Astronomical Growth Turns Out To Be 'Fake News ' Says Japanese Astronaut : The Two
Norishige Kanai
In a tweet on Monday   Norishige Kanai  claimed  he  had grown by as much as 3 1/2 inches since arriving at the International Space Station on Dec. 19.
"I have a major announcement today "  Kanai  wrote in Japanese  as translated by the BBC. "We had our bodies measured after reaching space  and wow  wow  wow  I had actually grown by as much as 9cm!"
That led to headlines and social media posts fretting over whether  Kanai  would indeed be able to fold  his  new frame into the Soyuz spacecraft — a notoriously cramped space — upon  his  return to earth in June.
But after a Russian colleague expressed doubt about the spurt   Kanai  took another look and realized that a "measurement mistake" led to his overstating his growth by nearly 3 inches.
 Kanai  said  he  was a "bit relieved"  he  will fit into the Soyuz on the way home after all.
But first  Kanai  who is spending  his  time as a flight engineer aboard the ISS — an Earth-orbiting satellite — as part of the Expedition 54/55 crew is "helping doctors understand how being away from the normal 24-hour sunrise-sunset cycle impacts the human body " says NASA.
In a tweet on Monday   [TGT]  claimed  he  had grown by as much as 3 1/2 inches since arriving at the International Space Station on Dec. 19.
"I have a major announcement today "  Kanai  wrote in Japanese  as translated by the BBC. "We had our bodies measured after reaching space  and wow  wow  wow  I had actually grown by as much as 9cm!"
That led to headlines and social media posts fretting over whether  Kanai  would indeed be able to fold  his  new frame into the Soyuz spacecraft — a notoriously cramped space — upon  his  return to earth in June.
But after a Russian colleague expressed doubt about the spurt   Kanai  took another look and realized that a "measurement mistake" led to his overstating his growth by nearly 3 inches.
 Kanai  said  he  was a "bit relieved"  he  will fit into the Soyuz on the way home after all.
But first  Kanai  who is spending  his  time as a flight engineer aboard the ISS — an Earth-orbiting satellite — as part of the Expedition 54/55 crew is "helping doctors understand how being away from the normal 24-hour sunrise-sunset cycle impacts the human body " says NASA.