The two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for over six months have provided an update for 2025.
Back in June last year, NASA astronauts Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams set off on an eight-day mission that ended up being far longer than they planned.
The space explorers discovered some technical issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft when docking at the ISS, which was sent back to Earth in September without them in it.
It is said that it developed the fault on its way to the ISS, and for the safety of the astronauts, they would not return as scheduled.
The pair have been waiting for their chance to rotate off the station, and with the way the crew handover works, they have now been stationed there for over half a year.
They’ve made the most of a bad situation though, sharing some snaps onboard of the crew celebrating Christmas in orbit, leaving many to wonder where they got the decorations from.
An update was provided before then, though, as NASA revealed that the rescue mission, which was slated for February, has been delayed by at least a month.
This is due to the SpaceX Dragon capsule, which was meant to pick up the astronauts, not being on schedule.
NASA’s Steve Sitch said: “Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavour that requires great attention to detail,
“We appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station programme and expedition crews as we work together to complete the new capsule’s readiness for flight.”
Now, the astronauts have given us a fresh update on their situation, while speaking to NASA leaders in a live video event last night (8 January) with two other astronauts.
As per Sky News, Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 59, answered a question asking if they felt like ‘castaways’, similar to Tom Hanks’ 2000 film Cast Away, where he is stranded on a desert island for a long period of time before being rescued.
The latter said that they ‘do not feel like castaways’ but admitted: “Eventually we wanna go home, we left our families a little while ago.
“But we have a lot to do up here and we have to get that stuff done before we go.”
They have now missed the US election, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s in the station, also revealing that they couldn’t see the wildfires spreading in California yet.
Wilmore and Williams are now patiently waiting for their rocket home, as well as fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
When new photos emerged of the astronauts back in November, many were concerned for the two, particularly Williams, who’d appeared to have lost some weight, however, she responded to the concerns, adding that ‘a lot of changes that go on up here’.
Food supplies were also a concern, but NASA recently revealed that the ISS recently received two cargo deliveries as well, which include clothes, food, water and oxygen.
Last month, they stated: “The resupply spacecraft also carried special items for the crew to celebrate the holidays aboard the orbital platform.”
