NASA astronauts won’t say which of them got sick after nearly eight months in space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Three NASA astronauts whose long mission on the space station ended with a trip to the hospital last month, declined Friday to say which of them was sick.

Astronauts Matthew Dominic, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps publicly discussed their spaceflight for the first time since returning from the International Space Station on October 25. They spent almost eight months in orbitlonger than expected due to all the problems with Boeing Starliner crew capsule and inclement weather, including Hurricane Milton.

Shortly after their SpaceX capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, all three were taken to a hospital in nearby Pensacola, along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, who launched with them back in March.

One of the Americans spent the night there due to an undisclosed “health problem.” NASA declined to say who was hospitalized or why, citing medical confidentiality.

When asked at a Friday news conference which of them were sick, the astronauts declined to comment. Barratt, a doctor who specializes in space medicine, refused to even describe the symptoms the unidentified astronaut had.

“Space flight is something we still don’t fully understand. Sometimes we find something we don’t expect. This was one of those cases and we are still piecing this information together,” said Barratt, the only crew member who had flown in space before.

Epps said everyone reacts differently to space and gravity.

“That’s the part you can’t predict,” she said, adding, “Every day is better than the last.”

Dominic said little things like sitting comfortably in a hard chair took a few days to get used to after returning. He said he didn’t use the treadmill at all during his time in space as part of an experiment to see what equipment could be used on a long trip to Mars. He walked for the first time when he came out of the capsule.

Two astronauts who served as Boeing Starliner test pilots—Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams—will remain on the space station until February and then fly back with SpaceX. Starliner returned empty in September.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Education Media Group. AP is solely responsible for all content.