Confessions of an Astronaut #2

What strikes you powerfully when you return to earth?
"Smell; smell is the most powerful. Also wind and snow. We landed in a snowstorm. I was so happy to feel the touch of frost. When I breathed I blew out steam. It delighted me like a small child. Everything surprises."

What does it feel like to experience gravity again when you are reentering the earth's atmosphere?
"On the journey back to earth," Genady tells us, " two books were resting against my chest - instruction manuals. They got heavier and heavier, as if they were crushing me. When the hatch was opened and my belt was unfastened, I could not get out of my seat. It was like I was pressed down to it."

Does the imagery of your dreams change in space?
"I dream that I am on earth, lots of ground dreams. But the strangest sensation is waking up. I sleep in sleeping bag but have no contact with the bag's frame - I'm suspended in space. When I wake up, if I think I was lying on my back, I feel muscle tension in my back. If I sleep on my side I will feel tension in my side."

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