'I'd love it if my space trip were to be extended': Cosmonaut Korsakov to WION

There's a lot of wild descriptions claiming that American astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are "stuck, marooned, stranded" in space, as their 8-day stay gets extended to 8-months.

Speaking to WION, Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Vladimirovich Korsakov shared how he'd have loved to have his six-month space mission extended to one year.

While ordinary earthlings have intense and overhyped debates over the extended Boeing Starliner mission and the fate of its two astronauts, Cosmonaut Korsakov shared his unique insights on how astronauts are a special breed that love to remain in space for longer.

Korsakov, a Russian Cosmonaut, who spent longer than six months continuously on the International Space Station, spoke to WION on the sidelines of an event organised by Space Kidz India, an organisation for promoting enthusiasm for space exploration and nurturing young minds in the fields of science and technology.

Korsakov and Kazakh cosmonaut Aiden Aimbetkov were at the Young Scientist India, National Innovation Challenge 2024, organised by Space Kidz India, where they recounted their rigorous training, challenging missions and experience in space.

Speaking to WION, Korsakov said that he had to study and train for 10 years on various theoretical and practical subjects to be able to undertake his spaceflight mission on Russia's Soyuz MS-21, which launched in March 2022.

On his duties aboard the orbiting lab, he said it would involve completing multiple science and engineering tasks, amongother specific roles. In his case, he was tasked with operationalising the European Robotic Arm, the first robotic arm to be attached to the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

I spoke to #Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Vladimirovich Korsakov, who spent 6months+ aboard the @Space_Station

Mere mortals like us are worrying, debating about #Boeing #Starliner and return of #SunitaWilliams & #ButchWilmore.. In reality, astronauts love a prolonged stay in #space pic.twitter.com/gZgZoyIeJL — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) August 24, 2024

While Korsakov's mission lasted a little longer than six months, looking back, he wishes he could've stayed for a year. When asked about the delayed mission of Williams and Wilmore, he said that even the American duo had expressed happiness that they got to spend longer in space.

While staying aboard the orbiting lab comes with the perks of witnessing 16 sunrises and sunsets in a span of 24 hours, floating around in microgravity, enjoying the views of Earth, witnessing the Northern Lights and Southern Lights, etc., staying in space for long durations can have serious and adverse impacts on one's health and well-being.

"Prolonged space stay can weaken muscles, including heart muscles, reduce bone density, and have much more long-term effects. To stay fit and healthy, all of us aboard the ISS workout more than two hours every day,cardio and weight training," he added. He also stated that getting acclimatised to life on earth would be tougher and would take longer, as space staygets longer.

"It is my dream to go back to the Space Station. As a cosmonaut, I would like to explore- Moon, Mars, other planets,"he concludedin true cosmonaut spirit.