NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally on their way back home after a nine-month stay at the International Space Station(ISS) due to a technical snag in the spacecraft. Both are being discussed across the globe for their historic stay in space.
In an old interview, Sunita can be heard talking about how watching Tom Cruise’s Top Gun inspired her to become a pilot. During a visit to India in January 2018, she spoke to students about her journey and the challenges she encountered along the way.
“I wanted to fly jets because of Top Gun, but I ended up becoming a helicopter pilot instead. My journey wasn’t straightforward, and it wasn’t until my mid-twenties, after attending test pilot school and meeting astronauts, that I realised I had some of the same qualifications. That’s when I thought, ‘Maybe this is the path I should take,’” she shared..
Sunita also shared how her passion for animals led her toward veterinary science. She explained the fascinating physiological changes that happen in space, saying, “Your calluses disappear because you don’t walk, and I noticed my nails and hair grew faster. In zero gravity, some wrinkles on your face might temporarily smooth out as fluids shift upwards. Your spine expands because there’s no pressure on the cartilage between vertebrae, making you a little taller in space. However, these changes reverse when you return to Earth, and gravity brings you back to your normal height, sometimes with a bit of back pain.”
She also discussed how space travel affects bones and muscles, with bones losing density and muscle mass decreasing quickly. “To combat this, we exercise intensively with specialised equipment. We run on treadmills with harnesses to simulate gravity and lift weights to maintain muscle mass, especially in the hips and legs. We also use exercise bikes for cardiovascular fitness. After landing, it takes about 24 to 48 hours for our fluid balance to stabilise so we can resume normal physical activities.”
