“Hi everyone,…. my dad is not stuck in space anymore!” said Daryn Wilmore on TikTok. She has good reason to be happy. Her dad, Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams, two US astronauts, spent 286 days on the International Space Station after technical issues extended their original week-long mission.
The astronauts say they weren’t technically “stuck” in the sense of being stranded. The Boeing Starliner spacecraft experienced system leaks and malfunctions, so NASA delayed its return to Earth. They then brought it back empty because it was too risky for the astronauts to return on the Starliner.
The two astronauts ultimately spent over nine months space. So much time in the weightlessness of space can take years to recover from and can have significant effects on the human body. The effects include muscle and bone loss, fluid shifts, and potential changes to the eyes and brain.
“Space is by far the most extreme environment that humans have ever encountered and we’ve just not evolved to handle the extreme conditions,” Prof. Damian Bailey, who studies human physiology, at the University of South Wales, says.
In space, there is no up, down, or sideways. The hardest thing about returning to Earth after so many months in space is adapting to gravity. The astronauts can expect to feel dizzy, and it could take days to regain balance and the strength to walk around normally.
The astronauts are now undergoing a 45-day recovery program. This includes medical testing, supervised workouts, and daily sessions with trainers to help them regain their strength and adjust to life on Earth.
To help her dad adjust, Daryn Wilmore made up an entire list of his favorite things and things they used to do together, which she plans on checking off before she heads back to college. Welcome home!
Sources:
Jeffrey Kluger for TIME Magazine
People.com
NBCnews.com
James Gallagher BBC News
