Do astronauts have to readjust to the earths atmosphere when they come back from space?

Question

Do they feel the sensation to float around after being weightless for so long? Does that feeling ever go away, or do they forget about it after a while?

Answer 1

They are always surround by air pressure, in the ship and in their space suits, but it's not the normal, ground-level 15 pounds per square inch. It's more like 4 psi out there, enough to carry the oxygen without being wasteful.

Compare deep sea divers, who have to crank their air pressure way up just to get the oxygen into their lungs. Gases yield to pressure, taking up less space, even "disappearing" into body fluids like blood. Outside and inside pressures need to be fairly equal or there would be problems. So when divers rise to the surface, they need to do it slowly and allow their bodies to adjust by slowly releasing accumulated nitrogen (75% of air) that would otherwise turn into bubbles in their blood and tissues.

Astronauts returning to normal pressure don't have such a serious problem. They just keep breathing until their bodies have absorbed enough gases to normalize internal pressure. The tension of going through reentry is usually adequate for this.

Their other adjustments are more obvious. There is no residual "floating" sensation. Gravity is very apparent to them. About the closest they get is having to remember that objects fall down when they let go of them.

Answer 2

it's the gravity that they have to get used to.. the sensation of being on solid ground after floating around for so long, i would imagine would go away after a while...

this is one of the reasons why NASA doesnt let the astronauts out of the orbiter for about an hour or so. then they get a brief medical check up and finally are cleared to exit the orbiter onto the runway. the other reason is obviously so that the crew can shut down most of the systems before exiting.

Answer 3

Is more that they have to adjust to the gravity back on earth rather than its atmosphere.

Since in space they experience constant weightlessness, their bones and muscles begin to slowly waste away as time goes on. That is why you see astronauts in space work out on excercise bikes to try to slow down this process.

The longer time spent in weightlessness, the more profound the wastage is. Take russian cosmonauts for example, some stayed on the Mir space station for years at a time, and when they returned to earth they had to spend a few weeks in a wheelchair because they have to rebuild the lost muscle and bone mass.

I suppose they also have to adjust psychologically to, having been exposed to weightlessness for so long.

Answer 4

I couldn't speak on how they feel after returning to earth, but the physical effects are very pronounced and serious. Until we develop better ways to endure space travel, this will be the case.

The effects of long periods in space are:

-Potential exposure to dangerous cosmic radiation, which can mutate DNA, and cause cancer. Our atmosphere here on earth naturally filters these out for us, but rockets have no such protection. (Maybe SPF 15 - MILLION! lol)

-Also despite hours and hours spent running on treadmills in space, the body still loses muscle mass, and bone density the longer a person is in space. When they return to earth, astronauts often spend time in recovery since they are unable to move under their own power when they first return. In extreme cases the heart becomes too weak to pump blood through the body properly, and the strain of being under constant gravity again can be too much.

Answer 5

Depending on how long they were in space, it does take some time for an astronaut to adjust to being back on Earth. Things such as the weight of objects, using force to have to get out of a chair and not having objects stay where you let go of them are all things that astronauts have mentioned having trouble with.

On astronaut's wife mentioned that shortly after returning her husband let go of his duffle bag then looked down in surprise when it hit the ground.

Michael Lopez-Alegria spent 215 days in space and as much as a month after his return he still hadn't gotten completely used to walking leading to a funny gait when he walked. He also mentions the difficulties in something as simple as getting out of a chair.

Answer 6

Astronaut s need to get used to the feeling of on the ground, its also harder to talk because their is weight put onto your tongue so its a little bit harder when they land, some astronauts need to get used to the gravity because i heard that one astronaut put his cup in the air and it dropped and he didn t notice. Astronaut s need to go for fiscal training so they can gain their muscles, some astronauts had complained that they couldn t see or talk.

Answer 7

Yes,the body needs to re-adjust to gravity,legs are weak,imagine sitting in a recliner for two weeks then all of a sudden running a marathon.Recovery is quick,due to good physical condition of astronaut's.

Answer 8

No. but they do hav to get used to the gravity again.

Answer 9

Breathing is not a problem. They recover pretty quickly.