This month, astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, who returned to Earth after completing his stay in space, held a press conference, looking back on his stay of about six months, and said with emotion, ``I have come to think of Earth as my home.'' I talked about it.
Mr. Furukawa stayed on the International Space Station for about six months from August last year, conducting various research including experiments with an eye on future exploration of the Moon and Mars, and returned to Earth on the 12th of this month, Japan time.
At a press conference on the 25th at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA, Mr. Furukawa looked back on his stay in space and said, ``Up until now, when I thought of my hometown, I thought of Japan or Houston, but on the International Space Station... After spending a few months there, I began to think, ``My home is the earth,'' he said with deep emotion.
Regarding a series of studies that investigated how cells are affected by gravity, he said, ``As research progresses, it will not only prevent the deterioration of muscles and bones experienced in space, but also prevent the same kind of deterioration that occurs on Earth.'' "It may also be applicable to diseases," he said, emphasizing its significance.
When asked what advice he would give to the two Japanese astronaut candidates currently training, he said, ``Based on my valuable experience, I would like to share some tips for living and working on the space station. I hope it will be useful for the two of them in their mission and move forward with the mission that will take humanity to the moon and beyond."