Featured Image Credit: NASA
Topics: Space, NASA, Elon Musk, International Space Station, Donald Trump
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Space, NASA, Elon Musk, International Space Station, Donald Trump
The astronauts stranded on the International Space Station have shared what the hardest part about being stuck in out in space is.
On June 5, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore jetted off to space for what was supposed to be an eight-day trip, but fast forward over nine months later and the pair are yet to return to Earth.
The two NASA astronauts didn't volunteer to drastically extend their trip; instead, the Boeing capsule that was supposed to bring them home experienced technical difficulties, making it unsafe for then to travel back down to Earth in it.
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Williams and Wilmore should return home soon, though. They're scheduled to be brought back home wit the help of Elon Musk-headed company, SpaceX.
Giving an update on getting them home, Musk recently said on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that the rescue mission will launch 'in four weeks or so'.
"It's depending on weather and other considerations," he added. "But it's about a month away."
In a separate interview, Musk alleged that Williams and Wilmore were left in space 'for political reasons'.
Agreeing, Donald Trump said in the joint interview with Fox News that his predecessor Joe Biden was 'going to leave them in space'.
Williams and Wilmore have been in constant communication with Earth during their time on the ISS and took part in a news conference on Tuesday (March 4).
An NBC news reporter asked them: "What has been the most challenging aspect about the changing timeline in space, and on the flip side, what will you miss most about space?"
Williams went on to reply: "Immediately [the question] brings to mind family and all the people on the ground who support us.
"It's been a rollercoaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us. We're here, we have a mission, we're just doing what we do every day and every day is interesting because we're up in space and it's a lot of fun.
"So, I think the hardest part is having the folks on the ground have to not know when exactly we're coming back."
Williams went on to assure people that they will eventually be coming back.
"We'll be back before too long," she said.
In regards to what she's going to miss about space, Williams said 'everything'.
"This has been Butch and my third flight to the International Space Station," she said.
"We helped put it together, we've been up here seeing it change throughout all these years."