After Sunita Williams, NASA now worried about her stranded mission partner

Ever since new images of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams on the International Space Station have stirred alarm about her significant weight loss, the US government agency is said to have been consistently on top of the case. Recent reports have already established that the organisation’s doctors are monitoring the astronauts’ health amid an unexpected extended stay in space.
William’s colleague Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, who also took off for an initially scheduled eight-day stay in space more than five months ago, is now on NASA’s radar as well. An employee at the space agency involved in the Starliner astronauts’ mission recently told the New York Post that Wilmore is also considerably losing body mass. While his case isn’t as noticeably jarring as Sunita Williams’ owing to his original bigger build as a 6ft tall former linebacker at Tennessee Tech University, it’s still happening.
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“He had a lot more mass at the start,” said the NASA source. “…so it’s not as big of a deal. But it’s happening, and it’s being monitored. Any changes in the astronauts’ bodies are being noted. And his mass seems to have gone down.” Wilmore reportedly weighed 210 lbs at the beginning of the Boeing Starliner mission. His supposedly drastically dropping weight remains unclear at the present moment.
The NASA insider attributed the growing concerns to the unexpected plot twist – a result of the Starliner’s thruster malfunctions and helium leaks – that ultimately stretched out Williams and Wilmore’s stay on board the ISS. They are now scheduled to hitch a ride back to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, not before February 2025.
“Everything is unexpected,” the insider added. “None of this was anticipated. They were supposed to be there for a week, and now it’s going on six months. They should be home by now and we should be focussed on other things. It’s all very unpredictable.”
The Post’s new report comes nearly a day after Sunita Williams dismissed all talks around her health as “rumours.” On Tuesday, she attributed the drastic change in her appearance to fluid shifts in space, as she explained, “Folks in space, you know, their heads look a little bit bigger because the fluid evens out along the body.”
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The contentiously inflated focus on the Starliner astronaut duo’s weight especially blew up after NASA released photos of the 59-year-old Indian-origin astronaut’s photos, in which she appeared gaunt with sunken cheeks. On top of that, the growing concerns surrounding astronauts stuck in space for prolonged missions are also tied to the SpaceX Crew-8’s immediate hospitalisation after the four crew members returned to Earth last month after a nearly eight-mission trip to the space station. An unnamed member of the crew was additionally kept overnight at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Hospital, a local Florida hospital, instead of returning to the home base in Houston.
Meanwhile, another NASA employee tied to the mission told the outlet that NASA is warning its personnel against leaking information about the astronauts’ health, threatening them with termination. “HIPAA laws apparently apply to NASA, too,” the insider weighed in.
On the official front, NASA spokesperson Jimi Russell released a statement, made available to the public via the Daily Mail, ensuring the well-being of astronauts aboard the ISS. “All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health.”