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JAXA Astronaut Furukawa Discusses 2nd Stay on ISS

Courtesy of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Satoshi Furukawa holds a press conference from inside Kibo, the Japanese experimental module on the International Space Station, on Thursday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, September 16, 2023

JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa spoke about how he has adjusted to living on the International Space Station, where he has been since August, during a press conference on Thursday evening Japan time.

“I feel like I’ve acclimated to the environment here more quickly than last time,” said Furukawa, who is back on the ISS for the first time since 2011. “It’s amazing how adaptable humans are.”

Furukawa was on board SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 26 and arrived at the ISS the following day. During his previous stay, Furukawa said he suffered from symptoms of space sickness for a week after his arrival.

“This time I didn’t feel too sick,” he said. “It has been a pleasant stay.”

Furukawa is scheduled to be on the ISS for six months and work on various projects, including testing technologies that will be useful for future manned Moon explorations.

“I will compile data to make the technologies more reliable,” he said.