Cliff Notes
- Experienced astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore were stranded on the ISS for nine months due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner, which rendered it unsafe for their return.
- They are now returning home aboard a SpaceX spacecraft after delaying their exit to assist with additional missions and science experiments on the ISS.
- Prolonged exposure to microgravity can lead to health risks including muscle atrophy, bone density loss, and potential psychological effects due to isolation.
Stranded NASA astronauts are finally heading home – but what can being in space for so long do to your health?
Experienced astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024 thinking it was a routine eight-day stay.
Little did they know they would end up stranded in space for nine months, as the aircraft that brought them there – Boeing’s new Starliner – suffered several technical issues that made it too risky to make the return flight.
Today, they have finally started the journey home, hitching a ride on a SpaceX aircraft that will land in Florida.
But why have they been away for so long and what are the effects of such a lengthy stay in space?
Finally, stranded NASA astronauts are finally heading home following an eight-day mission turned into a nine-month space stint for two NASA astronauts who are now finally on their way home. But why were they away for so long – and what are the effects of such a lengthy stay in space?