Athira Kasthuri ('27)
What was originally meant to be a week-trip to the International Space Station (ISS) ended up becoming a 9-month stay for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore. Williams and Wilmore launched on Boeing’s Starliner capsule in June of last year, which encountered several problems. As the capsule approached the ISS, 5 thrusters on the service module malfunctioned; and before the Starliner had even launched, there was a helium leak. Not confident in its prospects, NASA ultimately decided to return the Boeing Starliner unmanned. Williams and Wilmore joined the 4-man Crew-9 mission after two of its original astronauts were cut to leave space for them on the return mission.
The issue with the Starliner came during an already trifling year at Boeing. In the first week of 2024 on Jan. 5, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737 Max, lost its rear door frightening the 171 passengers on board. While luckily no fatalities were reported, the issue of quality control was obvious to many. Plus, this incident happened after the fatal crashes of other Boeing 737 Max planes in 2018 and 2019.
As Williams and Wilmore were conducting 900 hours of research on the ISS with their extra time, making at least 4,500 orbits around Earth, their extended stay became a political issue as well. President Trump and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk both accused Former President Biden of not doing enough to save the astronauts.
The long-awaited return of these two astronauts does not come without potential impacts on their long-term health, according to NASA. Spending so much time in a spacecraft leads to losing muscle mass and bone density due to effects from microgravity. This also includes the moving upward of internal bodily fluids like blood and cerebrospinal fluid towards the head and eyes potentially causing structural changes to the eye and brain. Even if many of these changes can be reversed once Williams and Wilmore spend enough time back on Earth, the astronauts could encounter increased likelihood of cancer from increased exposure to space radiation. Not to mention, isolation in space has its effects on sleep, stress, and fatigue.
Still, Williams and Wilmore seem to be in good health after returning. Any claims about Williams’s weight loss following images circulating the Internet of her after a couple months on the ISS have been confirmed false by Williams herself in an interview with the New England Sports Network Clubhouse Kids Show. She attributed the change in appearance to fluid shifts from microgravity; she has actually gained muscle from exercise in space. Both astronauts have reported minor psychological effects from isolation.
Thankfully, the ‘stranded-in-space’ situation did not end in disaster. Both astronauts splashed down safely off the coast of Florida with the other members of Crew-9, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, around 6 p.m. ET on March 18.