posted 06-13-2018 06:31 PM               

[Anton] Shkaplerov returned to Earth with a soccer ball to be used in the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which is set to take place in Russia from June 14 through July 15.

"An official Telstar 18 ball was especially brought to the station for this purpose and the ball planned to be returned to Earth together with my crew," Shkaplerov tweeted a day before the landing.

And from our coverage of the launch of Soyuz MS-09:

In their time off, the crew plans to observe and photograph Earth, share their activities on social media and even face off in a soccer match timed with the final day of the World Cup on July 15.

"We'll inflate our ball and imitate a soccer game. Imitate, of course, because we do not want to break anything," said Prokopyev at a pre-flight press conference. "Please do not think we are really going to play soccer, but we will support however we can. We support all the athletes, and I believe the whole world will enjoy watching our game."

posted 06-14-2018 08:00 PM               

Russia kicks off 2018 FIFA World Cup with space-flown soccer ball

A soccer ball that was both named after a historic satellite and launched into Earth orbit was used to kick off the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia on Thursday (June 14).

The Adidas Telstar 18 soccer ball (or if you prefer, football) first spent time aboard the International Space Station before arriving at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow for the opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia.