By MARCY OSTER/JTA
2-3 minutes
“I think that I will actually feel more isolated on the Earth
than I did up here because that’s just part of our expected routine up
here,” Jewish astronaut Jessica Meir said.
NASA astronaut Stephen K. Robinson is anchored to a foot restraint on the International Space Station.
(photo credit: NASA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
Jewish astronaut Jessica Meir told reporters ahead of her
return to Earth that watching the coronavirus crisis unfold from space
has been “quite surreal” — and that she is looking forward to getting
home, even if the pandemic has changed it.
Meir and fellow astronaut Andrew Morgan
spoke to reporters from space on Friday, a week ahead of their scheduled return after nearly seven months on the International Space Station.
“It
will be very difficult to not be able to give hugs to my family and
friends,” Meir said. She added: “I think for me it’ll still be nice to
go back and to see some familiar places and some familiar faces.”
“I
think that I will actually feel more isolated on the Earth than I did
up here because that’s just part of our expected routine up here,” Meir
also said. “We’re so busy with so many other amazing pursuits and we
have this incredible vantage point of the Earth below, that we don’t
really feel as much of that isolation.”
Last week, Meir
offered advice about how to stay mentally healthy while living in isolation. And in March, she
tweeted
a photo of Tel Aviv that she took from space, in which the usually
bustling Israeli city is seen looking desolate amid the spread of the
coronavirus.
The astronaut also
posted a photo of Israel in November as a tribute to her father. She also
tweeted a Hanukkah greeting that included a photo of her holiday-themed socks with Earth seen through the window in the background.
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