WHAT THE NASA ASTRONAUTS DID WHILE BEING STRANDED IN SPACE

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are officially back on Earth and once again blasted by gravity after their eight-day expedition to the International Space Station evolved into a nine-month mission. After SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft arrived at the ISS to deliver other astronauts who could relieve the two NASA astronauts of their responsibilities, the two NASA astronauts landed yesterday, March 18. After the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were originally scheduled to return on was deemed hazardous, Wilmore and Williams were forced to wait for Elon Musk's business to rescue them, which resulted in them having to stay in space longer than anticipated.

What happened when Wilmore and Williams returned?

Together with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who had joined Wilmore and Williams on the ISS in September, the two men boarded the Dragon spacecraft. The astronauts flew over Mexico and toward Florida before the capsule's parachutes exploded over the water, close off the coast south of Tallahassee, as they re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. After that, the capsule fell into the sea, where a recovery ship awaited it.

How did Wilmore and Williams spend their time on the ISS?

It would be reasonable to assume that Wilmore and Williams would soon run out of things to do in space, given their eight-day stay. As it turns out, it was quite the opposite.

Research

Wilmore and Williams got to work on research to kill time in space because they wanted to make the most of their time aboard the ISS. The two conducted 900 hours of study aboard the ISS, or 37.5 full days, according to Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator of NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate.

Experiments

The astronauts conducted experiments in addition to studies, and not just with their trousers. During their time in space, the two conducted 150 experiments, which Montalbano claimed "benefits the nation."

Exercise

It should come as no surprise to you that spending months and months in space can have negative effects on the body. Wilmore and Williams conducted activities to try to lessen these effects, including the loss of muscle mass. With the aid of devices that help offset the effects of zero gravity, they each exercised for two or more hours every day.

Going on spacewalks

Being stuck in space doesn't mean you can't occasionally venture outside! Williams completed two spacewalks during her time aboard the ISS, breaking the record for the longest spacewalk by a female astronaut and increasing her overall number of spacewalks to nine.

Voting

"Postal voting" was elevated to a whole new level by the astronauts. NASA made sure that Williams and Wilmore didn't miss their opportunity to vote in the 2024 presidential election by sending ballots to the ISS via encrypted email. The astronauts then completed the forms and returned them with the aid of satellites.

Calling home

During their time on the ISS, Williams and Wilmore have not been completely isolated from the outside world; they have participated in several media calls and visited schools to help teach kids about space life.

Celebrating Christmas

It wasn't all science and politics - the pair also got to join in with Christmas festivities on the space station as they donned Santa hats and called home to wish their loved ones a happy Christmas.

So it's safe to say the pair kept busy - they've definitely earned a break!