‘Don’t feel like cast aways’: Stranded NASA astronaut Sunita Williams upbeat despite all odds  

Stranded US astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who are stuck for months on the International Space Station (ISS), said they have plenty of food, are not facing a laundry crisis, and don't yet feel like castaways. 

Williams, who is also Commander of ISS, said spirits were still high despite the unexpectedly long stay in space. 

“It’s just been a joy to be working up here,” Williams said during a call with NASA officials. “It doesn’t feel like we’re cast away,” he added. “Eventually we want to go home, because we left our families a little while ago but we have a lot to do while we're up here.” 

Williams added that there’s a lot to do with the team on the ground. “We have tonnes of science experiments with SpaceX 31, we got space walks coming up, it is really busy.” 

The astronauts humorously described life aboard the ISS, including wearing clothes for extended periods and the routine of eating. 

Wilmore chuckled while offering reassurance about food supply. “We are well fed,” he said. 

Laundry requirements are also not comparable to Earth, he explained. 

“Clothes fit loosely up here. It’s not like on Earth where you sweat and it gets bad. I mean, they fit loosely. So, you can wear things honestly, for weeks at a time, and it doesn’t bother you at all,” he said. 

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the ISS in June aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, and were due to spend only eight days on the orbiting laboratory. 

But problems with the Starliner's propulsion system prompted NASA to change plans, with a return flight now scheduled for late March at the earliest. 

Crew-9's two astronauts arrived at the ISS aboard a Dragon spacecraft in late September, with two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams. The plan was for all four to return home in February 2025. 

But the return was postponed last month when NASA announced that Crew-10, which would relieve Crew-9 and the stranded pair, would now launch no earlier than March 2025, and both teams would remain on board for a “handover period.” 

According to those timelines, Wilmore and Williams are scheduled to spend more than nine months in space. “When we get home, we’ll have lots of stories to tell,” Williams said. 

Netizens are raising alarms over the health of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams after the space agency shared a festive photo of her and astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station.  

social media users were quick to point out her visibly thin appearance. One user wrote, “Suni Williams does not look well, she needs to come home now.” Another added, “They are getting pretty skinny! Praying for their safety!” 

Meanwhile, NASA astronauts Commander Sunita Williams and Nick Hague will conduct the first spacewalk of 2025, scheduled for January 16. This mission, named US Spacewalk 91, will take place outside the International Space Station (ISS) and is expected to last approximately six-and-a-half hours.  

During the spacewalk, the astronauts will perform essential maintenance and upgrade tasks on the ISS. The primary objectives include replacing a rate gyro assembly crucial for the station’s orientation control, as well as servicing the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) X-ray telescope.