How astronauts adjust to life back on earth after being in space

The Return of Starliner astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station: The Space Mission Odyssey Comes To Earth

The early summer launch was Starliner’s first trip with a human crew on board. The capsule was able to make it to the International Space Station, but not before it encountered a number of issues.

NASA decided that, rather than risk flying Williams and Wilmore back on a questionable craft, they would return the beleaguered Starliner to Earth without a crew.

NASA said it had decided to integrate Williams and Wilmore into the space station crew for technical and budgetary reasons, and during their time on the station the pair has been conducting experiments and spacewalks.

Two NASA astronauts from Japan and a Russian cosmonaut from the International Space Station floated through a hatch early Sunday to greetings from their colleagues.

In a post on his social media site on Monday, Trump thanked the acting administrator of NASA, Janet Petro, for coordinating the return of Williams and Wilmore, and accused the Biden administration of being “in capable” of bringing them home.

Two NASA astronauts who’ve been on the International Space Station since last summer after their weeklong assignment turned into a nine-month saga are back on Earth.

Musk said in February that he had made an offer to the Biden administration “months ago” for SpaceX to bring the astronauts home early, but that the administration “refused” and delayed the pair’s return for “political reasons.”

Williams and Wilmore’s voyage became mired in politics and raised questions about Boeing’s ability to carry out NASA missions, so Tuesday’s splashdown capped a lengthy space odyssey for them.

The new Boeing Starliner spaceship was launched by Williams and Wilmore on June 5. It was part of a program where private companies contracted with NASA to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. For years, the other company hired through the program, SpaceX, has successfully flown missions for NASA.

A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore splashed down off the Gulf coast of Florida shortly before 6 p.m. EDT Tuesday. At 3:05 a.m. Monday morning, the spaceship had left the space station.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on Earth after spending more than nine months in orbit on the International Space Station, splashing down off the coast of Florida on Tuesday evening.

The astronauts were met by recovery and medical teams after they landed at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA says that they will go to a 45 day post-mission recovery program. The crew will participate in studies and have medical and performance testing during this time.

They’ll spend two hours every day with trainers, working on a personalized recovery plan to work back toward the fitness levels they had before they left on their mission, NASA says.

Leland Melvin, who flew to the ISS on two separate missions in 2008 and 2009, the last with Wilmore, said he was able to get back to his baseline after being home for about a month. He was part of the 17th group of NASA astronauts with Williams and has logged over 565 hours in space, according to NASA. He is also the author of a children’s book. He was not allowed to drive for a week to make sure he wasn’t going to fall over while behind the wheel.

How astronauts adjust when back on Earth after being in space: Dr. Natacha Chough and the vestibular system in motion sickness

“I was like, laying in bed. I had to use the bathroom. and I just started pushing off my back thinking, ‘I’m going to float to the bathroom.’ He says the light was out and he had to push up to get out of bed.

Dr. Natacha Chough, a NASA flight surgeon and assistant professor in the aerospace medicine division at the University of Texas Medical Branch, oversees crew members’ health care before, during and after missions. She says one of the first illnesses she looks for in astronauts upon return is motion sickness.

Within the inner ear is the vestibular system, which is made up of sensory organs that help with one’s sense of balance. The system in weightlessness receives messages and it’s hard to tell which way is up or down.

“You walk in a straight line, then you bend over.” “You can just fall over if you turn, and your head is all whacked out.” You walk straight and then turn. And then you walk straight and then you turn.”

Source: How astronauts adjust when back on Earth after being in space

The Village of Space Flight: What astronauts and astronaut crews can do together to help navigate the challenges of spaceflight, and how astronauts can become healthier

And while astronauts get medical attention from flight surgeons once they return from space, it takes a village to support crews even before the mission ends. There is a nutrition team who creates a plan for astronauts before their mission, physicians who watch their health while on the space station and others who help astronauts and their families after they return to Earth.

“It’s not just flight surgeons, but also schedulers, nurses, trainers, psychologists, research scientists, radiation specialists, toxicologists, audiologists, and others who all work together during various phases of the mission to optimize crew health and safety,” Chough says.

Astronauts do the work they do to find out what the risks of spaceflight are, Melvin says. He says he feels healthier now that he has been to space because he has “a newfound perspective on what it means to be a human being.”

“We definitely track muscle mass and bone mineral density preflight and postflight because weightlessness is what I refer to as a ‘use it or lose it’ environment,” Dr. Chough says. “If you’re not regularly exercising in flight, your body is not going to expend the energy to preserve your muscles and bones.”

To counter this, astronauts aboard the ISS do two and a half hours of daily strength and cardio training. She says that this helps reduce bone and muscle loss. Before he became an athlete and anastroplanetary, Melvin lifted free weights to help prepare for spaceflight.

The impacts of being in space, especially for long periods of time, on the body are still being studied. During a study conducted on astronaut twins Mark and Scott Kelly, researchers found that while Scott was on the ISS, he temporarily became two inches taller.

It is possible that chronic weightlessness can cause bodily fluids like blood to rise up to one’s head, leading to swelling in the brain and flattening of the back of the eye, both contributing to what’s known as “spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome.” According to NASA, there are some astronauts who have mild changes while others can have significant outcomes. There is no certainty about the long-term outcome of the changes.