Extended stays in space result in a wide variety of health-related changes
Space is an incredibly different environment for the human body compared to Earth, and that’s why two ‘stranded’ astronauts might find their skin to be ‘baby-like’ upon their return to Earth, alongside countless other changes to their health.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore initially went to the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024 for a short eight day trip, but issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft and delays for their return flight have left them ‘stranded’ in space for over nine months now.
Typically astronauts aren’t supposed to stay for longer than six months in space, but technical issues with the SpaceX Crew-10 Dragon expedition scheduled to replace them on board the ISS have left Williams and Wilmore stuck for 282 days and counting.
Williams and Wilmore have spent over 9 months on the ISS, but their return should hopefully be imminent (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
SpaceX was supposed to launch their return flight on Wednesday, but issues persisted causing this to be pushed back once again.
However, while their return back home will be a major relief for both astronauts, it won’t provide the immediate return to normal daily life that you might expect.
The pair will be stretchered to a medical facility as soon as they successfully land, similar to the four Crew-8 astronauts that landed last November, where they will undergo intense physical rehabilitation over the course of around six weeks.
This is due to the countless changes to their body and overall health that come as a consequence of extended stays in space, of which include ‘baby-like’ skin, as reported by The Guardian.
Due to the low gravity nature of existing in space, astronauts clothes typically hover or float slightly above the skin, giving it a heightened level of sensitivity that you only really experience when you’re a baby.
This, in turn, will make clothes back on Earth feel like they’re sandpaper, as your body isn’t used to the contact and roughness of having something constantly resting on your skin.
That’s unfortunately far from the only health worry that Williams and Wilmore will experience upon their return to Earth, as changes in gravity also cause significant and often irreparable bone density loss, alongside considerable muscle loss which can affect your ability to walk and even your heart.
Lack of gravity in space significantly weakens your muscles, as they don’t have to work as hard (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
As gravity isn’t weighing down your muscles your body doesn’t have to work anywhere near as hard, and while this might sound nice in the short term, it weakens your body and becomes a major problem when returning back home.
Scientists have compared extended stays in space to being bedridden or comatose in hospital, and you require major physical rehabilitation in order to return to normal bodily functions, despite the fact that both conducted rigorous daily exercise while on board the ISS.
They also have to worry about the dangers of cancer due to radiation exposure while in space, and one doctor has called for more proactive screenings in these medical facilities in order to avoid dangers that we might not yet expect or understand.
Featured Image Credit: Joe Raedle / Staff / Getty
Brutal rehab NASA’s ‘stranded’ astronauts will face upon return to Earth after 9 months in space
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were only supposed to be on the ISS for eight days
The elongated saga of Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore could soon be coming to an end, as NASA is finally due to rescue the pair of astronauts. Williams and Wilmore have become the face of space after they were marooned on the International Space Station last year. Although Williams has reiterated they aren’t stranded, their eight-day mission aboard the ISS was massively extended due to a fault with their Boeing Starliner capsule, which forced it to fly back without them.
As the days tick by, Williams and Wilmore have currently been aboard the ISS for 272 days…and counting.
Williams and Wilmore are finally set to be rescued in March 2025 (NASA)
Things are finally wrapping up following calls from President Donald Trump for Elon Musk to go and get them, Musk claiming they were abandoned by the Biden administration, and the world’s richest man calling one famed astronaut an ‘idiot’.
SpaceX‘s long-awaited Crew-10 launch is scheduled for March 12, with the dynamic duo finally set to get their feet back on terra firma. After this, there are expected to be some major adjustments to life back on Earth.
Williams has explained the brutal daily regime they’re undertaking in space, involving two hours of exercise to stop help try and combat damage to their bones and muscle.
We already knew there would be a physical toll trying to return to ‘normal’ life, but speaking to DailyMail.com, doctors have explained a little more about what Williams and Wilmore might have to deal with.
As soon as Williams and Wilmore emerge from their capsule, they’re expected to be put on stretchers and rushed away for medical examination.
Dr Vinay Gupta is a pulmonologist and Air Force veteran who claims it could take up to six weeks of brutal regimens to regain their strength.
This will start as soon as they’re back on Earth and initially focus on walking, as well as flexibility and muscle strengthening. The second phase of the 45-day regime involves proprioceptive exercises and cardio reconditioning. The third and final phase is the longest, focusing on returning them to peak physical performance via ‘functional development training’.
Given that Williams and Wilmore have been exposed to the equivalent of one year’s of Earth radiation during a single week in space, Gupta added: “‘If I was their physician, I would think about a more proactive strategy for cancer screening…We want to take a different approach here, given that they had such a unique exposure history.”
With research suggesting that an astronaut aged between 30 and 50 can lose about half their strength following a six-month period in space, biomedical engineer Dr. John Jaquish goes on to explain the effects of low gravity on bone and muscle loss: “The human body needs the Earth’s gravitational pull, and in an absence of that, a lot of things are not functioning correctly.”
Despite their exercise regime, Gupta added: “The reality is, they’re effectively getting a fraction of the sort of exercise that we all take for granted just by walking in [Earth’s] gravity.
“Invariably, despite them doing all the right things (which I know they are), you’re going to see a decrease in muscle mass and strength — no question.”
Although most astronauts can get back to their pre-mission fitness after just 45 days, it can sometimes take months or even years to return to where they were.
Featured Image Credit: NASA
Doctor makes shock admission about what could happen to ‘stranded’ astronauts’ bodies after over 9 months in space
Spending so much time in space is dangerous for your body
It’s nearly time for stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to finally return from the International Space Station back to Earth, but one doctor has revealed a shocking admission regarding what happens to their bodies after spending 9 months in space.
The eyes of the world have been fixed on Williams and Wilmore’s strange and arduous trip to the International Space Station (ISS), as what was supposed to just be a simple eight day mission back in June 2024 has continued for over nine months now.
Issues with both their Boeing Starliner and the SpaceX Crew-10 Dragon spacecraft that would allow them to return home have left them ‘stranded’ upon the ISS, and only next week will they finally return back home to their families – something that has been extremely challenging for Williams.
Williams and Wilmore have been ‘stranded’ upon the ISS since June last year (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
While there has been significant debate surrounding the reason for the delay, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk placing the blame on the former Biden administration for the hold up after US President Donald Trump asked him to ‘go get’ the pair, but the most important thing for now is that their long wait is nearly over.
It’s not all sunshine and roses though, as their return could indicate some major health problems that come as a part of spending such a long time in space.
During their stay on the International Space Station many began to grow concerned about their appearance – Thankfully NASA clarified that everything is fine and there’s nothing to worry about, but there remains a major issue that they’ll both have to power through almost immediately after landing.
Much like the Crew-8 astronauts that returned last October, Williams and Wilmore will have to be immediately admitted to a medical facility on stretchers, in which they will undertake a six-week rehabilitation program in order to regain their strength.
Suni Williams has previously commented on the challenges that she’ll have to face in relearning how to walk, and they’ve both had to undertake rigorous exercises while on board the ISS in order to avoid a dangerous health condition.
Both astronauts will be immediately taken to a medical rehabilitation facility after they land back on Earth (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
In an interview with the Daily Mail, pulmonologist and Air Force veteran Dr. Vinay Gupta has revealed why spending time in space can be dangerous for the health of astronauts:
“The human body needs the Earth’s gravitational pull, and in absence of that, a lot of things are not functioning correctly,” explains Dr. Gupta. “The reality is, they’re effectively getting a fraction of the sort of exercise that we all take for granted just by walking in [Earth’s] gravity. Invariably, despite them doing all the right things {which I know they are) you’re going to see a decrease in muscle mass and strength – no question.”
On top of this, Dr. Gupta has expressed his concerns around the radiation that Williams and Wilmore will have been exposed to, prompting physicians to conduct “:a more proactive strategy for cancer screening,” just to be extra careful.
Featured Image Credit: NASA
How to see the International Space Station from Earth as ‘stranded’ NASA astronauts are finally set to return
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been in space since June 2024
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally due to land back on Earth, and some 280 days after they stepped onto the International Space Station, they’re due to be rescued NASA’s Crew-10 relief team.
While the original mission was only due to take eight days, issues with their craft meant it was flown back unmanned and the pair were forced to wait for a new crew to fly up to replace them on the ISS.
There were plans to put the Crew-10 team on a new Dragon spacecraft, but due to mounting pressure and complaints that Williams and Wilmore had been ‘forgotten’ by the Biden administration, NASA eventually settled on reusing an existing Dragon.
Wilmore and Williams have been on the ISS since June 2024 (Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers / Contributor / Getty)
Although Williams has insisted the astronauts aren’t stranded, we’re sure they’ll be glad to get home after missing birthdays, Thanksgiving, and New Year celebrations.
The dynamic duo will immediately be rushed off on a stretcher for a ‘brutal’ rehab regime, but more than catching a glimpse of them landing, you’ll soon by able to spot the ISS.
Looking at NASA’s Spot the Station site, the ISS will be visible from the Kennedy Space Center for four minutes on Thursday, March 13.
Those who want to look to the skies will be able to see the ISS at 8:36 PM (local time), appearing at 10° above WNW and disappearing at 10° above N.
There are plenty of other positions you’ll be able to see the ISS. Those at the Statue of Liberty will be able to snatch a seven-minute glimpse on Friday, March 14 at 7:50 PM.
President Donald Trump can get a six-minute look on March 12 at 7:49 PM, or five minutes on March 13 at 8:38 PM.
With Musk being awarded a lucrative contract to destroy the ISS, you might want to get a look while you still can. Even though the SpaceX boss has said he wants to deorbit the space station in the next two years, Williams herself has suggested it would be wrong to do it before 2030, saying the ISS is currently in its prime.
The ISS has happily been sat up there since 1998, and despite being some 250 miles above us, the fact it circles the Earth 15.5 times a day means it’s often not too hard to catch a glimpse of.
NASA says that although the ISS looks a bit like an airplane moving across the sky, the fact it flies at 28,000 kilometers per hour means it’ll appear much quicker. Thankfully, the fact its roughly the size of a football field means the ISS isn’t too hard to spot with the naked eye – as long as the horizon isn’t cluttered and the skies are clear.
The Spot the Station site can pinpoint locations around the globe, meaning it’s not just those in the USA who’ll be able to take a look at the ISS in all its glory.
With Williams and Wilmore due to land on March 16, their nine-month extended stay in space is nearly at an end.
Featured Image Credit: SCIEPRO / Getty
Shocking amount of money stranded astronauts are likely to be paid after 8-day mission turned into over 9 months
Their time in space is treated like a regular work trip
The days are getting closer until SpaceX and NASA can finally bring the two stranded astronauts home safely.
In the meantime, you’ve got to wonder – are they at least getting a nice paycheck for being stuck in space all that time?
NASA astronauts Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams have been on board the International Space Station (ISS) since last June on what was supposed to be a week-long mission.
However, their Boeing Starliner spacecraft suffered technical difficulties, leaving them stranded in space.
The wait slowly turned into nine months and counting.
Just yesterday (12 March), the rescue mission was ready to go – SpaceX was set to launch Crew-10 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Florida. But, less than an hour before liftoff, the mission was aborted, with Musk’s space company reporting a hydraulic system issue in the launch tower.
The rescue mission has been rescheduled for 14 March. GREGG NEWTON / Contributor / Getty
This is yet another delay to the pair’s rescue, following Crew-10, a joint Nasa-SpaceX mission that was scheduled on 12 February but postponed due to a problem with one of the rocket’s clamp arms.
Crew-10 has been rescheduled for launch on 14 March. At least after all that, they can look forward to a hefty paycheque, right?
Well, according to retired NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, astronauts don’t really get any special overtime beyond their standard salary.
Given that they are federal employees, their time in space is treated just like a regular work trip on Earth – which is underwhelming, to say the least.
“There is some small amount of money every say for incidentals that they end up being legally obligated to pay you,” Coleman informed, but this is likely to be around just $4 per day, totalling $1,004 each for their time so far.
Furthermore, the space agency insists that the astronauts are not exactly ‘stranded’.
Wilmore and Williams have been stranded for over nine months. NASA / Handout / Getty
Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said in an interview with Washingtonian that ‘the party line at NASA is that the astronauts are not stranded,’ and the situation has been ‘way overblown.’
“They’re fine,” McDowell explained. “They just got to do an extra spacewalk, which they love. They’ll come home on the next ride.”
This doesn’t really consider the possible health concerns that the pair may be enduring.
Photos have shown the astronauts looking visibly thinner, and reports indicate they have to exercise for hours every day to prevent serious health issues caused by chronic weightlessness.
Still, Williams has remained positive, reflecting on the unexpected extension of their mission.
“Of course, you know, we came up here thinking we’d be only here for a little while and do our test flight, but then the added time here has allowed us to do all the science experiments,” she said.
“We’ve gone through a lot of holidays together. We’ve learned how to make cakes up here for each other. So it’s been a lot of fun actually.”