unilad homepage
  • News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
This is the brutal reality stranded astronauts are living as they could be stuck in space until 2025

Home> News> US News

Published 11:14 9 Aug 2024 GMT+1

This is the brutal reality stranded astronauts are living as they could be stuck in space until 2025

NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams must continue to work for what could be seven months longer than planned

Joe Yates

Joe Yates

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
Featured Image Credit: NASA
Joe Yates
Joe Yates

Joe is a journalist for UNILAD, who particularly enjoys writing about crime. He has worked in journalism for five years, and has covered everything from murder trials to celeb news.

X

@JMYjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

The reality of being stuck in space for what could be 200 days longer than initially anticipated would weigh heavy on anyone.

Anyone that is except for NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams, who, in the face of disaster, have stayed positive and in high spirits.

But it's not been an easy ride and it is far from over, with the real possibility being that they could be stuck floating around in space until February 2025.

Advert

It was supposed to be just an eight-day mission, they were flying to the International Space Station (ISS) when they encoutered several problems with the capsule after they set off 64 days ago.

The Boeing Starliner experienced five helium leaks, five maneuvering thrusters go dead and a propellant valve failing to close completely.

They are aboard the ISS and are accompanied with other astronauts, but unlike Wilmore and Williams, their means of getting home has not faltered.

The pair opened up about life 'off Earth' during a briefing with reporters, with Williams explaining they have been keeping 'thoroughly busy' on board.

Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams are currently stuck in the International Space Station (NASA)
Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams are currently stuck in the International Space Station (NASA)

"We've been thoroughly busy up here, integrated right into the crew." he said.

"It feels like coming back home. It feels good to float around. It feels good to be in space and work up with the ISS team. So yeah, it's great to be up here."

While the pair remain stuck in space, they must still carry out their duties - with the ISS affectively being a laboratory that hurtles 17,500mph through space, as it orbits our planet every 90 minutes.

So, what are those duties?

The pair have swapped out a urine processing pump, they must inventory of the station's food supplies, and Wilmore has even serviced freezers that are being used to hold research samples, as per The Washington Post.

Speaking to the University of Strathclyde Glasgow, Scotland, previously about life in space, Williams said: "You have to work out to maintain your bone density and muscle mass, so that’s part of the day."

Williams holds the 'Olympic torch' onboard the ISS. (NASA)
Williams holds the 'Olympic torch' onboard the ISS. (NASA)

She added: "You also leave a family behind and being able to make a phone call once a day or doing a video conference on the weekend is really nice. Those are the hardest parts about going away for that long."

Both 61-year-old Wilmore, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and 58-year-old Williams, from Needham, Massachusetts, have left behind families - and are also both retired Navy captains.

Wilmore is married with two daughters, and Williams is also married and owns dogs.

One of the many science experiments the pair are conducting while up there, is scanning their veins via an ultrasound machine to see just how space can affect the human body, and are collating data.

Some of the other duties include weightless Olympics-inspired workouts - one of the many things the NASA astronauts do to keep busy.

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
5 hours ago
7 hours ago
8 hours ago
  • Chelsea Guglielmino/FilmMagic
    3 hours ago

    Bob's Burgers star Eugene Mirman pulled from fiery crash in New Hampshire

    The actor was aided by the state governor's security detail after the terrifying crash.

    Celebrity
  • NBC News
    5 hours ago

    Artemis II makes history as first crewed moon flight launches in half a century

    The milestone mission is just one component of NASA's Moon to Mars initiative and brings mankind one step closer to the red planet.

    News
  • Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
    7 hours ago

    Coachella attendees face $360 check for dinner garden party

    The dining experience hopes to ‘reconnect diners to the land' of California

    Music
  • YouTube/NBC 5 Chicago
    8 hours ago

    McDonald's staff throw surprise party for 95-year-old customer

    Charmaine Blessman has been going to McDonald's every year for decades

    News
  • Astronauts stuck in space after Boeing capsule malfunctioned could be stranded until 2025
  • Three astronauts stranded in space after capsule was struck by 'mystery object'
  • NASA blast Boeing and reveal exactly what they think was to blame after astronauts were stranded in space for months
  • 'Stranded' NASA astronauts finally reveal terrifying truth behind what really happened to ship in space