A recent study has found that the heart of astronaut Scott Kelly shrank in size by almost a third in the months he spent on the International Space Station.
Kelly went on an astonishing 340-day-long mission back in March 2015 during which he did intense exercise sessions six days a week to keep himself fit.
After his return in March 2016, experts studied the impact the mission had on the man’s heart, with their findings made public in the journal Circulation just a couple of days ago.
The human body naturally goes through some transformations due to the gravity in space, such as shrivelled legs, a swollen head as well as the weakening of bones.
In the study, experts found that Kelly’s time in space had caused the biggest chamber of his heart to shrink from 6.7 ounces to 4.9 ounces, a decline of approximately 27%.
Kelly has said that he worked really hard to keep himself fit in space and that he lifted more weight than he did back home, but his workouts did not stop the heart shrinkage.
Low gravity was the main cause for his heart not to be able to pump as hard as it should.
Space Travel Truth 