Astronaut Sunita Williams and Batch Wilmore may have to wait till February 2025 to return to Earth, said NASA. Their stay has been extended, pertaining to technical issues.
But what happens to a human body in space?
Let us find out. As per a report by the Indian Express, NASA has increasingly been deploying its astronauts for extended stay missions to study the impacts on human bodies. This program has been running to study the impacts of short routine and extended stays.
The short stay lasts up to 3 .5 months. The routine stays last up to 8 months while the extended stays may be more than 8 months. In the past, however, many astronauts have remained in space for far longer than 9 to 10 months.
The record for the longest stay has been held by astronaut Valeri Poliakov of Russia, who spent 438 days in Mir space station between January 1994 and March 1995. Russia’s Mir space station was set up before the International Space Station.
Mir was operational between 1986 and 2001 before being brought down. Several studies conducted over the years have shown that bone density and muscle quality. deteriorate faster in space than on earth. Low gravity impacts brain fluids and extended stays can potentially alter brain structure. Extended stays can also increase the risk of heart disease. The ongoing program would help in better understanding several other changes and impacts that may be noticed.
Presently the astronauts aboard the ISS or International Space Station spend almost two hours every day in the gym doing a range of physical exercises.
