Doctors raise fresh concerns about stranded NASA astronauts’ health after major setback

Doctors are raising new concerns about the health of two stranded NASA astronauts who suffered a serious blow last night.

The space agency again postponed the return of Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore until the end of March at the earliest, extending their mission to more than nine months.

Williams and Wilmore were scheduled to spend just eight days aboard the International Space Station when they launched on Boeing’s defective Starliner spacecraft on June 5.

Now their names could be added to the short list of NASA astronauts who have spent more than 300 days in space. Only five have ever completed missions that long.

Dr. John Jaquish, a biomedical engineer, told DailyMail.com: ‘By the time they return to Earth, they are at extreme risk of a fragility fracture.

‘They probably won’t be able to walk under their own power. They will likely leave the spacecraft on a stretcher, and it will take months for them to recover their bodies.”

This is not unusual for astronauts after a long mission in space, but doctors have expressed particular concern about Williams, who they say is already showing signs of weight loss and malnutrition, although NASA has denied these ‘rumors’.

Williams and Wilmore also face risks to their psychological health, Dr. Carole Liberman, a psychiatrist based in California, told DailyMail.com.

‘Obviously astronauts are taught how to deal with stressful conditions,” she said, “but this up and down, hope – no hope, 300 day scenario is beyond what they expected.”

‘It causes great damage to their psyche, and then to their body. They would have hardened themselves to stick with the earlier dates they were given for their return, convincing themselves that there were only 10, 9, 8, 7, 6… days to go.

“But every time it’s postponed, a little voice inside them grows stronger, gnawing at them and wondering if they’ll ever get home again.

“NASA needs to be transparent and tell them everything they are doing to solve the problem because this trust is the only thing the astronauts can build on,” she said.

Helium leaks and thruster problems plagued Strainer before, during and after the spacecraft arrived at the ISS. NASA ultimately deemed it unsuitable to bring Williams and Wilmore home.

The agency initially postponed the astronauts’ return until February 2025, when they could catch a ride back to Earth on the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon spacecraft.

But now NASA says the Starliner crew, along with NASA astronaut Nick Haag and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will return to Earth after the four-member Crew-10 mission reaches the space station.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting the launch of the Crew-10, which will carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, as well as Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to the ISS, no earlier than the end of March 2025.

Williams and Wilmore will still return home on Crew-9, but that mission won’t depart from the ISS until after Crew-10 arrives to create a so-called “handoff period,” NASA said.

‘It allows Crew-9 to share all lessons learned with the newly arrived crew and support a better transition for continued science and maintenance at the complex,” the agency stated Tuesday.

But doctors told DailyMail.com that the longer Williams and Wilmore spend on the ISS, the more health risks they face.

Long-duration ISS missions typically last about six months. Studies have shown that there are significant health risks associated with spending so much time in space.

Those risks include bone and muscle deterioration, exposure to high levels of cancer-causing radiation, fluid shifts that can damage vision, kidney stones, cardiovascular problems and more.

In fact, by the time Williams and Wilmore get home, they will have been on the ISS for more than six months – possibly more than 300 days.

While this isn’t the longest period an astronaut has spent in space (that record is 374 consecutive days on the ISS), it will take a heavy toll on the Starliner crew.

That’s because “when you take away gravity, the body sees no reason to maintain bone density and muscle mass, so it starts to break down very quickly,” Dr. Jaquish explained.

Losing muscle and bone has greater consequences than just loss of mobility, such as the aforementioned risk of a fragility fracture.

Severe muscle loss also increases the risk of organ failure and can be harmful to cardiovascular health, he added.

There are things ISS astronauts can do to reduce some of these risks. To counteract the loss of bone, muscle and cardiovascular strength due to low gravity, they exercise an average of two hours a day.

But while exercise can slow the decline, spaceflight conditions still wreak havoc on the human body, Dr. Jaquish said.

“They would have to put a lot of strain on the body on a very regular basis to maintain any kind of strength or bone density,” he said, adding that the training equipment available on the ISS is not designed for that level of conditioning. .

What’s more, NASA research has shown that daily exercise is not enough to counteract the effects of spaceflight on the heart, such as arterial stiffening and thickening of artery walls, which can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

All that said, Jaquish believes Williams and Wilmore are well prepared for these types of scenarios, as NASA “does a very good job of preparing for contingencies.”

Dr. Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist and Air Force veteran, agreed.

“They are astronauts for a reason, because through their training and what they have experienced, they have proven that they are able to handle the stress of being at the highest altitudes in a low-gravity situation,” he said. DailyMail.com.

“That said, there is a difference between training and real life,” he said, adding that the Starliner crew is at risk of weight loss, muscle atrophy, cardiovascular problems, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes, especially involving insulin and the stress hormone cortisol. .

“I don’t think anything we’re talking about here is life-threatening,” he said.

‘I think this will have consequences. They’ll need a medical assessment, I’m sure they’ll need recovery, but I don’t think anything here will cause any lasting problems.”

Despite experts’ concerns about the physical and mental health of the Starliner crew, NASA has repeatedly stated that the astronauts are doing well.

The agency’s chief health and medical officer, Dr. James Polk, previously said: “All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station, including Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, are in good health. It’s a shame that the rumors persist otherwise.

“NASA and our partners have safely conducted long-duration missions aboard the Orbital Laboratory for decades, studying the effects of space on the human body as we prepare for explorations further into the solar system.

‘The crew’s health is regularly monitored by dedicated flight surgeons on Earth, and they have an individualized diet and fitness regime to ensure they stay healthy during their expeditions.’

NASA did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment on the updated return date for Williams and Wilmore.