes fossil fuel executives jump for joy,” he said on Twitter.

Security has been boosted around Glasgow’s locked-down city centre ahead of the planned demonstrations there, which are expected to draw a variety of groups including Extinction Rebellion.

“Many thousands of us are marching right across the world today to demand immediate and serious action,” said Scottish activist Mikaela Loach. 

“We’re clear that warm words are not good enough — and that the next week of talks must see a serious ramping up of concrete plans.”

– ‘Can’t go on’ –

COP26 negotiations will continue on Saturday before pausing on Sunday ahead of what is shaping up to be a frantic week of shuttle diplomacy, as ministers arrive to push through hard-fought compromises.

Countries still need to flesh out how pledges made in the Paris deal work in practice, including rules governing carbon markets, common reporting timeframes and transparency. 

Countries came into COP26 with national climate plans that, when brought together, put Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century, according to the UN.

With just 1.1C of warming so far, communities across the world are already facing ever more intense fire and drought, displacement and economic ruin wrought by global heating.

Brianna Fruean, a Samoan member of the Pacific Climate Warriors, who addressed a world leaders’ summit at the start of COP26, said it was time for leaders to take note of protesters’ demands.

“It can’t go on like this,” she said.

“We refuse to be just victims to this crisis. We are not drowning, we are fighting and on Saturday the world will hear us.”

What if a simple pill could help heal from Covid-19?

US pharma giants Merck and Pfizer have announced encouraging results for oral drugs, while an anti-depressant has also shown promise in what could open up a new chapter in the fight against the pandemic.

– What are these treatments ? –

They are pills taken orally as soon as the first symptoms of Covid-19 appear, to avoid serious forms of the illness, and therefore hospitalisation.

This form of treatment has been sought since the start of the global health crisis.

After months of research, Merck and Pfizer say they have reached that elusive goal.

Early October, Merck said it was seeking authorisation in the United States for its pill molnupiravir, and Pfizer followed suit on Friday with paxlovid.

They are both anti-virals that act by reducing the virus’s ability to replicate, slowing down the disease.

Both companies say clinical trials showed a strong reduction in the risk of hospitalisation.

Those who took molnupiravir saw that risk diminish by 50 percent and those who took paxlovid by nearly 90 percent, although direct comparisons of these efficacy rates should be avoided because of the different study protocols.

An anti-depressant which is already available to the public, fluvoxamine, has also shown encouraging results in preventing serious forms of Covid-19, according to a study published in October by Brazilian researchers in the Lancet Global Health journal.

– Why are they important? –

If the efficacy of these drugs is confirmed, it will be a major step forward in the fight against Covid-19.

They would add to vaccines to bolster the world’s therapeutic arsenal against the virus.

Treatments already exist, mostly in the form of synthetic antibodies.

But these drugs, which usually target those who already have severe forms of the disease, are injected and therefore more difficult to administer.

A pill can be quickly prescribed to a patient who will then take it easily at home.

Merck and Pfizer’s treatments, which so far have not shown many side effects, would entail taking around 10 doses over five days.

“The success of these antivirals potentially marks a new era in our ability to prevent the severe consequences of SARS-CoV2 infection,” British virologist Stephen Griffin told the Science Media Center.

– What limitations ? –

It is difficult so far to properly evaluate Merck and Pfizer’s treatments given both groups have only published statements and have not made the data of their clinical trials available.

French infectious diseases specialist Karine Lacombe warned in September that these types of announcements should be treated with “caution” until the studies can be scrutinised.

She pointed out that these treatments represent a “potentially enormous” market for pharmaceutical groups.

Nevertheless, some elements indicate that Merck and Pfizer are not making empty promises.

For one, they both stopped their clinical trials earlier than expected as the results were so strong, with the okay of independent monitoring committees.

Where fluvoxamine is concerned, the data is available but is not without criticism.

Several researchers have complained that the authors did not just limit themselves to evaluating the frequency of hospitalisations, but also assessed the frequency of prolonged emergency room stays.

This, they say, complicated the interpretation of data.

– When? And how much? –

Merck’s molnupiravir has already been approved in the United Kingdom where health authorities on Thursday gave their green light to its use in patients at risk of developing a serious form of the illness, such as the elderly, obese people, or those suffering from diabetes.

US and EU health authorities are also urgently reviewing the drug.

The European Medicines Agency promised on Thursday to “accelerate” proceedings, without giving a firm date.

Several countries have already ordered stocks of molnupiravir, such as the United States, with 1.7 million courses of the drug.

The US order gives an idea of the steep price of the drug.

It comes to $1.2 billion, which equates to around $700 for a five-day course.

As for Pfizer, while it has not outlined a price for paxlovid, it has promised it will be “affordable” and subject to a tiered pricing approach based on the income level of countries.

Glasgow was on Saturday bracing for a second day of protests against what campaigners say is a lack of urgency to address global warming after Greta Thunberg labelled the crunch UN climate summit there a “failure”.

From Paris to Sydney, Nairobi to Seoul, more than 200 events are planned worldwide to demand immediate action for communities already affected by climate change, particularly in the poorer countries in the South.

In Glasgow, organisers and police said they expected up to 50,000 people to parade through the streets of the Scottish city near the COP26 summit venue, which is under tight security.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

At the halfway stage of the COP26 negotiations, some countries have signed up to pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, with separate deals on phasing out coal, ending foreign fossil fuel funding and slashing methane.

The promises followed a major assessment that showed global CO2 emissions were set to rebound in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels.

But activists have been left unimpressed by the summit so far.

“They cannot ignore the scientific consensus and they cannot ignore us,” said Thunberg.

“This is no longer a climate conference. This is now a global greenwashing festival.”

In Australia on Saturday, protesters in Sydney and Melbourne — some dressed as lumps of coal or Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a vigorous defender of the mining industry — labelled the talks “a sham” and their national leader “an absolute embarrassment”.

“No more blah, blah blah. Real climate action now,” read one sign at a protest in Sydney.

The South Korean capital of Seoul saw around 500 take to the streets demanding immediate action for communities already hit by the fallout of a heating planet.

South Korea has few energy resources of its own and relies on imported coal — a cheap but dirty fuel — for around 40 percent of the electricity powering the world’s 12th-largest economy, according to figures from the International Energy Agency.

The country aims to be carbon neutral by 2050, but local activists say the goal cannot be accomplished without more fundamental changes.

“At COP26, the expected ‘blah blah blah’ is taking place,” Climate Strike, one of the organising groups of Saturday’s march in Seoul, said.

Security has been boosted around Glasgow’s locked-down city centre ahead of the planned demonstrations there, which are expected to draw a variety of groups including Extinction Rebellion.

“Many thousands of us are marching right across the world today to demand immediate and serious action,” said Scottish activist Mikaela Loach. 

“We’re clear that warm words are not good enough — and that the next week of talks must see a serious ramping up of concrete plans.”

– ‘Can’t go on today’ –

COP26 negotiations will continue on Saturday before taking a pause on Sunday ahead of what is shaping up to be a frantic week of shuttle diplomacy, as ministers arrive to push through hard-fought compromises on a number of issues.

Countries still need to flesh out how pledges made in the Paris deal work in practice, including rules governing carbon markets, common reporting timeframes and transparency. 

Countries came into COP26 with national climate plans that, when brought together, put Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century, according to the UN.

With just 1.1C of warming so far, communities across the world are already facing ever more intense fire and drought, displacement and economic ruin wrought by global heating.

Brianna Fruean, a Samoan member of the Pacific Climate Warriors, who addressed a world leaders’ summit at the start of COP26, said it was time for leaders to take note of protesters’ demands.

“It can’t go on like this,” she said.

“We refuse to be just victims to this crisis. We are not drowning, we are fighting and on Saturday the world will hear us.”

Glasgow was on Saturday bracing for a second day of protests against what campaigners say is a lack of urgency to address global warming after Greta Thunberg labelled the crunch UN climate summit there a “failure”.

From Paris to Sydney, from Nairobi to Mexico, more than 200 events are planned worldwide to demand immediate action for communities already affected by climate change, particularly in the poorer countries in the South.

In Australia, protesters in Sydney and Melbourne dressed as lumps of coal or Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a vigorous defender of the mining industry, labelled the talks as “a sham” and their national leader “an absolute embarrassment.”

“No more blah, blah blah. Real climate action now,” read one sign at a protest in Sydney.

In Glasgow, organisers and police said they expected up to 50,000 people to parade through the streets of the Scottish city near the COP26 summit venue, which is under tight security.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

At the halfway stage of the COP26 negotiations, some countries have signed up to pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, with separate deals on phasing out coal, ending foreign fossil fuel funding and slashing methane.

The promises followed a major assessment that showed global CO2 emissions are set to rebound in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels.

Activists were unimpressed during Friday’s march.

“They cannot ignore the scientific consensus and they cannot ignore us,” said Thunberg.

“This is no longer a climate conference. This is now a global greenwashing festival.”

Security has been boosted around Glasgow’s locked down city centre ahead of Saturday’s march, which is expected to draw a variety of groups including Extinction Rebellion.

“Many thousands of us are marching right across the world today to demand immediate and serious action,” said Scottish activist Mikaela Loach. 

“We’re clear that warm words are not good enough — and that the next week of talks must see a serious ramping up of concrete plans.”

– ‘Can’t go on today’ –

COP26 negotiations will continue on Saturday before taking a pause on Sunday ahead of what is shaping up to be a frantic week of shuttle diplomacy, as ministers arrive to push through hard-fought compromises on a number of issues.

Countries still need to flesh out how pledges made in the Paris deal work in practice, including rules governing carbon markets, common reporting timeframes and transparency. 

Countries came into COP26 with national climate plans that, when brought together, put Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century, according to the UN.

With just 1.1C of warming so far, communities across the world are already facing ever more intense fire and drought, displacement and economic ruin wrought by global heating.

Brianna Fruean, a Samoan member of the Pacific Climate Warriors, who addressed a world leaders’ summit at the start of COP26, said it was time for leaders to take note of protesters’ demands.

“It can’t go on like this,” she said. 

“We refuse to be just victims to this crisis. We are not drowning, we are fighting and on Saturday the world will hear us.”

It’s a city of more than five million motorbikes but Hanoi on Saturday opened its first ever urban railway line as authorities try to cut traffic and pollution that have long dogged the Vietnamese capital.

After years of delays and a near-doubling of construction costs, a train eased out of Cat Linh station, close to the centre of the city, to begin its 13-kilometre journey towards the densely populated east.

“I decided to give this a try because I was curious,” Nguyen Thi Thu told AFP inside a busy carriage of the Chinese-made train.

“I am very happy to be able to take a ride after all the postponements.”

Other passengers showed up early to strike a pose in front of the shiny new train, while young children on board stared in wonder out of large windows at the Hanoi skyline rushing past.

The buzzing capital of nine million people is known the world over for its dense crowds of motorbikes that fill the city’s streets and make life perilous for pedestrians attempting to cross.

The number of bikes on the roads has soared from two million in 2008 to 5.7 million in 2020, according to police.

The figure for cars has also rocketed in the same period, from 185,000 to 700,000.

Residents often spend hours stuck in queues, with few opting to catch the bus — the only public transport option available until now.

The terrible traffic is also a major source of air pollution in the capital, according to Hanoi’s department of environmental protection. 

The city frequently records “unhealthy” AQI levels during the winter months.

Transport ministry official Vu Hong Son insisted Saturday the railway would address many of those issues.

It will help “ease traffic congestion, limit private vehicles, reduce environmental pollution and contribute to the change of inner-city movements”, he said.

The Cat Linh-Ha Dong line has taken a decade to complete, with its construction interrupted several times due to safety issues and spiralling costs that have seen spending balloon to nearly $900 million from its original $550 million budget.

Nine more lines are planned for Hanoi by 2030, and authorities last month floated the idea of installing toll booths in the capital — as well as business hub Ho Chi Minh City — to charge cars wanting to enter.

But it remains unclear if residents will be easily parted from their bikes.

“It takes a long time to change people’s habits,” said Thu.

It’s a city of more than five million motorbikes but Hanoi on Saturday opened its first ever urban railway line as authorities try to cut traffic and pollution that have long dogged the Vietnamese capital.

After years of delays and a near-doubling of construction costs, a train eased out of Cat Linh station, close to the centre of the city, to begin its 13-kilometre journey towards the densely populated east.

“I decided to give this a try because I was curious,” Nguyen Thi Thu told AFP inside a busy carriage of the Chinese-made train.

“I am very happy to be able to take a ride after all the postponements.”

Other passengers showed up early to strike a pose in front of the shiny new train, while young children on board stared in wonder out of large windows at the Hanoi skyline rushing past.

The buzzing capital of nine million people is known the world over for its dense crowds of motorbikes that fill the city’s streets and make life perilous for pedestrians attempting to cross.

The number of bikes on the roads has soared from two million in 2008 to 5.7 million in 2020, according to police.

The figure for cars has also rocketed in the same period, from 185,000 to 700,000.

Residents often spend hours stuck in queues, with few opting to catch the bus — the only public transport option available until now.

The terrible traffic is also a major source of air pollution in the capital, according to Hanoi’s department of environmental protection. 

The city frequently records “unhealthy” AQI levels during the winter months.

Transport ministry official Vu Hong Son insisted Saturday the railway would address many of those issues.

It will help “ease traffic congestion, limit private vehicles, reduce environmental pollution and contribute to the change of inner-city movements”, he said.

The Cat Linh-Ha Dong line has taken a decade to complete, with its construction interrupted several times due to safety issues and spiralling costs that have seen spending balloon to nearly $900 million from its original $550 million budget.

Nine more lines are planned for Hanoi by 2030, and authorities last month floated the idea of installing toll booths in the capital — as well as business hub Ho Chi Minh City — to charge cars wanting to enter.

But it remains unclear if residents will be easily parted from their bikes.

“It takes a long time to change people’s habits,” said Thu.

Glasgow was on Saturday bracing for a second day of protests against what campaigners say is a lack of urgency to address global warming after Greta Thunberg labelled the crunch UN climate summit there a “failure”.

Organisers and police said they expected up to 50,000 people in the streets of the Scottish city as part of about 200 protests worldwide demanding immediate action for communities already hit by the fallout of our heating planet.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

At the halfway stage of the COP26 negotiations, some countries have signed up to pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, with separate deals on phasing out coal, ending foreign fossil fuel funding and slashing methane.

The promises followed a major assessment that showed global CO2 emissions are set to rebound in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels.

Activists were unimpressed during Friday’s march.

“They cannot ignore the scientific consensus and they cannot ignore us,” said Thunberg.

“This is no longer a climate conference. This is now a global greenwashing festival.”

Security has been boosted around Glasgow’s locked down city centre ahead of Saturday’s march, which is expected to draw a variety of groups including Extinction Rebellion.

“Many thousands of us are marching right across the world today to demand immediate and serious action,” said Scottish activist Mikaela Loach. 

“We’re clear that warm words are not good enough — and that the next week of talks must see a serious ramping up of concrete plans.”

– ‘Can’t go on today’ –

COP26 negotiations will continue on Saturday before taking a pause on Sunday ahead of what is shaping up to be a frantic week of shuttle diplomacy, as ministers arrive to push through hard-fought compromises on a number of issues.

Countries still need to flesh out how pledges made in the Paris deal work in practice, including rules governing carbon markets, common reporting timeframes and transparency. 

Countries came into COP26 with national climate plans that, when brought together, put Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century, according to the UN.

With just 1.1C of warming so far, communities across the world are already facing ever more intense fire and drought, displacement and economic ruin wrought by global heating.

Brianna Fruean, a Samoan member of the Pacific Climate Warriors, who addressed a world leaders’ summit at the start of COP26, said it was time for leaders to take note of protesters’ demands.

“It can’t go on like this,” she said. 

“We refuse to be just victims to this crisis. We are not drowning, we are fighting and on Saturday the world will hear us.”

Four astronauts are scheduled to return to Earth from the International Space Station early Monday after spending more than six months in space, NASA announced.

The four members of the Crew-2 mission, including a French and a Japanese astronaut, will therefore return to Earth before the arrival of a replacement crew, whose take-off was delayed several times due to unfavorable weather conditions.

NASA said in a statement late Friday that Crew-2 members are due to return to Earth “no earlier than 7:14 am EST (1214 GMT) Monday, Nov. 8, with a splashdown off the coast of Florida.”

“As we’re preparing to leave, it’s kind of a bittersweet feeling, we might never come back to see the ISS, and it’s really a magical place,” French astronaut Thomas Pesquet said earlier Friday during a press conference from the space station.

“I’m very thankful that people dreamt the ISS some time ago and then went ahead and worked hard to make it happen and to build it for the benefit of everyone,” Pesquet added. 

Endeavour, the Crew Dragon spacecraft, is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 1805 GMT Sunday to begin the journey home.

Once detached from the ISS, the capsule will begin a journey of several hours, the duration of which can vary greatly depending on the trajectory, and will then land off the coast of Florida.

A backup undocking and splashdown opportunity is available Monday, if weather conditions are not favorable, NASA said.

The two missions are being carried out by NASA in collaboration with SpaceX, which now provides regular launches to the ISS from the United States.

Crew-3 is scheduled to take off for the ISS aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where astronauts have been in quarantine for days.

US astronaut Megan McArthur was confident that not getting the replacement crew to ISS before the current crew departs was just a temporary setback.

“Of course that’s not optimal,” McArthur told reporters during the Friday press conference. “But we are prepared to manage that. Spaceflight is full of lots of little challenges.”