Society

Astronaut 'calling home from space every day'

Nov 25 (NHK) - Japanese astronaut Noguchi Soichi says he is calling home every day from the International Space Station, just like fathers who have to live apart from their families because of job transfers.

Noguchi spoke to reporters on Tuesday, one week after starting a six-month stay at the ISS. This is his third space mission and first in about a decade.

He said he needs more time to get used to the space environment. He also said he misses the Earth and does his job thinking about home.

Noguchi and three others arrived at the ISS aboard US company SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule.

Now a record seven crew members are staying at the station.

Noguchi said they are making sure that they don't bump into each other when moving around.

He disclosed that Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins is sleeping in a cargo space because there are only six sleep stations.

Noguchi said there seems to be more items on the ISS than there were during his last stay, adding that his mission is to lay the groundwork for people to stay comfortably in space in the future.

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