NASA's oldest astronaut who spent 220 days in space speaks out on health after sparking concern
Although he celebrated his 70th birthday returning from space, Don Pettit said he felt 'like a little kid' again while orbiting the Earth.
But the appearance of NASA's oldest active astronaut sparked a bit of panic when he arrived back on solid ground on 20 April, as people were concerned what toll the seven-month mission had taken on him.
Pettit, from Oregon, has just spent 220 days on the International Space Station (ISS) alongside Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, 53, and Ivan Vagner, 39.
The trio orbited the Earth 3,520 times while carrying out a host of experiments, NASA said, while Pettit even turned a year older while he made his descent back home.
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A Soyuz MS-26 space capsule got the 70-year-old and his fellow spacemen home safely, landing in Kazakhstan before they were taken to the recovery staging area in the city of Karaganda.
Ovchinin and Vagner then headed off to a training base in Star City, Russia, while Pettit boarded a NASA plane which was bound for the agency's Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas.
Everything went as smoothly as it could, with Russia's space agency Roscosmos saying the Soyuz capsule's parachute-assisted landing was a trouble-free descent.
But Pettit did spark some concern when pictures of his return from seven-months of space travel began to circulate, as people pointed out he looked slightly pale.
Astronomer Jonathan McDowell even took to X to share a post suggesting that the veteran astronaut looked 'less than fully well on extraction from the capsule', adding that it's 'hopefully nothing serious'.
NASA officials insisted that the birthday boy was 'doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth', while reminding people what Pettit told the world before he set off to the ISS last year.
The space agency said: "What's expected for him? In his own words during an April 16 pre-departure interview, 'This is a physiological thing. It affects different people different ways.
"'Some people can go out and eat pizza and dance. When I land, it takes me about 24 hours to feel like I'm a human being again'."
So give the guy some slack - as I'm sure the majority of us lot wouldn't look camera-ready after seven-months in space and a gruelling journey back home.
But amid all the chatter about his condition, Pettit has offered an update on his health - while revealing the real reason he looked pretty peaky upon arriving back on Earth.
Take a look at this:
During a NASA press conference on Monday (28 April), the astronaut revealed he vomited after his ride in the Soyuz capsule.
"I didn't look too good, because I didn't feel too good," Pettit told reporters, before hilariously adding: "I was right in the middle of emptying the contents of my stomach onto the steppes of Kazakhstan."
And although a host of cameras were waiting to capture his return, the people manning them thankfully had the decency not to film him chucking his guts up.
"They're polite, and they don't have a camera shoved in your face when you're in the middle of doing that," Pettit said. "They cut away to give you a little bit of privacy when you're not feeling too good.
"Because, after all, nobody wants to be on camera when you're doing that."
Pettit, who has spent over 18 months in orbit throughout his four spaceflights, reassured people that he is feeling a lot better now and is still undergoing post-landing rehab, which will continue for around another month.
Despite some having concerns about a man of his age being on the ISS, the astronaut explained that he actually feels much better off up there health-wise.
"You're floating, and your body, all these little aches and pains, and everything heal up, and you feel like you're 30 years old again and free of pain, free of everything, and ready to do your mission work," Pettit said.
"So, I love being in orbit. It's a great place to be for me and my physiology."
He also said that he's got plenty of life left in him yet, as he's already eyeing up his return to space.
"Being an explorer of space is what seems to be my lot in life, and I'm ready to do it," Pettit added. "I know John Glenn flew at age 76, something like that, and I'm only 70, so I've got a few more good years left.
"I could see getting another flight or two in before I'm ready to hang up my rocket nozzles."
Olivia Burke