15 March 2025, 14:07
NASA astronauts Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP)
NASA astronauts Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP). Picture: Alamy
By Alice Padgett
A rocket has finally launched in a bid to bring two 'stranded' NASA astronauts back to earth after nine months in space - but how has the mission affected their health?
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Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams embarked on what was scheduled to be an eight day mission, however technical problems saw their stay extended to nine months.
Spending extended time with no gravity, no sunlight and high levels of radiation can cause hazardous side effects.
This comes as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted off from Florida on Friday following a string of delays, with the two astronauts set to finally return to earth from the International Space Station (ISS).
This image taken from video posted by NASA shows, from left, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague and Suni Williams speaking during a news conference, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (NASA via AP)
This image taken from video posted by NASA shows, from left, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague and Suni Williams speaking during a news conference, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (NASA via AP). Picture: Alamy
Astronauts Williams and Wilmore have been exposed to high-energy radiation in space.
On Earth, the atmosphere and our planet's magnetic field shield us from the sun's radiation, but in space exposure is much more severe.
This can lead to increased cancer risk, DNA damage, cardiovascular issues, immune system issues, and neurodegenerative effects.
Luckily, the ISS is still in the Earth's magnetosphere, the space around the planet that still has a magnetic field, providing some protection from radiation.
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ISS - 19 February 2025 - NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 members pose together for a portrait inside the vestibule between the International Space Station and th
ISS - 19 February 2025 - NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 members pose together for a portrait inside the vestibule between the International Space Station and th. Picture: Alamy
Microgravity, or very weak gravity, effects human bodies as the force helps to regulate bodily functions.
Astronauts are known to lose bone density - meaning your bones get more brittle and weaker.
For every month spent in space, astronauts' bones become 1% less dense if precautions aren't taken, says NASA.
Microgravity can cause muscle atrophy, the wasting or thinning of muscles too.
Boldly fluids can also shift upward in these conditions, causing facial swelling and intracranial pressure affecting vision.
This pressure leads to headaches too.
A study published last year found the 22 out of 24 astronauts who were in space for more than 26 weeks experienced frequent headaches.
Living in cramped conditions with limited social interaction can cause psychological side effects.
Astronauts can experience stress, sleep and mood disorders, sleep disturbance and even cognitive performance declines, Afshin Beheshti, director of the Centre for Space Biomedicine at the University of Pittsburgh told Sky News.
Studies suggest that the longer astronauts spend in space, the longer it takes them to recover when returning to earth.
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio told Time Magazine: "The first two or three months after your return is really focused on [recovery], just kind of reincorporating yourself into Earth, your family, and then also rehabilitating your body.
"You adapt incredibly quickly to being in space, but then unfortunately, the readaptation process back to earth can sometimes be a little bit longer and more difficult.
"And that's just, I think, because the forces of gravity and the forces at play here on Earth tend to have a stronger effect on your body."
A Falcon 9 with Dragon Spacecraft that will carry NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 Mission is raised into position prior to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
A Falcon 9 with Dragon Spacecraft that will carry NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 Mission is raised into position prior to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Picture: Alamy
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are set to be replaced by a team of four astronauts carried to space on the SpaceX rocket, with the team set to arrive late on Saturday evening.
The Crew-10 mission was initially scheduled to launch from Florida on Wednesday, however, ground issues - notably that the brand new capsule needed extensive battery repairs - forced a delay.
Besides reuniting with them, Mr Wilmore, a church elder, is looking forward to getting back to face-to-face ministering and Ms Williams cannot wait to walk her two Labrador retrievers.
"We appreciate all the love and support from everybody," Ms Williams said in an interview earlier this week.
"This mission has brought a little attention.
"There's goods and bads to that. But I think the good part is more and more people have been interested in what we're doing."
ISS - 30 January 2025 - NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams is attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm's latching end effector whil
ISS - 30 January 2025 - NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams is attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm's latching end effector whil. Picture: Alamy
It comes days after a SpaceX rocket was seen to explode mid-air, sending burning schrapnel across the sky, with onlookers across the world - and in the air, capturing the burning debris on camera.
Nasa said it wants an overlap between the two crews so Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams can fill in the newcomers on happenings aboard the orbiting lab.
That would put them on course for an undocking next week and a splashdown off the Florida coast, weather permitting.
The duo will be escorted back by astronauts who flew up on a rescue mission on SpaceX last September alongside two empty seats reserved for Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams on the return leg.
Reaching orbit from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre, the newest crew includes Nasa's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, both military pilots, and Japan's Takuya Onishi and Russia's, Kirill Peskov - both former airline pilots.
They will spend the next six months at the space station, considered the normal stint.
"Spaceflight is tough but humans are tougher," Ms McClain said minutes into the flight.
As test pilots for Boeing's new Starliner capsule, Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams expected to be gone just a week or so when they launched from Cape Canaveral on June 5.
A series of helium leaks and thruster failures marred their trip to the space station, setting off months of investigation by Nasa and Boeing on how best to proceed.
Eventually ruling it unsafe, Nasa ordered Starliner to fly back empty last September and moved the astronauts to a SpaceX flight due back in February.
To save a few weeks, SpaceX switched to a used capsule, moving up Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams' homecoming to mid-March.