NASA insists on Sunita Williams, mysteriously hospitalised astronauts’ safety amid escalating health concerns

NASA has been in hot water since Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore’s week-long space adventure stretched into a months-long wait.

In late October, another prolonged interstellar journey finally concluded with the SpaceX Crew-8 quartet’s homecoming trip. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps’s Crew Dragon capsule touched down in the Gulf of Mexico on October 25 following its early March liftoff.

The delayed return, partly attributed to the Williams-Wilmore predicament, followed up with the crew members being immediately transferred to a Florida medical facility. Although the initial checkups were merely procedural, one unspecified astronaut from the team had to stay back in the hospital due to a “medical issue.”

Mounting health concerns after new Sunita Williams image surfaces from the ISS
Hot on the heels of that update, doctors raised alarms about the still stranded Starliner astronauts’ health as recent images showed the Indian-origin Williams jarringly gaunt. Her significantly noticeable weight loss after being stuck on the International Space Station for over 150 days was especially spotlighted as a red flag in light of the Crew-8 member, a fellow formerly stranded astronaut who spent 232 days on the ISS, being hospitalised overnight even though the other three were discharged the same day. At the time, upholding their focus on the crew member’s medical privacy, NASA refused to release any additional information about who was seeking medical attention and why.

NASA official responds to alarming calls
However, with Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams’ “gaunt” transformation as the latest cause for uproar in the headlines, the US government agency was compelled to release a statement via Daily Mail. Ensuring that Williams and her accompanying astronauts aboard the ISS are doing fine, NASA spokesperson Jimi Russell told the tabloid, “All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health.”

Williams and Wilmore are poised to hitch a ride back to Earth with two SpaceX Crew-9 mission members. Nonetheless, they are expected to remain aboard the ISS until February 2025 at least. NASA has continuously assured the astronauts’ well-being but long-term space missions inevitably cause those involved to lose bone density, body fat, and muscle mass while they are exposed to prolonged radiation. Other harsh health issues include vision problems, kidney stones and growing susceptibility to infections.