Science
Don Pettit is carried after spending 191 days on the International Space Station.
By Page Grossman Posted 10.29.2012 at 10:00 am 3 Comments

Ground Control Mikhail Metzel/EPA/Newscom

Last December, U.S. astronaut Don Pettit launched from Kazakhstan in a Russian Soyuz space capsule and arrived at the International Space Station, where he spent the next 191 days. While there, Pettit orbited the Earth 3,088 times and witnessed the arrival of the SpaceX Dragon, the first commercial craft to dock at the ISS. He also experienced significant physiological changes. Extended periods in low gravity lead to bone density loss and heart shrinkage.

When Pettit returned to Earth in July, his body could not endure even minor physical exertion in normal gravity, so the ground crew carried him to a nearby medical tent for routine post-spaceflight examinations. Research has shown that astronauts’ muscle tone improves after a few weeks, but their bone density may never return to pre-spaceflight levels.

3 Comments

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phoenixamaranth
10/29/12 at 11:19 am

Bone density has been shown to improve in individuals who lift weights regularly, so why would it not return for an astronaut once back on earth? Is it just dependent on whether they exercise properly and eat the correct nutrients or is there some other factors at work that I'm not familiar with?

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Robot
10/29/12 at 3:44 pm

Every time I see a picture of Russia carrying off an astronaut from a landing, I always surprise by the chair.
The chair always seems to be some random chair they grabbed and tossed a blanket over.

You think for the great quantities of money toss at the space program, they come up with a chair that has handles for lifting, fitted in design to be comfortable and professionally covered.

It’s just the funnies thing to see and it keeps repeating, lol.

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spark55155
10/30/12 at 10:20 pm

Because we keep forgetting what zero gravity does to people. We are certain that the NEXT astronaut will act as heroically as we imagine.