Three NASA astronauts, who recently returned to Earth after a 235-day stay in space, have shed light on the challenges of readjusting to gravity and life on the planet. Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps returned to Earth on October 25 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. During a NASA conference, they discussed the physical toll the mission had on their bodies.
Dominick, a first-time space traveller and mission commander, revealed that while he expected dizziness and disorientation upon returning to Earth’s gravity, some of the smaller struggles took him by surprise. “The big things you expect — being disoriented, being dizzy. But the little things like just sitting in a hard chair … My backside has not really sat on a hard thing for (235) days.” He also shared an amusing anecdote from a recent dinner with his family, where he found himself lying on a towel in the yard due to the discomfort of sitting.
Epps, reflecting on the physical changes she faced, noted the unexpected weight and heaviness of objects once she returned to Earth. “The weight and the heaviness of things just is surprising, (I’ve been) laying any chance I got. But you have to move, and you have to exercise every day, otherwise you won’t get those gains. You have to move regardless of how exhausted you feel,” she said.
The astronauts, who spent months aboard the ISS, faced a brief and unexpected hospitalisation after their return. While NASA confirmed that all crew members were taken to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola “out of an abundance of caution,” details surrounding the medical issue, which led to one astronaut staying overnight at the hospital, have not been made public.
Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, who also participated in the mission, were originally scheduled to return home earlier, but their return was delayed by scheduling conflicts with other spacecraft and weather conditions. The Crew-8 astronauts’ mission duration was extended by a few weeks due to these unforeseen delays.
Barratt, a medical doctor and veteran astronaut, stressed the importance of medical privacy concerning the situation. “Medical privacy and the processes we have going on right now negate our ability to (discuss the issue),” he said during the press conference.
According to CNN, medical checkups are routine after extended space missions. But astronauts are usually transported back to their base in Houston for reconditioning following splashdown, allowing them to transition back to Earth’s gravity.