Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who is currently making the most of her extended space stay on board the International Space Station, broke her silence over the growing concerns about her health. A recently released official photo of the stranded astronaut revealed a “gaunt” visual, triggering a heavy discussion around her speculated deteriorating health.
However, Williams has since silenced the “rumours,” attributing her noticeably different appearance to “fluid shifts.”
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams breaks silence on health concerns
Despite previously being seen with sunken cheeks and a thinner physique, the astronaut tried her best to affirm that there was nothing to worry about her health.
“Folks in space, you know, their heads look a little bit bigger because the fluid evens out along the body,” she explained while speaking with the New England Sports Network Clubhouse Kids Show on Tuesday.
Over the years, NASA has committed to investigating the hypothesis “that the normal shift of fluids to the upper body in weightlessness contributes to increased intracranial pressureand decreased visual capacity in astronauts,” per an official news release.
An April 2020 press release further established that NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan participated in the US government agency’s Fluid Shifts study. The release highlighted how “In space, the shift of fluid in the body upward increases volume and pressure in the head, most noticeably seen as swelling in the retina, a critical part of the visual system.”
With the space phenomenon affecting American astronauts aboard the ISS on different levels, Williams reiterated the explanation. Asserting that she was healthier than ever, she struck down the weight loss claims, saying that she had actually bulked up during her prolonged space stay. “My thighs are a little bit bigger, my butt is a little bit bigger,” she said. “We do a lot of squats.”
Contradicting NASA statements in light of growing concerns over Williams’ health
Aligning with her claims, NASA spokesperson Jimi Russell previously released a statement via the Daily Mail. “All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health.”
Also read | Times Square stalker arrested in New Jersey for fatally choking woman
Williams’ recent affirmations, however, contradict the arguments of another NASA employee directly involved in her mission, who previously insisted that Starliner astronaut has lost “ a lot of weight.”
The source pushed that as Williams was initially meant to be in space with Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore for eight days, her recommended high-caloric needs haven’t been met. “The pounds have melted off her and she’s now skin and bones,” the insider told the New York Post. “So it’s a priority to help her stabilise the weight loss and hopefully reverse it.”
Sunita Williams and her mission partner Barry Wilmore’s more than five-month stranded status in space is expected to be rectified by a scheduled return not before February 2025. After the Boeing Starliner failed them and returned empty, the duo is slated to disembark for the home planet on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, also carrying Crew-9 mission members Nick Hague of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
