A Japanese astronaut has apologised for saying he had grown 3.5 inches (9cm) while in space and expressing concern about whether he’d be safe on his return to Earth.
Norishige Kanai, who went to the International Space Station last month for a nearly six-month mission, posted on Twitter on Monday that he had ‘a big announcement’.
But a bit over a day later – and in the wake of a flurry of news stories – he apologised, saying that he’d measured himself after his captain raised questions about the apparent growth and he had stretched only 0.8 inches (2cm) from his Earth-bound height.
A Japanese astronaut has apologised for saying he had grown 3.5 inches (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 limited to a couple of inches maximum and disappear once they are back on the ground.
‘My height’s been measured here in space and somehow, somehow, I’ve grown 9 cm! In only three weeks I’ve really shot up, something I haven’t seen since high school,’ 41-year-old Dr Kanai initially tweeted.
‘This makes me a little worried that I might not be able to fit in the Soyuz seats for our return.’
His original claim had sparked a furore on social media but his commander Anton Shkaplerov was sceptical and so Dr Kanai measured himself again.
It turned out he had in fact only stretched 0.8 inches.
‘I have no back pains, and actually the pain around my neck and shoulders is gone, so I doubt I’m 9 cm taller’, he tweeted.
‘Flight Commander Shkaplerov would know these things, he’s such a veteran.
‘This mis-measurement appears to have become a big deal, so I must apologise for this terrible fake news’.
The astronaut did not give details about what caused the ‘measurement mistake’.
The phenomenon of astronauts growing due to the low gravity of space is well known and they do return to their normal height upon their return. Pictured is the International Space Station
‘It appears I can fit on the Soyuz, so I’m relieved’, he tweeted.
The Soyuz spacecraft which transport astronauts from Earth to the ISS and back has a limit on seating height, so it could pose a problem if crew members become too tall.
This is the first mission to the ISS for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut, who is also a medical doctor.
He joined Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and flight engineer Scott Tingle of Nasa, who docked their Soyuz spacecraft about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth at 8.39am GMT on December 19, 2017.