Sunita Williams after retirement: For the first time after spending 608 days in space, Sunita Williams has revealed her anxieties and fears. Speaking to podcaster Raj Shamani, she explained the impact that being in space has on an astronaut’s health and the cost they have to pay for it.
Williams, having dedicated nearly three decades to the space mission, has faced her share of challenges. However, during her latest stint, in the sense of an unresolved crisis, her Boeing Starliner mission extended unexpectedly. Initially set to be 8 days, she was ‘stuck in space’ for nearly 9 months. She had a rather dramatic exit as her crew splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida. She remarked how the after-space effect ‘didn’t help’ when they ‘landed in water’. Here’s how it really feels when an astronaut lands on Earth from space.
How was Sunita’s experience of landing on water after 286 days?
“It didn’t help that this time we landed in the water,” remarked Williams as she explained how she usually feels nauseous the moment she lands on Earth. However, despite a historic mission, “everybody was concentrating on the dolphins that were there outside of the capsule,” she recalled.
“And it was funny because the thought in my head was like, ‘Oh no, if we turn over all the way upside down, that’s not going to be good’,” Williams added. She explained that she and her crew were ‘bobbing around like a cork’ and explained how it felt nauseous.
How does space change your body? Sunita Williams explains
Explaining the changes an astronaut’s body goes through in zero gravity space, Williams explained, “The neurovestibular system has not been working while you’re up in space. It sort of shuts down, and you have other feelings of orientation while you’re up there.” She shared that the inner ear, which evolved to provide balance to humans in gravity, is not really needed while you’re in a vacuum state.
Gravity becomes a major player for the astronaut to feel when they return to Earth. Sharing her personal experience, she said, ” I felt pretty nauseous for like 24 hours.” One of the triggers to nausea is taking off the space suit and putting it over your head.
What happened to Sunita after getting out of the spaceship?
Still in their space suits, Williams shared, “We get out on little seat with people helping us because there’s a big hole in the in the spacecraft for where the cargo is and so nobody wants to trip and fall getting out first of all because you’re not feeling too good and then they just take us to the back where we can get out of our space suits.”
Recovering from this feeling, however, needs recovery with the nausea settling in by 24-48 hours. With a loss of muscle over time, an astronaut may also need help from others to move till they regain the lost muscle. “We work with our physical trainers for certain exercises. They and they give us tests along the way to see how we’re doing, see how we’re improving. And it’s actually pretty cool to see your body come back to human self again, you know, to earthly self again,” the former NASA astronaut shared.
