{"id":24440,"date":"2025-03-19T23:20:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T23:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=24440"},"modified":"2025-03-19T23:20:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T23:20:06","slug":"shocking-before-and-after-photos-of-stranded-nasa-astronauts-show-just-how-much-9-months-in-space-affected-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=24440","title":{"rendered":"Shocking before and after photos of \u2018stranded\u2019 NASA astronauts show just how much 9 months in space affected them"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally arrived home yesterday after more than nine months in space.<\/p>\n

When they touched down in\u00a0Florida<\/a>, neither was able to physically step off the SpaceX Dragon capsule, and were instead carried out and\u00a0placed on stretchers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But this wasn\u2019t due to any\u00a0injury or illness<\/a>; the move is merely protocol for any returning\u00a0astronauts<\/a>, who sometimes experience \u2018space motion sickness\u2019 as they return.<\/p>\n

Their\u00a0bodies also take time to reacclimatise<\/a>\u00a0to life on Earth, as prolonged periods in space can lead to gradual muscle and bone loss.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Sunita\"Sunita<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore at a press briefing in March 2024 after being announced as the crew for the mission (Kirk Sides\/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/div>\n

Thankfully, Williams and Wilmore are said to be doing well, although the pair may still have been subject to various physical changes common with space travel.<\/p>\n

But it sounds like a challenge Williams was willing to accept on behalf of her own body,\u00a0saying<\/a>\u00a0in an interview with Fortune before her mission began: \u201cIt\u2019s just what the human body does – it explores, among other things. We all have curiosity; we\u2019re born with it. Maybe some of that gets pushed down a little bit by society and things going on around us, but we\u2019re all curious and we want to explore. As a nation, this is one of those things that gives people hope and understanding about things that are bigger than themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Williams'\"Williams'<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Williams’ said “It\u2019s just what the human body does – it explores, among other things.” (Kirk Sides\/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Williams\"Williams<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Williams and Wilmore during a ‘dress rehearsal’ in April (Instagram\/@nasaastronauts)<\/cite><\/div>\n

\n

The pair set off in June 2024, and were originally scheduled to be in space for just over a week.<\/p>\n

However, after their aircraft, the Boeing Starliner, experienced\u00a0technical problems<\/a>, they were forced to stay put for an extra 278 days than planned.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a press conference in September last year after several months in space, Williams admitted she was missing her two dogs and friends.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cBut you know what? Like Butch said, there are so many people on Earth that are sending us messages.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it makes you feel just right at home with everybody when we\u2019re able to have those conversations with our friends and family at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilmore said they had experienced some ‘tough times’, but added: “We were very fortunate that we have the Space Station and that we had the option to stay and we had the option to come back a different way.”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Wilmore\"Wilmore<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wilmore smiles for a portrait in the middle of orbital maintenance duties in August 2024 (Instagram\/@iss)<\/cite><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Williams,\"Williams,<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Williams, also pictured in August 2024 (Instagram\/@iss)<\/cite><\/div>\n

Back on Earth, people\u00a0began to grow concerned<\/a>\u00a0over Williams’ health after seeing photos of her on the ISS.<\/p>\n

Pulmonologist Dr Vinay Gupta\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the Daily Mail at the time: \u201cI think what I can discern by her face and her cheeks being sunken in is that [she] has probably been at a significant [calorie] deficit for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on what I’m at least seeing in the photo, I don’t think she’s quite at a… place where I say her life’s in danger.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I don’t think you can look at that photo and say she has sort of healthy body weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Some\"Some<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Some people were left concerned after seeing photos of Williams (NASA Johnson)<\/cite><\/div>\n

But the astronaut later spoke out to put everyone’s minds at ease, telling the New England Sports Network Clubhouse in November: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of changes that go on up here.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s funny, I think there\u2019s some rumours around out there that I\u2019m losing weight and stuff. I\u2019m actually right at the same amount.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams also explained that she’d actually built muscle during the trip, adding: \u201cI think things shift around quite a bit. You\u2019ve probably heard of a fluid shift, where folks in space, their heads look a little bigger because the fluid evens out along the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Butch and I have been up here for a number of months, we\u2019ve been on the workout gear. We\u2019ve got a bike, we got a treadmill and we got weightlifting equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I could definitely tell that weightlifting – which is not something I do all the time – has definitely changed me. My thighs are a little bigger, my butt is a little bigger, we do a lot of squats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Williams\"Williams<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Williams and Winmore with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and NASA astronaut Nick Hague last month (Instagram\/@iss)<\/cite><\/div>\n

Finally, the time came for the crew to return home – a journey that took 17 hours in total.<\/p>\n

They were all-smiles as they were stretchered away from the capsule, with Williams giving a hearty thumbs up to cameras.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"(NASA\/Keegan\"(NASA\/Keegan<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

(NASA\/Keegan Barber\/Handout\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"(NASA\/Keegan\"(NASA\/Keegan<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

(NASA\/Keegan Barber\/Handout\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"(NASA\/Keegan\"(NASA\/Keegan<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

(NASA\/Keegan Barber\/Handout\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/div>\n

The pair were then due to be checked over by medical teams before being reunited with their loved ones, but Steve Stich, manager at NASA’s Commercial Crew Program said at a news conference that they were doing ‘great’.<\/p>\n

Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator at NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, also said: “It is awesome to have crew 9 home, just a beautiful landing.”<\/p>\n

Thanking the crew for their resilience and flexibility, he added that SpaceX had been a ‘great partner’ for the mission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally arrived home yesterday after more than nine months in space. When they touched down in\u00a0Florida, neither was able to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24440"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24443,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24440\/revisions\/24443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}