Mars Exploration News  
MARSDAILY
Life on Mars: Japan astronaut dreams after lake discovery
By Miwa SUZUKI
Tokyo (AFP) July 27, 2018

Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai came back to earth last month but is still dreaming of space, especially after the discovery of an underground lake brought mankind one step closer to unravelling the mystery of life on Mars.

"I was so excited about the news," the 41-year-old doctor told AFP in an interview on Friday, calling it "a major discovery that inspires dreams".

International astronomers announced Wednesday they had detected the largest body of liquid water ever found on the Red Planet, a breakthrough that may hold clues to whether life has ever formed on Mars -- or even exists today.

Kanai, who spent 168 days on the International Space Station, is firmly convinced that we're not alone in the universe and there is life out there.

"I believe there is," he said. "In the vast universe, anything could be possible."

"I have high hopes that finding extraterrestrial life forms could open a new page in learning."

The soft-spoken spaceman, nicknamed "Nemo" for his background as a diving medical officer in Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, blasted into space for the first time in December.

- Growing pains -

Following in the footsteps of other media-savvy astronauts, Kanai tweeted about his stay at the space station in Japanese.

But his social media foray came with some growing pains: he was forced to apologise and issue a correction after mistakenly claiming he had grown by nine centimetres just weeks after he arrived.

When a colleague suggested the growth was unlikely, despite the fact that astronauts' spines do extend in the zero-gravity environment of space, Norishige had himself remeasured.

It turned out a mix-up over centimetres and inches was to blame, and he said Friday that he had in fact grown by just two to three centimetres during his stay.

He has been shrinking since he arrived back on Earth on June 3, but is still one centimetre taller, he said.

"It's interesting to see how long it will take to get back to my original height."

Kanai, whose Twitter profile depicts him in cartoon form with a broad grin, concedes he wasn't always the likeliest candidate to join Japan's space agency JAXA, though he is now the agency's youngest astronaut.

He was a "reserved, cautious" boy, rather than adventurous.

"I was a granny's boy," he said. "When she was sewing, we did it together. I had a rather 'girlie' childhood."

But one of the skills he picked up as a child turned out to have a surprising application during the strict JAXA screening process.

In the final selection stage, 10 candidates spend a week in a capsule performing various tasks including folding paper cranes, which the agency says tests patience and steadiness under stress.

Luckily Kanai was a dab hand at origami from his childhood.

- Space for all -

"I don't know if it gave me an advantage... but I knew how to do it. I'm dexterous and like to do repetitive small tasks. That task was easy for me," he said.

Even as he spoke, he deftly folded a piece of origami paper into a crane, without so much as leaning on a table for support.

He so enjoyed making small cranes that he folded more than 100 of them in the test capsule.

While Kanai now belongs to an elite group of astronaut alumni, he is eager to see space become more accessible.

"I think space is not only for astronauts and space-related corporations but is for everyone," he said.

"I welcome the idea of 'enjoyable' space or interesting ideas of private companies to use space."

He doesn't yet know if he'll be chosen for new missions, and admits that he had mixed emotions as he headed back to Earth last month.

"I felt sorry that it was ending. But I was also happy that I was finally going back to Japan, because six months is a long time.

"I had complex, half-happy, half-sad feelings."


Related Links
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


MARSDAILY
NASA May Have Destroyed Evidence for Organics on Mars 40 Years Ago
Moscow (Sputnik) Jul 13, 2018
While the existence of native carbon-based organic compounds on the Red Planet was confirmed only in 2014, some suggest that the discovery could have been made a long time ago. Back in 1976, NASA's twin Viking landers touched down on Mars to find out if life could survive on Mars and whether there was organic matter in the Martian soil. Researchers were puzzled as no evidence for organic molecules were found, because they believed that organics had been delivered to the planet by carbon-rich meteo ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

MARSDAILY
At 60, NASA shoots for revival of moon glory days

Russia may use ISS Modules in Lunar Gateway Project

Israel plans its first moon launch in December

The toxic side of the Moon

MARSDAILY
China developing in-orbit satellite transport vehicle

PRSS-1 Satellite in Good Condition

China readying for space station era: Yang Liwei

China launches new space science program

MARSDAILY
China Focus: Capture an asteroid, bring it back to Earth?

Twenty Years of Planetary Defense

NASA's Dawn spacecraft focused on Ceres as it nears end of mission

Observatories Team Up to Reveal Rare Double Asteroid

MARSDAILY
'Ribbon' wraps up mystery of Jupiter's magnetic equator

Radiation Maps of Jupiter's Moon Europa: Key to Future Missions

The True Colors of Pluto and Charon

Dozen new Jupiter moons declared

MARSDAILY
Cassini data yields super sharp infrared images of Titan

Listen: Sound of Electromagnetic Energy Moving Between Saturn, Enceladus

Signatures of complex organic molecules spotted on Saturn's moon Enceladus

Complex organics bubble up from ocean-world Enceladus

MARSDAILY
Preparing to fly the wind mission Aeolus

Satellite maps reveal spread of mountaintop coal mining in Appalachia

Red Sea flushes faster from far flung volcanoes

NASA Debuts Online Toolkit to Promote Commercial Use of Satellite Data

MARSDAILY
Sky's no limit: Japan firm to fly wedding plaques into space

NASA to Name Astronauts Assigned to First Boeing, SpaceX Flights

Boeing's quest to take astronauts to space station hits snag

NASA Marshall Awards 43 New Small Innovation and Technology Research Proposals

MARSDAILY
WSU researcher sees possibility of moon life

How Can You Tell If That ET Story Is Real

X-ray Data May Be First Evidence of a Star Devouring a Planet

Glowing bacteria on deep-sea fish shed light on evolution, 'third type' of symbiosis









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.