Sunita Williams upbeat seven months into eight-day NASA space mission
Trending | World: Sunita Williams remains positive seven months into her extended NASA mission on the ISS, originally set for eight days but prolonged due to technical issues.
Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Butch Wilmore, the two NASA astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) for seven months, on Wednesday (Jan 8) said that they have plenty of food and don't feel like castaways.
The two veteran astronauts arrived at the ISS in June for an eight-day mission but have been stuck up there for over seven months due to technical difficulties.
It's 'been a joy,' says Sunita Williams
During a call with NASA officials, Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams said that their spirits were still high despite the unexpectedly long stay on the orbiting space laboratory.
“It's just been a joy to be working up here,” she said, adding, “It doesn't feel like we're cast away.”
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“Eventually we want to go home, because we left our families a little while ago, but we have a lot to do while we're up here.”
Even as concerns about her health and weight loss during the prolonged stay in space continue to circulate, Williams said, “We are well-fed”.
The veteran astronaut also shed light on the laundry situation in space and said the requirement is not comparable to that on Earth.
“Clothes fit loosely up here. It's not like on Earth, where you sweat and it gets bad. I mean, they fit loosely. So you can wear things honestly, for weeks at a time, and it doesn't bother you at all,” she said.
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“When we get home, we'll have lots of stories to tell,” Williams added.
How long will Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore stay in space?
According to reports, due to problems with the Starliner's propulsion system, Williams and Wilmore will not return to Earth for some time. Their return flight is now scheduled for late March at the earliest. This means they are scheduled to spend more than nine months in space.
Due to the propulsion system issues, NASA had decided to return the spacecraft to Earth without them. The stranded astronauts are expected to return with the members of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
(With inputs from agencies)
