NASA astronaut Sunita Williams underwent a hearing test on Tuesday, the US space agency said in a press release. The agency said the test was standard as she remains in space amid uncertainty over the Starliner spacecraft’s return to Earth.
Williams and his colleague Butch Wilmore took turns taking standard hearing tests. Astronauts who go into space have to undergo regular checkups to understand the effect of microgravity on the human body and to monitor their health.
Earlier this August, Sunita Williams’s cornea, retina and lens were scanned using standard medical imaging hardware.
Earlier, NASA reported that Starliner pilots Sunita Williams and commander Butch Wilmore took part in vein scans using the Ultrasound 2 device.
NASA astronauts took turns imaging each other’s neck, shoulder and leg veins, while doctors on the ground monitored the process in real time.
Astronauts are at risk of hearing or vision loss during long stays in space. NASA said in its previous report that several astronauts who returned to Earth after long stays on the space station have reported “subjective changes in their vision.”
Meanwhile, the European Space Agency said the International Space Station can be a noisy place. NASA also pointed out that exposure to noise in spaceflight can have a negative impact on hearing.
starliner saga
Williams and Wilmore took off on Boeing’s Starliner on June 5 and have been in space since then. They made history by becoming the first people to fly on a Starliner spacecraft as part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were scheduled to return by mid-June. But, their return to Earth has been delayed due to thruster anomalies, software issues and helium leaks. The Starliner mission now overlaps with the Expedition 71 mission.
NASA and Boeing said their priority is to bring the two astronauts back aboard Starliner, but they are also considering other options if Starliner is not fit for a return mission. One of those options is bringing the two back on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in 2025. NASA officials said they are still considering options and studying the root cause of the Starliner problem. They have not yet set a return date.
The Boeing Crew Flight Test crew – Sunita Williams and Butch – are working with the Expedition 71 crew on the International Space Station to carry out a variety of studies and space research. Meanwhile, NASA and Boeing teams are analyzing data from recent ground and spacecraft testing on the ground and in space as they evaluate the Starliner spacecraft’s propulsion system during NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission.