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2024-11-09 Science & Technology
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Shock photos show physical deterioration of stranded NASA astronaut Sunita Williams
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[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Photos have revealed NASA astronaut Sunita Williams' shocking weight loss as she and her crewmate remain stuck on the International Space Station (ISS).
Williams, 59, and Barry Wilmore, 61, have been living on the ISS for five months after Boeing's faulty Starliner spacecraft was deemed unsafe to return them to Earth.
A 'gaunt' photo of Williams taken on September 24 recently sparked concerns due to her 'sunken' cheeks which suggested she'd rapidly lost weight.
More recent images also show her with a pronounced facial structure and a thinner frame - a concern given she still has three months until she returns.
Publicly, NASA has said Williams' is 'in good health' and that she's been undergoing 'routine medical evaluations'.
But behind the scenes, the space agency has been scrambling to 'stabilize the weight loss and hopefully reverse it,' according to a well-placed source.
The unnamed NASA employee who is 'directly involved with the mission' told the New York Post that Williams has been 'unable to keep up with the high-caloric diets that astronauts must consume' while on the ISS.
Long-stay space missions take a toll on astronaut's health, especially women, leading to weight loss, muscle breakdown, bone loss, heart and vision problems and kidney stones.
Female astronauts have been found to lose more weight - particularly through loss of muscle mass - than men during spaceflight.
'The pounds have melted off her and she's now skin and bones. So it's a priority to help her stabilize the weight loss and hopefully reverse it,' the NASA source told the New York Post.
About a month ago, NASA doctors began working with Williams to help her regain weight, the source said, even before DailyMail.com's original story brought attention to her deterioration.
To stop and reverse her weight loss, Williams could have to eat up to 5,000 calories per day, the source added.
For comparison, the average woman on Earth has to eat between 1,600 to 2,400 calories to maintain her weight. The source said that Williams started the mission at approximately 140 lbs.
Williams and Wilmore launched toward the orbiting laboratory on June 5 for what was supposed to be a 10 day mission, but have been stuck there for 156 days.
Now, they are set to return to Earth on SpaceX's Crew-9 Dragon capsule. Williams, Wilmore and the four Crew-9 astronauts will journey home together in February 2025.
By then, the Starliner crew will have spent roughly eight to nine months on the ISS, depending on when in February they splash down.
During that time, they will have endured microgravity, close quarters and high doses of space radiation. 
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Posted by Skidmark 2024-11-09 00:00||
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