Landing on Earth is only the beginning: which bodily functions need recovery after 237 days in space
After almost eight months in space, the four Crew-12 mission members can again feel the wind, take a normal shower, and hug their loved ones. But the return to Earth for the body does not start with rest: after 237 days in weightlessness, the body has to get used to the fact that everything has weight again.
The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev splashed down on October 8 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles.
According to NASA, the crew spent 237 days in space and traveled more than 100 million miles during that time.
The first thing to return — the most ordinary things
On the International Space Station there is no usual shower: for hygiene, astronauts use water, liquid soap, and products that do not need to be rinsed off.
There is also no possibility to simply go outside and feel the fresh air.
After returning, the Crew-12 members spoke about meeting their families and simple earthly pleasures — including a normal shower and the opportunity to feel the wind again.
Exactly such details especially clearly show the scale of the eight-month flight: after it, it is not life in space that seems unusual, but things that almost no one on Earth notices.
But gravity also returns — and the body feels it immediately
During months of weightlessness, the body adapts to completely different conditions.
Muscles and bones do not have to constantly support body weight, fluids redistribute differently, and the balance system gets used to an environment where there are practically no usual concepts of "up" and "down".
Therefore, after landing, astronauts may experience dizziness, nausea, weakness, and balance problems. Some participants of long-duration NASA missions described the first days on Earth as if the body suddenly became unusually heavy.
Even normal walking after months in space becomes a skill again, to which the body needs to readapt.
Before the return, the crew specifically drank water with salt
Preparation for Earth's gravity begins already in orbit.
Before the Crew-12 return, NASA prepared drinks with added salt tablets for the astronauts.
So-called fluid loading helps increase the volume of fluid in the body before landing. This is necessary because in weightlessness, circulation and fluid distribution change, and after returning to Earth, the cardiovascular system again has to work against gravity.
Even two hours of exercise a day does not cancel the consequences of weightlessness
Crews of the International Space Station usually work out for about two hours daily.
Physical exercise helps reduce the loss of muscle strength and bone density, and also supports the cardiovascular system's function.
But completely cancelling the influence of prolonged weightlessness is impossible.
Therefore, after returning, a separate stage of the mission begins — recovery.
NASA's standard program for restoring physical fitness after long-duration space flights lasts about 45 days. The workload is individually tailored depending on the condition of each astronaut.
The first minutes on Earth are under medical supervision
After splashdown, Dragon was lifted onto the recovery ship, and the crew underwent initial medical checks.
Sophie Adenot then headed to Europe, to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, where she will continue medical monitoring and recovery.
NASA also conducts post-flight examinations of Crew-12 members. This mission is especially interesting for scientists because part of the research was devoted to how prolonged weightlessness affects circulation, vision, and the ability to perform complex tasks again after transitioning to gravity.
During 237 days, they did not just live on the station
Crew-12 launched from Cape Canaveral on February 13 and arrived at the International Space Station the next day.
For Jack Hathaway and Sophie Adenot, this was their first spaceflight, for Jessica Meir and Andrey Fedyaev — their second.
Meir conducted four spacewalks during the mission, bringing her career total to seven. Adenot performed three spacewalks and became the first French woman to work in open space.
The crew also participated in scientific experiments and station maintenance.
Why the return does not end at the moment of splashdown
From the outside, landing looks like the finale of a space journey: parachutes deployed, the capsule touched the water, the hatch was opened — mission complete.
For the human body, it is almost the opposite.
It is now that the transition begins from the environment to which the body had adapted for 237 days back to normal life — with one's own body weight, a solid floor underfoot, fresh air, a shower, and gravity, which most people do not notice at all.
Sources: NASA, NASA International Space Station, ESA.