One of NASA’s astronauts who is stranded on the International Space Station has released some fascinating insight about the physical side effects.
The tragic story of the stranded NASA astronauts continues, with Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore being stuck in space for over 230 days. The pair flew on the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner in June 2024, but due to technical issues with their craft, it was flown back unmanned and they were left stranded on the International Space Station.
While they’ve been in good company with other crew members aboard the ISS, Williams and Wilmore never envisioned being up in the stars for so long.
After spending 243 days in space, Williams admits she’s been suffering from some adverse effects. Donald Trump and Elon Musk have even been concocting a plan to get the stranded astronauts back, but it’s not as simple as sending an Uber up to get them.
Suni Williams has been stranded is space for over 240 days (MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO / Contributor / Getty)
Williams has been hitting headlines, with concerns for her health and ‘shocking’ weight loss.
In an honest interview, Williams says she’s now lost the ability to perform basic bodily functions. Speaking to students at Needham High School in Massachusetts, the astronaut said: “I’ve been up here long enough, right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk. I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down.”
As time ticks on, Williams and Wilmore’s conditions are set to worsen. It’s said that astronauts lose around 1% of bone density for every month in space unless they take precautions, with microgravity also leading to muscle deterioration.
The stranded astronauts were supposed to fly home on SpaceX’s Crew-9 spacecraft in February, but NASA pushed that timeline back in December 2024.
Of course, Williams and Wilmore’s extended stay in space isn’t going to break any record. Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko is no stranger to the stars and spent a total of 878 days in space over the years.
Although NASA regularly monitors the health of astronauts and makes sure they take part in regular medical examinations, neither Williams nor Wilmore expected to spend that long on the ISS. They’ve been there so long, that they even had to spend an unexpected Thanksgiving in space.
Donald Trump has asked Elon Musk for help in bringing the astronauts home (Truth Social / Donald Trump)
Despite Musk and Trump’s hopes, of bringing the astronauts back, there’s no rushing things. Posting on Truth Social the President wrote: “I have just asked Elon Musk and Space X to ‘go get’ the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration.
“They have been waiting for many months on Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!”
NASA has promised work is underway, with a post explaining: “After careful consideration, the team determined that launching Crew-10 in late March, following completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best option for meeting NASA’s requirements and achieving space station objectives for 2025.”
Stranded astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams have revealed that she’s trying to ‘remember how to walk’ after being in space for 237 days, as a rescue mission from Elon Musk appears to be imminent.
There is almost an endless stream of things that you have to do to prepare for life as an astronaut in space, from complex tests to intense ‘death simulations’ that ensure you’re prepared for any possibility, but it’s surprising how much adjustment you have to account for when returning back home to Earth.
Existing in space is wildly different to life at home, and one of the biggest reasons for that is the lack of gravity. Your living routines are essentially flipped on their head, as you can’t eat, drink, wash, or even sleep the same way as you would normally.
Of course, your body gets used to this over time, but that makes reintegration into ‘normal’ life even harder, and stranded astronaut Suni Williams has explained her own experiences of that.
Williams, alongside Butch Wilmore, has been trapped on the International Space Station (ISS) for over 237 days now after what was initially supposed to be just an eight day mission.
Williams and Wilmore have been stranded on the ISS for over half a year now (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The pair have had to spend holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving in space, and even resort to eating soup made out of their own urine, yet their biggest challenges might still be ahead of them.
“I’ve been up here long enough right now I’ve been trying to remember how to walk,” Williams told students at Needham High School, which she herself attended, as reported by People.
“I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down. You don’t have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here.”
While many have worried about the pair’s health after photos showing their gaunt physical appearance were released, NASA has quashed any concerns and assured everyone that they’re both alright despite the extended stay.
Williams also revealed, however, that the length of time that she’s spent in space was “a little bit of a shock.” She outlines: “We knew that it would be probably a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different.”
Suni Williams reveals that figuring out how to walk again will be one of the biggest challenges upon returning home (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
They might not have to wait too much longer though as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed on X that President Trump has ordered the aeronautics company to bring them back home immediately.
“We will do so,” Musk assured everyone, after Trump declared that SpaceX ‘go get’ the pair from the International Space Station.
It was already agreed during the Biden administration that the SpaceX Crew-10 mission would go and rescue Williams and Wilmore, but for an unclear reason this still hasn’t happened.
NASA has reiterated the plans to bring stranded astronauts back to Earth after US President Donald Trump explicitly asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to bring them home as soon as possible.
Sunita “Suni” Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stranded upon the International Space Station (ISS) since June 5, 2024, stretching what was supposed to be just an eight-day mission to over 239 days at the time of writing.
Many have previously expressed worries that the pair were dangerously unhealthy after pictures were released by NASA, but the space agency has thankfully quashed any fears by revealing that both are in fine health.
That doesn’t mean that the time spent on the ISS hasn’t been a slog though, as they’ve had to miss holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, resorting to meals like soup made from their own urine.
Wilmore and Williams have been stranded on the ISS since June 2024, and there’s still no concrete timeline for their rescue (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
They’ve been up there for so long too that Williams has revealed she’ll need to learn how to walk again, as her body has got too used to the zero gravity nature of space living.
Statements from both US President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have brought some hope to their situation though, as both have expressed their willingness to bring the astronauts back to Earth as soon as possible.
Musk declared that “we will do so,” when asked to bring them back, and Trump outlined that he requested SpaceX to ‘go get’ the pair, wishing them a safe journey back in the process.
NASA has now added to the process with a statement of their own, outlining on X: “NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions.”
This still doesn’t give any expected timelines for their return, and predictions outline that this will be no earlier than March 2025, and likely within the timeframe between March and August this year.
Whether Trump’s focus ensures that this is on the earlier end is yet to be seen, but it’s clear that this remains a top priority for both NASA and the current administration.
Both Trump and Musk have blamed the delay on the Biden administration, with the latter outlining that it’s “terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
The president then added that the pair had “been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden administration.” Plans were put in place for SpaceX to retrieve the astronauts in the second half of 2024, but it’s unclear why it still has not occurred.
