One of the NASA astronauts trapped in orbit has broken her silence as new images raised health worries. Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams, 59, and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, 61, began on an eight-day journey on June 5. However, mechanical issues threw this off, and instead of returning home on the malfunctioning spaceship, the duo has remained up there ever since. However, their situation is not entirely hopeless, as SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will transport them home when their turn comes. People have been receiving updates on the NASA couple as ordinary Earthlings worry about them, and the recent publication of new images heightened that concern.

Some analysts speculated that Williams had lost weight as they commented on her appearance. Pulmonologist Dr Vinay Gupta, referring to the photos, told the Daily Mail: “Her face and sunken cheeks suggest she has likely been in a significant calorie deficit for some time.” “But I don’t think you can look at that photo and say she has some sort of healthy body weight.” In an email to LADbible, NASA stated: “All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health.”

Williams has finally had her say, as NASA published a video of her interview with New England Sports Network yesterday (12 November). When discussing fitness, sports, and life in space, the astronaut was questioned if she had ‘lost any weight’ while attempting to run different tasks up there or if her ‘overall health’ had altered. “A lot of changes occur up here,” the astronaut informed me. “But it’s funny; I think there’s some rumors out there that I’m losing weight and stuff.” So, Williams seized the opportunity to refute all of this, saying, “I’m actually right at the same amount.” The astronaut says she weighs herself daily up there and is “at the same weight” as when she arrived.

“I believe things are shifting around quite a bit. You’ve probably heard of a fluid shift, in which people in space appear to have larger heads as the fluid evens out along their bodies,” she stated. “But Butch and I have been up here for many months, and we’ve been in our exercise clothes. We have a bicycle, a treadmill, and weightlifting equipment.” I could clearly see that weightlifting, something I don’t do very often, had significantly changed me. We perform a lot of squats, which has led to some growth in my thighs and buttocks. She mentioned that they use treadmills to improve the ‘bone density’ of their hips and feet. “I think my body has changed a little bit, but I weigh the same,” Williams explained.