A stranded NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has finally broken her silence following the health concerns that arose about her appearance.
Earlier this month, experts weighed in on Sunita Williams’ “gaunt” look, saying she was experiencing “total body weight loss” as well as the natural stresses of living at very high altitudes.
Just today, Sunita debunked these rumors in a live video published by NASA, saying she feels perfectly okay.
Sunita Williams has assured anyone watching that her “gaunt” appearance does not mean her body is in an unhealthy condition
Image credits: NASA
Last week, a couple of images of Sunita and her fellow astronaut Barry Wilmore eating dinner were seen by the public.
A pulmonologist later gave her opinion on the two’s physical looks and said that Sunita’s “sunken cheeks” were a result of a severe calorie deficiency, since space’s harsher environment can cause someone to exert extra effort.
But in the newly released video, Sunita appeared calm as she explained the physics behind an environment that has much less gravity.
Image credits: NASA
“In space, things shift around quite a bit,” she said. “You’ve probably heard of fluid shifts.”
The 59-year-old added, “Folks in space, their heads look a little bit bigger because the fluid evens out along the body. My thighs are a little bit bigger, my butt is a little bit bigger. We do a lot of squats.”
Image credits: NASA
Indeed, when a human being is on Earth, blood and other bodily fluids are pulled down to the lower body by gravity. As we enter space, the lack of force causes an opportunity for these fluids to accumulate in the upper body.
This gives us the appearance that our faces are bloated or swollen. Only after staying a while does your body adjust, and the fluids balance out.
The two astronauts have been floating amongst the stars since June 8, 2024
Sunita and Barry were only meant to spend eight days in space, but things went wrong when their spacecraft blasted off months ago.
BBC reported that their vessel encountered helium leaks, which resulted in the breakdown of the thrusters.
Image credits: NASA
As a result, the pair have been living on the ISS for five months, and aren’t scheduled to return until February 2025 when a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft will rescue them.
At the time of writing, there is still no confirmed reason for why the Starliner craft malfunctioned, but engineers have been testing their theories both on Earth and in space.
Image credits: NASA
NASA stated Williams and Wilmore “fully” support the plans for their return and will continue carrying out scientific work, space maintenance, and potential “spacewalks” in the next few months.