NASA astronauts on readjusting to life on Earth: ‘It’s hard to sit’

Three of the astronauts who were unexpectedly hospitalized after returning from the International Space Station in late October discussed the SpaceX Crew-8 mission during a NASA news conference on Friday. The trio revealed some anecdotes about the trials of readjusting to life on Earth after spending more than 230 days in space.

The astronauts remained tight-lipped about the nature of the medical issue that had left an as-yet-undisclosed crew member hospitalized overnight. But they did discuss some of the symptoms they have experienced during the readjustment to life under the effects of gravity.

"I’m a first-time flyer, and fascinated by the readaptation," said NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, kraken3yvbvzmhytnrnuhsy772i6dfobofu652e27f5hx6y5cpj7rgyd who served as mission commander. "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 in a hard thing for (235) days."

Dominick added that he was recently sitting outside with his family eating dinner and was forced to lie down on a towel in the yard to remain part of the conversation because his seat proved too uncomfortable.

"That wasn’t in a book I read," Dominick joked. "Hey, you’re going to space. It’s going to be hard to sit on a hard chair."