On March 18, 2025, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth after spending nine months stuck in space. After what was supposed to be a mere week aboard the International Space Station, the two found themselves locked into nearly a year-long stay among the stars.
Their original mission was to test the Boeing Starliner capsule way back in June 2024. Technical difficulties prompted NASA to send the capsule back empty out of fear that Williams and Wilmore might be put in danger on the return journey. They remained at the International Space Station until arrangements could be made to get them back to Earth.
Their homecoming was pushed to February, with SpaceX spearheading the rescue operation. However, issues with its own crew capsule caused the plan to be pushed back even further to March.
Aftermath: What are the Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Space?
Astronauts are prepared before any mission for the toll space might take on their bodies. However, being in such an environment for as long as Williams and Wilmore were will undoubtedly present some problems.
The first and foremost of these is gravity. We live out our entire lives being subject to gravity and its pull, but take that away and the human body can suffer in ways that are not so easily recovered from.
Alan Duffy, an astrophysicist from Swinburne University, said this on the matter, "Fluids build up in their heads, so they feel like they have a constant cold."
Because of the lack of gravity, the body can actually lose bone density, of which none of the damage can be reversed. It also causes atrophy of muscle tissue not just in the more superficial areas, such as the torso and legs, but internally such as the heart and lungs. Because the lack of gravity shrinks blood volume production, astronauts are liable to get blood clots if exposed for long enough to zero G.
Jack Fischer, a former astronaut who also stayed for an extended period of time aboard the International Space Station, had this to say in regards to the exposure zero-G can have on the body: "It's a bit provocative. You turn off and start ignoring your equilibrium and your vestibular while you're in orbit because it just doesn't work."
Many astronauts also experience feelings of extreme perspective when they return from orbit. Due to spending a longer period of time away from our natural environment, astronauts who have returned from space have been observed to suffer from feelings of anxiety or depression following their return. Many also develop a degree of existentialism as a result of coming back to Earth due to having seen it from an outsider's perspective.