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U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly feels unwell after almost one year in space

Xinhua, March 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly, who returned to Earth Thursday after 340 days in the International Space Station, said Friday that he was tired and suffering from sore muscles and joints.

Speaking at a press conference here, the 52-year-old Kelly, who returned to the fourth-largest U.S. city of Houston after 230.4 million km in orbit, said that for him, adjusting to space was easier than adjusting to Earth.

Scott said that his skin was very sensitive, and that he had a burning sensation whenever he wanted to sit, lie or walk. He is now receiving a medical checkup to see if humans can withstand space radiation for an extended period of time and the impacts of long-term isolation.

Like other astronauts, Kelly became 2.54 cm taller in space, but he lost it almost as soon as he returned to Earth.

Currently, NASA is conducting such tests, in which Kelly and his twin brother Mark are participating, to see how the body and mind adjust to long periods in space before sending astronauts to Mars in the future.

Kelly holds the U.S. record for 520 days in space over four missions. Endi