CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — So, like, NASA’s oldest full-time astronaut, Don Pettit, was all like, “Weightlessness, man, it’s like a fountain of youth!” He was all pumped up during a press conference on Monday after returning from space where he spent seven months chilling at the International Space Station.
Pettit, who turned the big 7-0 on April 20, took a wild ride back to Earth in a Russian Soyuz capsule. And let me tell you, when that thing hit the ground in Kazakhstan, Pettit was like, “Whoa, gravity, not cool, man!” He ended up hurling all over the place, which was not a pretty sight.
Back at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Pettit was like, “Dude, coming back to Earth is rough stuff. I looked like a mess because I felt like a mess.” His body was all like, “Hey, welcome back to reality, here are all your creaks and groans back.”
But up in space, Pettit was feeling like a new man. He said, “I felt like I was 30 again, bro! All those little aches and pains just disappeared, like poof, gone!” He’s been an astronaut since 1996 and has been to space four times, so he knows what he’s talking about.
Pettit isn’t just any old astronaut, man. He’s NASA’s oldest one. And he’s not slowing down either. He was up there at the space station taking some sick photos of stuff like auroras, comets, and satellites. Plus, he was doing all these cool physics experiments in his free time. Like blowing bubbles and making perfect balls of honey on spoons with peanut butter. Sounds like a blast, right?
John Glenn, another astronaut dude, went back to space when he was 77, but he had been out of the game for a while. And even a couple of 90-year-olds have taken quick trips to space, but nothing like Pettit’s seven-month adventure.
Pettit is feeling good about the future, though. He said, “I’ve still got some rocket fuel left in me. I could totally see myself going up a few more times before I retire.” So, watch out, outer space, Don Pettit isn’t done with you yet!
