International Space Station (ISS) Commander Sunita Williams is gearing up for her return to Earth, scheduled for February 2025. As part of her preparations, Williams is training in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and performing critical maintenance tasks, including checks on a US spacesuit ahead of an upcoming spacewalk.
After completing the suit inspections, Williams joined NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore to conduct eye exams using the Ultrasound 2 device. The astronauts alternated scanning each other’s eyes, while ground-based doctors monitored their corneas, lenses, and optic nerves in real time. Wilmore also worked on cargo transfers between the Kibo and Columbus laboratory modules and installed air quality sensors in the Quest module.
Maintaining equipment and living conditions on the ISS remains a top priority for the crew. Flight Engineer Nick Hague focused on micro-algae research, exploring its potential to remove carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, and serve as a food source on spacecraft. Hague processed samples in the BioLab to study the effects of microgravity and radiation on micro-algae. Additionally, as commander of SpaceX Crew-9, Hague joined his crewmates for return training aboard the Dragon spacecraft, targeting a spring Earth landing.
Beyond her scientific duties, Sunita Williams recently connected with students from Sunita Williams Elementary School in Needham, Massachusetts, via a virtual session. She shared insights about life aboard the ISS and demonstrated the challenges of drinking fluids in a zero-gravity environment.
In space, traditional drinking methods are ineffective because liquids float as droplets rather than flowing from cups. To overcome this, astronauts use specialized pouches equipped with straws and sealed openings to control the liquid and prevent leaks. Williams humorously remarked, “I never thought something as simple as drinking could be so tricky, but in space, we have to think about everything!”
Space Station commander Sunita Williams along with other fellow Nasa astronauts has completed the transfer of cargo to the Dragon spacecraft to be sent to Earth on Monday.
SpaceX is targeting Monday, December 16, 2024, for the next undocking opportunity of the CRS-31 Dragon resupply spacecraft from the International Space Station (ISS).
This adjustment comes after mission managers decided to wave off the planned return of the Dragon spacecraft on December 14 due to unfavourable weather conditions forecasted at the splashdown sites off the coast of Florida.
Williams and fellow astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore arrived at the ISS on June 6, 2024 in Boeing's Starliner crew capsule. They were originally scheduled to return to Earth in a week, but the capsule experienced multiple thruster failures and helium leaks. NASA deemed it too risky to return, so the astronauts remained on the ISS.
Williams has described the ISS as her "happy place". She's spent a total of 431 days in space, and finds life in microgravity familiar and manageable.