Chris Hadfield: ‘Space was too good not to share’

BBC News

9-1

Cmdr Hadfield, 53, said his experiences in space were "too good" to keep to himself. He landed on Tuesday.

With nearly 1 million Twitter followers, Cmdr Hadfield said he was pleased with the interest in his work.

He had been on the International Space Station since December 2012 and in command of the vessel since March.

While in space, Cmdr Hadfield tweeted about his life at the space station, sharing striking images of the Earth from space.

"There is beautiful imagery, there's poetry in what is happening, there is purpose in what is happening," Cmdr Hadfield said of his work on the space station. "There is a beauty to it, there is hope in it and it's an international thing."

Sore and dizzy

His social media activities included singing a song with children around the world and filming a cover of David Bowie's hit Space Oddity.

But Cmdr Hadfield insisted his social media activities were secondary to his main functions at the space station.

He said life in space was extremely busy, with no spare time to be idle.

At his first news briefing in Houston, Texas, where the astronaut is undergoing rehabilitation, Cmdr Hadfield described the physical sensations of being in space and landing on Earth.

His first sensation of Earth was the smell of spring after landing in the Kazakh steppe on Tuesday, he said.

Emphasising the differences between life in space and "reality" on Earth, Cmdr Hadfield said he was "readapting to it physically and mentally".

Cmdr Hadfield added that upon his return to Earth he noticed the weight of his tongue and lips and was remembering how to speak under the force of gravity, while his neck and back felt sore from having to support his head again.

"It feels like I played a hard game of rugby yesterday or played full-contact hockey yesterday and I haven't played in a while," he said. "My body is just sore and I'm dizzy, but it's getting better measurably by the hour."

Summary

              Commander Chris Hadfield had land to Earth from space (ISS). He was there since 2012 December and when he landed there was 1milions of flowers. Commander Hadfield was working at ISS (International Space Station) and it was for to get information of space. Commander Hadfield was famous because he was an old astronaut and also by using computer, he answered questions from Earth’s children and he experimented. He said that he feels so dizzy, but it is getting better.

Vocabulary

Dizzy:  feels like you are spinning around and cannot stand still.

Commander:  a person who is in charge of something.

Idle:  not working hard

Gravity:  the force that makes you stands because of the center of the planet

Space:  the area outside of Earth atmosphere where all the other planets and stars are.