Yoga can be a part of astronauts’ rehabilitation program after space mission, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko has said. Kornienko was in India as part of the six-day ‘Rosatom Festival of Science & Culture’ organized recently by Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation of Russia in early November.
The cosmonaut, who along with NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, spent a staggering 342 days in space on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015, spoke on his experiences in a motivational lecture. Selected for Cosmonaut training in 1998, Kornienko has spent a total of a little more than 516 days in space and also carried out two space walks lasting over 12 hours total in his extra-terrestrial career.
“All cosmonauts share their achievements with partners, add something of their own to the space exploration. India is not an exception and Indian cosmonauts can add something,” he said. “Yoga, for example, can be very useful. For example, some yoga elements can help maintaining strength and flexibility of the bones and muscles. Cosmonauts’ bones and muscles can severely decay in space and this is a major problem for us after landing,” he added.
Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation of Russia, which boasts of the largest portfolio of nuclear power plant construction projects in the world, is implementing the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu jointly with Nuclear Power Corp of India Limited (NPCIL).
