‘I Am Trying To Remember To Walk’: Sunita Williams And Butch Wilmore Preparing For Return; Doctors Reveal Health Complications
After spending nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore are finally preparing to return home.
After spending nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore are finally preparing to return home. However, their journey is far from over, as they face intense physical challenges after being stranded in space due to a thruster malfunction.
Nine Months Without Gravity: The Impact on the Human Body
When Williams and Wilmore land back on Earth on March 19 or 20, they won’t just step out of their spacecraft and head home. Instead, they will be taken directly to a medical facility for thorough evaluations. Experts warn that spending an extended period in space without gravity and being exposed to cosmic radiation can have long-term effects on their health.
Dr. Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist and Air Force veteran, estimates that it could take up to six weeks for the astronauts to fully regain their strength. One of the biggest challenges they will face is simply learning how to walk again.
“I’ve been up here long enough; right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk,” Williams said in a recent call with students at Needham High School in Massachusetts. “I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down.”
Space Radiation: A Silent but Dangerous Threat
Beyond muscle and bone loss, another major concern is radiation exposure. The cosmic radiation astronauts experience in space is far more intense than what people face on Earth. This type of radiation can penetrate deep into the body, damaging cells and increasing the risk of cancer.
Dr. Gupta emphasized the need for special cancer screenings for the astronauts due to their unique exposure.
“We want to take a different approach here, given that they had such a unique exposure history,” he warned.
Biomedical engineer Dr. John Jaquish added that the absence of gravity significantly impacts bodily functions.
“The human body needs the Earth’s gravitational pull, and in the absence of that, a lot of things are not functioning correctly.”
The Difficult Road to Recovery
Returning astronauts don’t just need to rebuild their muscles—they need to retrain their entire bodies to function under Earth’s gravity again. Their recovery will happen in three key phases:
- Phase One – Relearning how to walk and rebuilding muscle strength.
- Phase Two – Strengthening the entire body and reconditioning the cardiovascular system.
- Phase Three – Regaining full physical performance and normal body functions.
Only after completing this intense rehabilitation will Williams and Wilmore be able to resume their normal lives. However, the long-term effects of their extended stay in space remain uncertain.
NASA and SpaceX Investigate the Thruster Malfunction
As NASA and SpaceX continue their investigation into what caused the thruster failure on the Starliner capsule, one thing is clear: space travel is incredibly demanding, not just on technology but also on the human body. Williams and Wilmore may finally be coming home, but their toughest mission is still ahead of them—recovering from nine months in space.
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