A Japanese astronaut who is living on the International Space Station says he has grown 9 cm since arriving there just over three weeks ago.
Astronauts usually grow two to five cm in space. This is because the backbones spread apart without gravity.
Norishige Kanai wrote on social media he was worried he would not fit into the seat of the Russian Soyuz vehicle that is due to bring him home in June. Mr Kanai said online, “Good morning, everybody. I have a major announcement today. We had our bodies measured after reaching space, and wow, wow, wow, I had actually grown by as much as 9 cm! I grew like some plant in just three weeks. Nothing like this happened since high school. I’m a bit worried whether I’ll fit in the Soyuz seat when I go back.”
The Soyuz spacecraft which takes the astronauts from and to Earth has a limit on seating height. If crew members become too tall, it could pose a problem.
Astronauts can grow while in space and return to a normal height when they go back to Earth. “Nine cm is a lot, but it is possible, knowing that every human body is different,” Libby Jackson of the UK Space Agency said. “You do get taller in space as your backbones spread apart, usually by about two to five cm. There’s a range of growth for different people, and everybody responds differently.”
This is the first space mission for the Japanese astronaut who was a diving medical officer with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
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