Featured Image Credit: CBS/BBC
Topics: NASA, Space, International Space Station, Earth, Science, Technology, US News
Liv Bridge
Topics: NASA, Space, International Space Station, Earth, Science, Technology, US News
A NASA astronaut who has been stranded in space for months has listed the three things she's most looking forward to when she's back on Earth.
What was meant to be a simple eight-day round mission for Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore in space has rolled over into several months.
On June 5, 2024, NASA launched its Boeing Starliner Calypso as the pair were tasked with going to the International Space Station (ISS).
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However, as the capsule approached the ISS, its thrusters malfunctioned.
NASA decided it was too dangerous for Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth as they had originally planned.
Speaking from space, Williams recently told the BBC: "Up here, you know, it's just incredible.
"Like where we are right now, you know, you come and look out the window and you just go 'wow'. I've got to pinch myself to be able to have this view, to be able to share this view."
The Navy vet also seemed happy that the trip had accidentally run over time.
She explained: "I think one of the things I was regretting from a short duration mission was it's hard to share the whole thing with people and on a long duration mission you get that opportunity where you get to talk to people, get to talk to school kids."
The 59-year-old, from Ohio, went on to reveal the three things at the top of her list that she's most looking forward to on her return - her family, dogs and 'jumping in the ocean'.
"I think that will be really nice to just be back on Earth and feel Earth that way," she added.
Williams' upbeat video comes as concerns have grown for the well-being of the pair over the course of the past few months.
Speaking to students at Needham High School in Massachusetts, the astronaut admitted that being there for so long has meant she's forgotten how to do basic human functions.
Williams 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."
NASA previously addressed this and told LADbible Group: "All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health."
As things currently stand, the pair are expected to return to their home planet some nine months after they left, as NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 is set to be sent to the ISS in late March 2025.
President Donald Trump has also weighed in on the situation by calling on SpaceX founder Elon Musk to speed up the process and claimed the astronauts had been 'abandoned' by the Joe Biden administration.