NASA has insisted one of the astronauts stranded for more than 150 days on the International Space Station is safe and healthy after a picture of her sparked concern.
This week, a doctor voiced concern for Sunita Williams after a photo from September 24 showed her looking “gaunt”, suggesting she had lost a significant amount of weight as they waited to be finally picked up and returned to Earth in February.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) once again declined to provide further details about four NASA/SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts who were mysteriously hospitalised in late October after splashing down in Florida following a different mission, as per MailOnline.
Dr Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist in Seattle, told the outlet Williams’ “cheeks appear a bit sunken – and usually, it happens when you’ve had sort of total body weight loss”.
“I think what I can discern by her face and her cheeks being sunken in is that [she] has probably been at a significant [calorie] deficit for a while,” he added.
“What you’re seeing there in that picture is somebody that I think is experiencing the natural stresses of living at a very high altitude, even in a pressurised cabin, for extended periods,” he continued.
“Based on what I’m at least seeing in the photo, I don’t think she’s quite at a… place where I say her life’s in danger. But I don’t think you can look at that photo and say she has sort of healthy body weight.”
But NASA spokesperson Jimi Russell told the outlet that Williams and the rest of the astronauts on the ISS were in “good health”, undergoing routine medical checkups, and “have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them”.
Concerns were initially raised over Williams’ health a couple of weeks after the four Crew-8 passengers returned home on October 25 after spending 232 days aboard the ISS.
Three underwent medical evaluations and were discharged from hospital the same day, though one of them was reportedly hospitalised overnight because of a “medical issue”.
NASA hasn’t provided any further details about why they were hospitalised or which astronaut remained there overnight, pointing The Mail to a blog post from October 26.
The statement reveals one astronaut stayed overnight at Florida’s Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida, but was “in good health”.
The space agency said they will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members after they’re discharged.
NASA has limited disclosures about the condition of astronauts in order to “protect the crew member’s medical privacy”, it says.
It has repeatedly reaffirmed its confidence in the wellbeing of astronauts spending extended periods on missions, though studies show that spending a long time in space can take a considerable toll on the human body.
Spending months in orbit is known to change the body weight, muscles, brains and even gut bacteria of astronauts.
Long-term ISS missions are a particular challenge to astronauts’ endurance, typically lasting six months.
Williams and crewmate Barry Wilmore have now already been aboard the ISS for that long, on a mission that was supposed to last only eight days.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams went up on the Boeing Starliner in June, but NASA announced at the end of August that the pair would have to wait until February 2025 at the earliest to return home due to problems with their spacecraft.
They will hitch a ride back on a rival vessel, Space X.
