After spending nine months in space, one of the ‘stranded’ astronauts is struggling following his return home, according to his wife.

Astronaut Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore was ‘stranded’ in space for 286 days, much longer than the original planned eight-day trip onboard the International Space Station.

Wilmore was up in space for his extremely extended stay along with his crewmate Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams, with the duo finally returning to Earth last week in a phenomenal splashdown in Florida.

Now, Barry’s wife Deanna Wilmore has shared some of the challenges her husband is experiencing while he tries to readjust to normal life again – which involves 45 days of rehab in order for the pair to safely adjust to life on Earth.

“Barry does say gravity is not his friend right now, and you know the stamina is not there, and so they do have to rest and relax quite a bit because they’re just not strong yet,” she shared, as per the Daily Mail.

Significant muscle and bone loss among other health issues are common for astronauts who have spent a long time in low-gravity environments.

The impact has hit Barry and Suni harder because their mission – which they set of for on June 5, 2024 – lasted for nine months longer than planned, so they have a long road ahead of them for recovery to peak fitness.

NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams have finally returned to Earth after a mammoth nine months in space (NASA)

Wilmore’s two daughters, Daryn and Logan, were also there to welcome their father home.

Daryn has revealed that Barry is ‘doing good, it’s rough, but he’s a trooper’.

The NASA astronauts finally returned to Earth on March 18, and upon leaving the ship they found they could hardly lift their arms, let alone walk, due to gravity.

Deanna told local press that her husband has mostly been resting and watching TV on the couch. She also revealed when he returned there was ‘not a lot of talking, just a lot of hugging and enjoying the moment’.

The duo missed birthdays, Christmas and many special occasions, including Barry and Deanna’s 30th wedding anniversary. He did, however, make it back in time for Logan’s high school graduation next month.

Barry’s wife has said that ‘gravity is not his friend right now’ upon his return home (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

After spending so much time away, the family are also planning on taking a trip away this summer to celebrate his return.

According to doctors, the astronauts could have lost up to half of their muscle mass, and almost a fifth of their bone density.

In previous cases, researchers have found that it can take up to 1.5 times the length of the mission for astronauts to recover.

Barry and Suni may face more than a year of therapy, including progressive core and spinal stabilization exercises, stretching and mobility work and more.

(Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

Dr Ehsan Jazini, a spine surgeon at VSI, told the Daily Mail that ‘a longer recovery timeline should be expected’.

“Just like I tell my patients, they’ll need a lot of patience and consistency in the rehabilitation process,” she said.

“Even with pre-landing conditioning practices, their return to gravity is still a major adjustment to their spine, as nothing fully replicates that sudden shift back to Earth’s gravity.”

Experts were impressed to see that both astronauts were up and walking less than 24 hours after their return though, which they said was promising and impressive.

As Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams floated around the International Space Station for nine months, their employer NASA had to follow strict rules.

Having initially launched into space on the grounds that they would return eight days later, before their return shuttle experienced a host of technical issues that meant it was too dangerous to use, the two astronauts touched down yesterday (March 18).

It was thanks to SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which arrived at the ISS to drop off other astronauts who could relieve the pair of their duties.

So, let’s dive straight into the laws they faced.

The Outer Space Treaty (1967)

This is the main law to abide by for NASA as they attempted to rescue their stranded workers, with one term reading: “Astronauts shall be regarded as the envoys of mankind.”

“States shall not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner,” part of the treaty reads.

With another term reading: “States shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies.”

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were stranded in space for nine months (NASA)

The Rescue Agreement (1968)

It primarily expands on the first treaty. It mandates that countries that have explored space should take all possible measures to rescue astronauts in need.

“States Parties to the Treaty shall regard astronauts as envoys of mankind in outer space and shall render to them all possible assistance in the event of accident, distress, or emergency landing on the territory of another State Party or on the high seas,” article five of The Outer Space Treaty reads.

“In carrying on activities in outer space and on celestial bodies, the astronauts of one State Party shall render all possible assistance to the astronauts of other States Parties.”

The Liability Convention (1972)

Again, it expands on The Outer Space Treaty – if NASA caused damage to either an spacecraft or anything on Earth while trying to rescue Williams and Wilmore, they would be liable for damages.

Buzz Aldrin stands next to the US flag during his and Neil Armstrong’s moon walk, with the pair becoming the first people to land on the moon (NASA/Newsmakers)

The Registration Convention (1976)

Okay, this isn’t something NASA would have particularly had to worry about but it’s the fourth of the five international space treaties.

According to the UN, it ‘requires countries to register their orbiting space objects with the UN. The UN Secretary-General maintains this registry ensuring access to the information provided by countries and international intergovernmental organizations’.

The Moon Agreement (1984)

Finally, the last of the treaties is the Moon agreement, and this would have certainly not crossed the minds of NASA or SpaceX when looking to return Wilmore and Williams safely.

It just outlines that the Moon and other celestial bodies should be used only for peaceful purposes, and it prohibits disrupting the environment on external planets and natural satellites.

A NASA astronaut onboard the International Space Station has shared ‘breathtaking’ images of ‘the world and beyond’.

On March 14, 2025, SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission was launched into space aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carried by a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The team is conducting ‘research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory’ at the International Space Station (ISS), NASA reports.

The tenth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight and the 16th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, the mission saw four onboard including commander Anne McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers, and mission specialists Takuya Onishi and Kirill Peskov.

And NASA astronaut Ayers – who’s on her very first space flight – has since taken to Twitter to share her ‘awe’ at catching her first glimpse of ‘the world and beyond’ from the space station.

The mission launched in March (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Taking to Twitter on May 13, Ayers shared three images from inside the International Space Station explaining they were ‘shot from a few different lenses for perspective’.

She wrote: “I’m still in awe of our view of the world and beyond. Today was the Flower Moon and it did NOT disappoint!

“[…] I love how you can see the texture in the clouds and on the Moon itself.”

And it’s not taken long for people to weigh in, many in similar ‘awe’.

One user responded: “How gorgeous.”

Nichole “Vapor” Ayers

@Astro_Ayers

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I’m still in awe of our view of the world and beyond. Today was the Flower Moon and it did NOT disappoint! 🌕 🌸 These were shot from a few different lenses for perspective. I love how you can see the texture in the clouds and on the Moon itself.

5:52 PM · May 12, 2025

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“Beautiful. I needed to see this today. Thank you,” another added.

A third wrote: “Breathtaking.”

And a fourth said: “The universe is so magical.”

Crew-10’s arrival at the space station allowed for NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to safely return home after their days-long trip turned into a whopping nine-month period.

And other than catching ‘magical’ sights onboard the station, the team are conducting multiple experiments during their expected six months in space.

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim – who arrived at the ISS on April 8, 2025, along with two cosmonauts, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky on Russian Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft as part of the Expedition 72/73 crew – took to Twitter to share details of the experiments.

Jonny Kim

@JonnyKimUSA

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Replying to @JonnyKimUSA

M+33: The Air Force Academy (@Astro_Ayers‘s alma mater) is doing a neat botanical experiment to examine whether a carbon dioxide replacement can reduce a plant’s dependence on photosynthesis and increase growth in space-grown plants. This can help reduce energy use on future

9:09 AM · May 19, 2025

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In one post, he explained one experiment is seeing him and Ayers work alongside one another to ‘see how different types of nanomaterials can be fabricated in microgravity to improve biomedical applications on Earth’.

The pair previously worked together and Kim reflected ‘the experience brought back nostalgic memories’.

He also shared images of a ‘neat botanical experiment to examine whether a carbon dioxide replacement can reduce a plant’s dependence on photosynthesis and increase growth in space-grown plants’.

“This can help reduce energy use on future missions and help us understand how plants adapt to life in microgravity. It’s been fun watching these little guys sprout,” he added.

Kim stated: “Science experiments are the lifeblood of our Space Station and we look forward to conducting more research on our Expedition.”

An astronaut who has been trapped in space for several months has revealed the toll it’s taken on her body.

Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and her crew mate, Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, set off from Earth in June 2024 and were only supposed to spend eight days in space.

But their mission has since been drastically prolonged after technical issues with their Boeing capsule meant that they could not return home as planned.

The capsule has since returned to Earth without them in tow.

Instead, Williams and Wilmore have taken up residence at the International Space Station (ISS) and are expected to finally return home sometime next month.

Since they’ve been there for so long, Williams says she’s forgotten how to do things like walking and sitting down.

Speaking on a video call with students at Needham High School in Massachusetts earlier this week, the 59-year-old astronaut said, as per Mail Online: “I’ve been up here long enough, right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk. I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down.”

Williams and Wilmore have seldom left the ISS since moving in there several months ago, but recently embarked on a spacewalk together to fix an antenna.

The pair floated out to remove a broken antenna and wipe the station’s exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive after launching from Earth and escaping through vents.

Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams pictured on the day of their departure last year (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

While she’s been up in space, people have expressed concerns about Williams’ health after seeing photographs of her, as well as Wilmore.

It’s said the pair have been in a ‘significant calorie deficit’ since traveling to space.

Speaking on Williams’ condition, Dr Vinay Gupta said of the photos late last year: “What you’re seeing there in that picture is somebody that I think is experiencing the natural stresses of living at a very high altitude, even in a pressurized cabin, for extended periods.”

“Her cheeks appear a bit sunken – and usually it happens when you’ve had sort of total body weight loss,” he continued.

“I think what I can discern by her face and her cheeks being sunken in is that [she] has probably been at a significant [calorie] deficit for a while.”

NASA has previously addressed this and told LADbible Group: “All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health.”

There has been concerns about Williams’ health while she’s been up in space (MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images)

In a recent update, NASA said that it was continuing to work with SpaceX to ensure Williams and Wilmore’s safe return home.

The space agency tweeted on January 29: “NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions.”