An eight-month holiday in space: Inside Williams and Wilmore’s unexpected ISS adventure

Let us set the scene: after years of training, your childhood dreams have come true, and you are officially an astronaut. The date has been set, you and your colleague will be jetting off to the International Space Station (ISS). However, upon arrival, your dream holiday, a mere 400 kilometres above Earth, has been unexpectedly extended from a week to eight months. Shockingly, this is the reality for American astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who, after departing for the ISS in June 2024, will return to Earth next February following issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft. 

While NASA insists that Williams and Wilmore are not technically ‘stranded’ in space, the information seems cloudy. After their eight-day mission, reports suggested that helium leaks in their departure capsule’s propulsion system meant it would be too dangerous to return to Earth. Now, the pair await their rescue by their knight in shining armour, Elon Musk, and the arrival of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. They will embark on the most expensive taxi home, costing the South African entrepreneur nearly $100 million.  

Williams shared her excitement to vote in the 2024 US election, while admitting that space was her “happy place”

In an interview in September, Wilmore accepted that these mistakes often happen and are part of the risk involved with the treacherous journey to space. Similarly, Williams shared her excitement to vote in the 2024 US election through an encrypted electronic ballot, while admitting that space was her “happy place”. 

A vacation day on the International Space Station is no ordinary one. In 24 hours, Wilmore and Williams will make 16 orbits of the Earth, witnessing 16 sunrises and sunsets, all while settled in a station larger than a six-bedroom house. With the lack of gravity, a daily workout of two hours is required in the state-of-the-art gym to prevent muscle and bone mass decrease, followed by a meal consisting of perhaps a pre-prepared meatloaf, or even ISS baked cookies, as provided by Hilton in 2019. Relaxing with a daily sponge bath, and a ‘rinseless’ shampoo, the crew can typically get eight hours of sleep before their daily routine repeats again. 

Although the ISS is incredibly safe, with flight deemed to be the safest mode of transport, is a lack of gravity realistically healthy for the body over a prolonged period of time? Questions about this have circulated for many years, especially regarding ambitions for humans to potentially venture to Mars. The human body is attuned to a gravity-based lifestyle, with many astronauts returning to Earth facing health-based issues such as disuse osteoporosis and symptoms of gravity and radiation sickness. Nevertheless, NASA insists that Wilmore and Williams will maintain their good health, and feasibly return to Earth-based daily life.  

The team were reported to have decorated gravity-free Christmas cookies

These circumstances make us wonder, how do people fill their days on the ISS, especially over the festive period? In a Christmas message delivered by NASA, a group of astronauts including Williams and Wilmore showed off their recently delivered Christmas care packages, filled with floating candy canes, and some very pointy Santa hats. Spreading some festive cheer, the team were reported to have decorated gravity-free Christmas cookies, alongside crafting reindeer decorations from storage boxes. While being your unconventional Christmas Day, the team shared traditional festive messages and cherished the opportunity to celebrate with friends. Due to the consistent orbits, the team would have experienced 16 consecutive Christmas mornings, a truly unique and exciting experience.  

The morale of the team on the International Space Station seems high, and I’m sure their pre-prepared Christmas dinner filled the gap for what they would be missing at home. That said, I can imagine the gravity-free somersaults and cabin fever must get frustrating and repetitive. But for now, Williams and Wilmore seem comfortable in their galactic hotel, and I’m sure it would receive a five-star review from both of them.