NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her Starliner colleague Butch Wilmore have been living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since June 6. Five months have already passed and they need to remain in space for three more months before returning in February 2025.
During their long stay in space, Sunita and Butch are conducting several scientific experiments.
Last week, the two explored how space flight and radiation affect the immune system and blood clotting. This research will potentially provide insight into the safety and improved health of astronauts in space and humans on Earth, NASA said in a press release on Nov. 14.
As part of the research, NASA said its astronauts Sunita Williams and Nick Hague, Expedition 72 commander and flight engineer, respectively, participated together in the Kibo laboratory module processing cell samples using the Life Science Glovebox.
Earlier on November 12, Station Commander Sunita Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore worked throughout the day servicing numerous research hardware and electronics components, ensuring ongoing laboratory operations with high quality results.
According to NASA, Sunita Williams first collected her blood sample, spun it in a centrifuge, then placed the sample in a science freezer for later analysis.
“Next, it inspected a power cable in the Tranquility module, swapped out batteries in medical hardware, then serviced samples for the 3D medical device printer,” NASA said.
In the latest update on Nov. 18, a NASA release said Sunita Williams “put cell samples inside a fluorescence microscope, which scientists controlled remotely to observe inflammation and immune response changes in microgravity.”
“Researchers want to identify genes regulated by gravitational forces and understand their impact on the human immune system to protect the health of astronauts on future missions,” the US space agency said.
Sunita and Butch took off for their first crewed flight on June 5 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, arriving at the space station on June 6.
The decision was made to return Starliner to Earth without its crew and the spacecraft successfully returned on September 6 after more than three months in space. It made a safe landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
Both astronauts remain on the International Space Station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew. They will return home in February 2025 aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
