Astronaut corrects 9cm growth claim
Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai, on a mission to the International Space Station, apologised yesterday for saying he had grown 9cm while in space and expressing concern about whether he’d be safe on his return to Earth.
Most astronauts “grow” during protracted space missions because their spines extend in the absence of gravity, but the gains are usually a couple of centimetres at most and disappear once they are back on the ground.
Kanai, 41, who went to space last month for a nearly six-month mission, had posted on Twitter that he had “a big announcement.”
“My height’s been measured here in space and somehow, somehow, I’ve grown 9cm! In only three weeks I’ve really shot up, something I haven’t seen since high school,” he tweeted.
“This makes me a little worried that I might not be able to fit in the Soyuz seats for our return.”
But a bit over a day later — and after a flurry of news stories — he apologised, saying he’d measured himself after his captain raised questions about the apparent growth and he had stretched only 2cm from his Earth-bound height.
“This mis-measurement appears to have become a big deal, so I must apologise for this terrible fake news,” he tweeted, without explaining how the miscalculation had occurred.
“It appears I can fit on the Soyuz, so I’m relieved.”
Space is a premium in space, with each centimetre scrutinised to pack in instruments, tools, plants and insects for experiments and other essentials like food and water.
That means living and working quarters are tight. On the Russian Soyuz TMA spacecraft station, the vehicle used to get astronauts to and from the ISS, personnel are limited to 1.92m so they can fit inside the seats.
Each seat liner on the vehicle is customised and moulded to the body of each astronaut and taken to the Soyuz to ensure a tight fit during the violent reintroduction to gravity.
“To help absorb the shock of landing, explosive charges fired and instantly pushed our seats forward so that our faces were very close to the instrument panel,” wrote astronaut Ron Garan in October 2011, describing re-entry from the Soyuz vehicle.
Once the vehicle re-enters astronauts are compressed to their normal height.