Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore - the two "stranded" NASA astronauts are likely to return to Earth from space after over nine months. NASA's Crew-10 will be entering the ISS on Sunday (Mar 16) after lifting off from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Friday (Mar 14), aboard the Falcon 9 rocket.

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But the homecoming for the two astronauts - who went into the space for eight days but got stuck there for nine months after some technical difficulty in their spacecraft - would not be easy as experts have said they might have developed "baby feet". It's a condition where an astronaut's feet become soft like a baby's after spending too much time in space and it's a painful condition. Astronauts with baby feet face severe difficulties in walking. 

Also read: 'Stranded' NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore to return to Earth soon; SpaceX's swap team launches to ISS

When a human walks on Earth, their feet experience resistance in the form of gravity and friction. This makes the skin on the sole thicker which prevents from feeling discomfort while walking to normal wear and tear. 

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But, after spending months in space, the hard skin of the feet comes off and the soles get left with extremely soft and tender feet. It takes a few weeks to months to rebuild the hard skin, but till then, the entire process of walking is painful.

Also read: 'Rescue mission': How Elon Musk's SpaceX will bring NASA's Sunita Williams back on Earth

Loss in bone density 

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Not just baby feet, Williams and Wilmore would also face loss in their bone densities. NASA has said that by every passing month in space, the weight-bearing bone in human body becomes one per cent less dense. 

Also read: 'Trapped inside a black hole': NASA's James Webb Telescope discovers a mind-blowing possibility about our existence

Muscles, usually activated by simply moving around on Earth, also weaken because they no longer need to work as hard.

Loss in blood volume 

Also read: 'The real reason': Why SpaceX postponed NASA's Sunita Williams' rescue mission till Friday?

The two astronauts are also likely to experience a shrink in their blood volume. It is because the heart does not have to pump blood against gravity and has to work much less. 

(With inputs from agencies)