2024-08-29 10:19:37
Shatakshi Asthana, New Delhi: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, who went to the International Space Station for just 8 days, will now return in February 2025. After this announcement by NASA, everyone is worried that spending 8 months in space may prove dangerous for Sunita. However, if we look at the work of astronauts, we will find that even though Sunita is away from home, she is not at all ‘stuck’ in space. The human body undergoes many changes in space. There is a lot of effect on the body, from red blood cells to muscles. After returning from microgravity, it also takes time to settle on Earth, but this is not a new danger. Astronauts undergo rigorous training both physically and mentally for this. Even after that, they know very well that the direction of the mission can change at any time. Therefore, they are not worried about the sudden extension of the deadline.
Sunita and Butch are making full use of their experience on the ISS. After completing their assigned tasks, they have started participating in the experiments already going on there. They are busy with routine work like the rest of the members, such as studying the effect of microgravity on plants. NASA’s decision to bring them back after 8 months shows that it has learned lessons from the Challenger and Columbia crashes and now it is paying more attention to the safety of astronauts.
Staying in space for months is not a new thing
8 months may seem like a long time for a common man, but according to NASA, an astronaut spends an average of 6 months in space. Not only this, NASA’s Frank Rubio has spent 370 days on the ISS during a single mission, while the record for spending the most days in space at one go is in the name of Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who spent 14 months on the Mir space station.
Superwoman Sunita
Sunita herself is quite experienced. For an experiment, she once stayed 62 feet underwater for 9 days on Earth. Not only this, Williams comes second in the list of female astronauts who have spent the most time on spacewalk with 50 hours and 40 minutes. She has spent 322 hours in space in her first two space missions. The interesting thing is that by February she will have spent a total of more than 550 days in space, but still she will be behind Peggy Whitson in terms of the longest time, who has spent more than 650 hours in space in different missions.
Essential facilities available on ISS
It is not that the sudden increase in the number of members will put any kind of pressure on the ISS because different crafts keep going to the ISS from Earth carrying essential items. Many crafts of SpaceX itself have gone more than 20 times carrying crew and supplies. There are all the necessary facilities to stay there for a long time. Therefore, these 8 months are actually a good opportunity for Sunita because after this it may be difficult to get a chance to go to space again.
India has a chance
This incident can be an opportunity as well as a lesson for India. After the malfunction in Boeing’s Starliner, the company’s credibility has been questioned. India should be ready to fill this gap created in space travel. Our Gaganyaan mission is going to launch next year and on the basis of its success, we can make ourselves a big contender at the international level. There is a need to see space as a big opportunity and involve the new generation in it as much as possible.
Author Shatakshi Asthana is a freelance journalist and writes on science-related topics.