Paolo on TV: Russians thought Italians were smaller than me
From the International Space Station to Italy’s TV screens: ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli joked on RAI2’s I fatti vostri programme, broadcast on 6 January, “I got myself into this,” referring to his six-month mission.
Paolo explained that, despite his fears, there is plenty of work to do on the Station. After waking up at 6 am, around 12 hours of full activities await the astronaut every day. So much so, that he regretted not finding time to take pictures of the solar eclipse on 4 January.
On the images that Paolo is sending through his Twitter account, @astro_paolo, the astronaut declared to his Italian audience that his home country is “one of the most recognisable nations from space.”
The host also joked with him about his height, explaining how the Soyuz capsule had to be adapted to his considerable stature.
As a good Italian programme, questions on food could not be avoided. “Up here we do not usually get fat,” Paolo responded, “also because we have more than two hours daily of physical exercises.” What about spacewalks? “During this mission they are not scheduled,” said Paolo, “unless some emergency situations arise. We all, of course, hope nothing like that happens, but I would not mind taking a walk out there.”
To see the whole programme, follow this link (in Italian): http://wsn.spaceflight.esa.int/index.php?pg=mm&id=277&ad=1
