Featured Image Credit: @NASAgovVideo/YouTube
NASA astronauts Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore have been stranded on the International Space Station since the beginning of June 2024, and they've revealed that they have to do one specific thing every single day in order to avoid any health dangers.
It's certainly been a long eight months for the pair since what was initially just an eight day expedition turned into one with no end in sight, as their Boeing capsule suffered technical issues, preventing them from returning home to Earth.
While US President Donald Trump has attempted to speed up their rescue, demanding that Elon Musk and SpaceX go and get the pair as soon as possible, they still await their return from the International Space Station.
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It's certainly been an intriguing stay for the pair, as not only have they had to spend holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas away from their families, but they've also had to resort to drinking soup made from their own urine due to dwindling food supplies.
Many have also grown concerned about their health after photos revealed their 'gaunt' appearances, but NASA has offered reassurance that it's simply a biproduct of being in space for such a long period of time and how the body reacts to exercise.
"Butch and I have been up here for a number of months," Williams told New England Sports Network, "we've been on the workout gear. We've got a bike, we got a treadmill and we got weightlifting equipment.
"And I could definitely tell that weightlifting - which is not something I do all the time - has definitely changed me. My thighs are a little bigger, my butt is a little bigger, we do a lot of squats."
It's not just for fun that they're doing this exercise though, as it helps avoid a major health issue facing astronauts who spend an extended period in space: loss of bone density due to microgravity, as reported by Tyla.
Known scientifically as disuse osteoporosis, the experience of living in constant microgravity makes your bones weaker, which in turn has them less able to support the body's weight upon return to Earth, leading to a risk of fractures.
It's something that could be extremely dangerous for the body is not paid attention to while in space, and as such the pair are doing at least two hours of exercise every single day across a number of different methods.
Williams also mentioned that she's 'trying to remember how to walk' before she returns back home, and it's surprising how difficult it is for the body to adjust to two contrasting environments.
