Astronaut Talks About the Weird Side Effects of Spending A Year in Space

Going into space, being an astronaut, floating around...it seems like a dream job. But what's it really like to be an astronaut?

Scott Kelly recently returned from his year in space and has talked about what it was like. And spoiler: it's not all fun and games.

He spoke at his first press conference and described how gravity is now proving painful. He has found that his skin is unexpectedly sensitive, and feels like it's 'burning' whenever he sits down or walks.

The Daily Mail reports that he said: "'I flew 159 days last time and when I got back, I felt like was pretty good.

"There is always a certain amount of soreness and fatigue.

"Initially this time I felt better than last time, but now my level of muscle soreness and fatigue is worse.

"I also have an issue with my skin, so it's very sensitive. It feels like it's burning.

"Adjusting to space was a lot easier than adjusting to Earth."

Also, weirdly enough, he's apparently 1.5 inches taller due to his time in space. It's made even weirder by the fact he has an identical twin brother (who we can only assume is now about 1.5 inches shorter than him).

Not only that, but due to an effect caused by Einstein's theory of general relativity, he is around 1/100th of a second younger. According to 'time dilation', if two objects are moving at different speeds, then time runs faster for the slower object.

The reason for this mission at the International Space Station was to trial a 'dry run' by NASA for eventual trips to Mars.

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