NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore certainly didn’t think they’d still be on the International Space Station this long when they left Earth in June. In fact, they originally expected to stay for only eight days. And now, after plans for their return were cancelled, they will be back on earth at the end of March. But in mid-January, at least one of them was to go out and the other has plans to do so. Williams partnered with astronaut Nick Hague for a spacewalk on January 16, and both Williams and Wilmore are preparing for a spacewalk together on January 30
NASA astronaut Suni Williams is seen outside the International Space Station during the Jan. 16, 2025, Spacewalk.
On the Jan. 16 spacewalk, Williams and Haag replaced a velocity gyro assembly that helps maintain the orientation of the Orbital Outpost, NASA said. It was the fourth spacewalk for Haag and the eighth for Williams. The astronauts also installed patches to cover damaged areas with light filters on the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray Filoscope, replaced a reflector assembly on one of the International Docking Adapters, and checked access areas and plug tools that astronauts will use for future Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer maintenance.
On January 30, the Spacewalk, which begins at 8 ET and for the past six and a half hours, Williams and Wilmore remove radio antenna hardware and search for microbes outside the Orbital Outpost.
The two stranded astronauts say that while they miss their families, they still have work to keep them busy.
“Eventually we will go home,” Williams said at a recent news conference. “We left our families a little while ago, but we have a lot to do up here and we need to get those things done before we go.”
February return is now March
Recently, NASA pushed back Williams and Wilmore’s return to Earth from February to the end of March.
“NASA and SpaceX evaluated various options for handling the next crew handover, including using a different Dragon spacecraft and manifest adjustments,” according to a NASA press release issued Dec. 17. “After careful consideration, the team determined that the launch of Crew-10 in late March, following the completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best opportunity to meet NASA’s requirements and achieve space station goals for 2025.
The delay is so NASA and SpaceX teams can finish work on the mission’s new Dragon spacecraft. The new craft will launch four crew members to the ISS – Commander Anne McClain, Commander Pilot Nichole Ayers, Japanese Astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Once the new crew is settled, Williams, Wilmore, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to Earth.
But Williams and Wilmore aren’t complaining about their extended stay.
“I like everything about being up here,” Williams said in early December. “Living in space is super fun.”
The astronauts are keeping busy with Williams and Wilmore assisting the other ISS residents in space botany studies and other research, according to NASA’s ISS blog. They have assisted in more than 60 scientific studies in their nearly six months on board, the Washington Post reports.
Here’s what you need to know about what the two astronauts are up to.
Who are the astronauts?
Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are veteran astronauts and are both naval officers and former test pilots. Williams has been a NASA astronaut since 1998 and Wilmore since 2000. Both have plenty of experience in space.
Williams is the previous record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time by a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007 she ran the first marathon by any person in space.
In 2009, Wilmore piloted the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its mission to the ISS, and in 2014, he was part of the ISS crew that used a 3D printer to produce a tool – a screw driver – in space, the first time humans had produced anything off- world.
What was their original mission in space?
Wilmore, as commander, and Williams, as pilot, traveled to the ISS in a 15-foot-wide, Boeing-made capsule called the Starliner. They were launched on June 5 and docked with the ISS on June 6. NASA hopes the Starliner will give the organization a new way to get crews to and from the ISS, and the fact that it’s Boeing-made is another sign that NASA is starting to lean on the private sector for its human spaceflight capabilities, New York reported Times.
Wilmore and Williams’ ISS mission was to last only eight days, during which they would test aspects of the Starliner and see how it works with a human crew in space. However, due to complications with the Starliner, the two astronauts are still up there.
What do astronauts eat?
Food on the ISS is a major focus, as fresh produce must be replenished every three months with deliveries from Earth. On November 23, the unlisted Progress 90 Resupply spacecraft successfully docked with the ISS. But the latest food delivery came with an unwanted smell.
“After opening the progress hatch of the spacecraft, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed an unexpected smell and observed small droplets, which prompted the crew to close the Poisk hatch to the rest of the Russian segment,” said the NASA representative in a statement that was sent to social media.
“Space station air scrubbers and pollutant sensors monitored the station’s atmosphere after the sighting, and on Sunday flight controllers determined air quality inside the space station was at normal levels,” NASA said. “There are no concerns for the crew and as of Sunday afternoon, the crew is working to open the hatch between Poisk and Progress while all other space station operations continue as planned.”
NASA revealed that their menu includes cereal with powdered milk, pizza, shrimp cocktails, fried chicken and tuna.
The smell that accompanied the spacecraft is not the only food-related concern of late, with some publications questioning the astronauts’ thin appearance based on recent photos.
Dr. JD Polk, NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer, issued an official statement that Williams and Wilmore are perfectly fine. “NASA and our partners have safely conducted long-duration missions aboard the Orbital Laboratory for decades, studying the effects of space on the human body as we prepare for exploration further into the solar system,” Polk said. “Crew health is regularly monitored by dedicated flight surgeons on the ground and they have an individual diet and fitness regime to ensure they stay healthy throughout their expeditions.”
Williams said she weighs the same as she did when she reached the space station, in a video interview conducted Nov. 12 on the ISS.
What do the astronauts say?
The astronauts have been positive about their experience. In a live news conference in September, Williams said that despite knowing their mission was planned to last only eight days, they both had “a number of years of training” for it. They are fully qualified to remain in space for an extended period of time and to help pilot the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that will bring them home next year.
“It’s very peaceful up here,” Williams said on Sept. 13, though she added that they miss their families back on Earth.
The astronauts work on research, maintenance and data analysis during their extended stay.
“We’re having fun here on the ISS,” Williams said at a news conference held from Orbit in July. “I’m not complaining. Butch’s not complaining about us being up here for a few extra weeks.”
Wilmore and Williams answer media questions back in March.
How did they get stuck in space in the first place?
Starliner was delayed in May due to a problem with a valve in the rocket. Then engineers had to fix a helium leak. It’s all bad news for Boeing. It competes with SpaceX, which has carried astronauts to the ISS since 2020, making over 20 successful trips to the space station.
The Starliner finally launched, atop an Atlas V rocket, on June 5, but some problems accompanied it. NASA announced that three helium leaks were identified, one of which was known before flight, and two new ones. In addition to the leaks, the crew had to troubleshoot failed control rods, although the craft was able to dock with the ISS.
SpaceX has also had mistakes. A Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launchpad in 2016. In July of this year, a Falcon 9 rocket experienced a liquid oxygen leak and put its satellites into the wrong orbit, the New York Times reported. And a Falcon 9 rocket in late August lost a first-stage booster when it overturned in the Atlantic Ocean and caught fire.
But that said, SpaceX has more than 300 successful Falcon 9 flights to its credit.
Stuck in Space: A Timeline
- May: Starliner launch delayed due to a problem with a valve in the rocket, and then a helium leak.
- June 5: Starliner is launched with Williams and Wilmore on board.
- June 6: Starliner docks with the ISS despite dealing with three helium leaks and failed control trees.
- September 6: Starliner departs the ISS and lands in New Mexico, leaving Williams and Wilmore behind.
- September 28: SpaceX Crew-9 Mission launches with Haag and Gorbunov on a Dragon spacecraft.
- September 29: SpaceX Dragon Docks with ISS.
- December 17: NASA announces the launch of four crew members to the ISS will be delayed from February to the end of March.
- March 2025 and beyond: SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft returns to Earth with Williams, Wilmore, Haag and Gorbunov.