Since the failure of the Beoing shuttle, two astronauts have been stranded aboard the ISS for more than six months leading to several health concerns.
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Originally intended to only be a week-long mission to the International Space Station, the trip for Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore has been endlessly delayed. Now, despite Space X stepping up to the plate, the rescue has been delayed again. This has raised fresh concerns about the astronaut's health, adding to the current ones.
Previously, the health of the two astronauts was a topic of conversation due to Williams's visible weight loss. In video calls with Mother Earth, she was looking gaunt. However, she reassured everyone that she was fine. The apparent weight loss people could see was from liquid distribution around her body.
However, despite SpaceX originally promising to pick up the stranded astronauts in February, they have now said it won't be possible until March, at the earliest. This drags their trip out to over 8 months. It was supposed to only be a week.
Astronauts Health Will Inevitably Deteriorate
It doesn't matter how lazy you are on earth, we all have to combat gravity. It keeps our muscles working, and even the trip to the fridge helps build muscle and bone density. However, the astronauts will have been in space for over 300 days, which is almost unheard of. This brings up some serious issues with fragility, bone density, and muscle wastage.
Doctors are concerned that the health of the astronauts will not be fit for Earth's conditions anymore. Having lived in zero gravity for months will have caused a lot of loss of muscle and bone density. Dr John Jaquish stated, "They probably will not be able to walk under their own power. They will probably leave the space vehicle on a stretcher, and it will take them months to recondition their bodies."
Along with the growing concerns about their physical health comes the question of their mental health. When you mentally prepare for a week's trip to the solitude of space, finding out it will now be an indeterminate amount of time is stressful. So, as the doctor points out, "Each time it is delayed, a little voice inside themselves grows stronger, gnawing at them to wonder whether they will ever get home again."
Being stranded in space is the kind of thing horror films are made of.
