AN astronaut now knows what it's like to be a goldfish in a fishbowl
Two days after his helmet flooded during a spacewalk, astronaut Luca Parmitano relived the experience Thursday, describing how water kept trickling into his helmet until big globs covered his eyes, then his nose. It was hard to see, he said, and he could not hear.
"For a couple of minutes there, maybe more than a couple of minutes, I experienced what it's like to be a goldfish in a fishbowl — from the point of view of the goldfish," Parmitano said in a TV interview from the International Space Station.
Parmitano said he used his memory to make his way back into the space station. His spacewalking partner, Christopher Cassidy, was a big help.
The 36-year-old Italian Air Force officer said he was "miserable but OK" as Tuesday's spacewalk came to an abrupt end.
"Imagine walking around with your eyes closed in a fishbowl. Really, that's what was going on ... It's just a very uncomfortable feeling to be with your face underwater for all that time," he said.
Parmitano, a former test pilot, said he was lucky to get back inside so quickly. He figures there was 3 pounds of water floating inside his helmet when his crewmates yanked it off; that's nearly a half-gallon.
NASA managers have said Parmitano could have choked or drowned, and praised his calmness during the ordeal.
Parmitano's colleagues grabbed towels to mop his bald head once the 1½-hour spacewalk ended. Some water bubbles escaped and floated away.
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