Stranded NASA astronaut reveals shocking impact Earth’s gravity had on his body as he completes recovery
Some 72 days have passed since NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were rescued from a space mission gone wrong.
Last June, the pair docked at the International Space Station for what was supposed to be an eight-day mission.
They made history as the first astronauts to ride Boeing’s Starliner capsule to the ISS - but it was, ironically, that very pod's technical troubles that turned their short trip into a nine-month stay, as NASA scrambled to get them home.
Of course, it was Elon Musk who came to the rescue eventually, offering up a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to safely bring the duo back home on March 18.
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Spending such a long time in microgravity takes a serious toll on the human body.
While before and after photos of the astronauts sparked concern, both Wilmore and Williams have been recovering well following their unexpectedly long work trip in orbit.
Now, the duo have given an update on their health and post-ISS recovery, 10 weeks since they touched down.
Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday (May 28), Wilmore said: "Right now, we're just coming off of the rehab portion of our return.
"Gravity stinks for a period, and that period varies for different people, but eventually you get over those neurovestibular balance type of issues."
Before embarking on the mission, the 62-year-old experienced back and head issues - meaning he was unable to turn his head all the way to the side.
Yet those issues disappeared in space, without the stress of gravity weighing his body down.
But as soon as he landed back on Earth, Wilmore felt his neck pain return immediately.
"We're still floating in the capsule in the ocean, and my neck starts hurting, while we still hadn't even been extracted yet," he laughed.
Williams shared her own struggles adapting to a gravitational environment, with her side effects proving slower to clear up.
Despite logging two hours of gruelling exercise a day aboard the space station to preserve muscle and bone mass, the adjustment back to Earth was far from seamless.
Williams revealed she felt unusually tired during the later stages of recovery, as her muscles gradually re-engaged with the effects of gravity.
For a while, she struggled to wake up as early as she wanted.
"Then I'm up at four in the morning, and I'm like, Aha! I'm back," she said.
The duo may be safely on the ground, but their mission is far from over.
Wilmore and Williams continue to work with Boeing's Starliner program and NASA's space station unit in Houston as well as agency researchers.
All that, alongside spending at least two hours a day with strength and reconditioning officials within NASA's medical unit.
Williams summed up the pair's life post-ISS: "It's been a little bit of a whirlwind."
Ellie Kemp