Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore reached the International Space Station on Boeing’s new Starliner in June. What was meant to be an 8-day trip is now likely to continue till February 2025 after their flight suffered helium leaks and thruster failures before docking.
Boeing insisted the astronauts were not stuck and said “there’s no increased risk” in bringing them back in the Starliner, but NASA is contemplating getting them back on a SpaceX flight instead. They have said the astronauts have “enough supplies” in the space station.
As NASA is still to decide whether it’ll keep the two astronauts at the International Space Station until early next year or find another way out, here is how Sunita and Barry will survive in space till 2025:
The International Space Station spans 356 feet from end to end, nearly the size of an American football field.
The facility boasts six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym, and a bay window offering a 360-degree view. Astronauts Sunita Williams, Barry Wilmore, and seven others currently inhabit it.
The space station is equipped with oxygen generation systems, which can recycle about 50% of the oxygen from exhaled carbon dioxide. Additionally, it has a recycling system that converts urine and moisture from sweat back into water.
Dehydrated and ready-to-eat meals produced by NASA’s Space Food Systems Laboratory in Houston are now available.
In a video featured on NASA’s YouTube channel, astronaut Sunita Williams reveals that her favourite snack aboard the station is a jar of Nutter Butter spread, a gift from her family.
The most recent supply mission, launched by a rocket from Kazakhstan on 30 May, reached the space station on 6 August. Crew members can make specific requests to Mission Control. On 6 August, Williams and Wilmore received their personal clothing on the space station.
In a 2012 video, Sunita Williams introduced the toilet system at the space station. Astronauts have two separate pipes with a suction function for urine and faeces.
Although it’s possible to sleep on any flat surface in space, astronauts typically use compact, phone-booth-sized pods equipped with sleeping bags and a pillow.