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    Stranded NASA astronaut breaks space-walk record after admitting she's forgotten how to do basic human function

    Home> Technology> NASA

    Published 15:50 6 Feb 2025 GMT

    Stranded NASA astronaut breaks space-walk record after admitting she's forgotten how to do basic human function

    Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore have been stuck in space since June last year

    Callum Jones

    Callum Jones

    google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
    Featured Image Credit: NASA

    Topics: NASA, Space, International Space Station

    Callum Jones
    Callum Jones

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    Being cooped up in the International Space Station for months wouldn't be most people's idea of good time - it's not like you could just get up and go for walk whenever you felt like it?

    Or you sort of could, but it wouldn't be a get-up-and-go sort of situation.

    However, despite remaining at the International Space Station (ISS) since June last year, astronauts Sunita Williams, 59, and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, 61, have found ways to keep themselves occupied - like break a world record for space walking.

    The two were initially launched into space from Cape Canaveral Space Force on June 5 for what was meant to be an eight-day mission, however, due to technical difficulties with their aircraft, they've had to stay put for now.

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    Sunita 'Suni' Williams has been stuck in space since June last year (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
    Sunita 'Suni' Williams has been stuck in space since June last year (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

    NASA have made numerous attempts to rescue the pair, however, it's looking like that won't be happening until late March as SpaceX's Crew-10 plan to make a trip up there.

    Williams admitted recently that being in space for so long has meant she's forgotten how to do basic human functions, like walking.

    Speaking on a call to students at Needham High School in Massachusetts, she said: "I've been up here long enough, right now I've been trying to remember what it's like to walk. I haven't walked. I haven't sat down. I haven't laid down."

    They have been outside of the ISS on space walks, and Williams recently completed her ninth spacewalk - totalling at 62 hours and six minutes.

    The previous record of total spacewalk time by a woman, according to NASA, was set by Peggy Whitson in 2017, with her total time being 60 hours and 21 minutes.

    And what better time to take an impressive selfie than a spacewalk?

    The 'ultimate selfie' (NASA)
    The 'ultimate selfie' (NASA)

    Shared on the space agency's Instagram, William's picture was taken when the two were out 'removing a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss and collecting samples of surface material for analysis' - 423km above the Pacific Ocean (via NDTV).

    If she wants to add another record under her belt, then she could try Whitson for the most spacewalks by a woman, as according to The Independent, Whitson is currently on 10, while Williams is on her ninth.

    Though it's expected Williams and Wilmore will be picked up in a month's time, President Donald Trump has called upon Elon Musk to try and speed up the process.

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