New Delhi:
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams’ return from the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed once again. Ms Williams, 59, will now touch down on Earth after March next year. NASA insists that the crew is healthy and safe aboard the ISS.
The US space agency announced that the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, tasked with bringing her back, will launch no earlier than late March. Ms Williams reached the ISS in June. However, her return was delayed to February next year due to safety issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft she piloted to space.
Extended stays in a near-zero-gravity environment have many consequences on the human body, which is designed to function under Earth’s gravity. The human body tends to lose bone density, making bones brittle in space. Since the muscles are not used for any weight-bearing – as the body becomes almost weightless in space – they lose mass. Other organs, such as the heart, liver, and eyes also experience changes. Most of these changes are reversed once astronauts return to Earth and retrain under Earth’s gravity.
Ms Williams is a veteran of spaceflights, and this current mission is her third flight into space. Cumulatively, she has already spent over 517 days in space during her missions. At one point, she held the record for the most time spent on spacewalks, clocking over 51 hours of extra-vehicular activity (EVA).
Ms Williams flew to the ISS aboard the Boeing Starliner in June for what was initially planned as a 7-to-10-day mission. However, due to safety glitches with the Boeing Starliner, her stay was extended until February 2025. Now, NASA has announced that it is adjusting the crew dates, meaning she will return around late March or April next year.
“NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 is now targeting no earlier than late March 2025 to launch four crew members to the International Space Station,” the US space agency said.
NASA and SpaceX assessed various options for managing the next crewed handover, including using another Dragon spacecraft and making manifest adjustments. After careful consideration, the team determined that launching Crew-10 in late March, following the completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best option for meeting NASA’s requirements and achieving space station objectives for 2025.
The agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will return to Earth following the arrival of Crew-10 at the orbital laboratory. This period, known as ‘handover’, allows Crew-9 to share any lessons learned with the newly arrived crew, facilitating a smoother transition for ongoing science and maintenance activities aboard the station.
Crew-9, along with the full space station crew of Expedition 72, is focused on completing research aboard the microgravity laboratory and preparing for upcoming spacewalks.
There was speculation that Ms Williams had lost weight and was unhealthy, but these rumours were dismissed by NASA. Ms Williams herself stated that she is doing extensive weight training on the space station using the special equipment provided to the crew. Incidentally, during an earlier mission, she ran a space marathon on the ISS treadmill.
NASA also confirmed that the space station recently received two resupply flights in November and is well-stocked with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing, and oxygen. The resupply spacecraft carried special items for the crew to celebrate the holidays aboard the orbital platform.