(Picture: AFP or licensors)
The two US astronauts floating in space for nine months will be home in only hours – but they might come back with a strange skin condition.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since June after their Boeing spacecraft suffered technical issues.
But yesterday, the pair and two other astronauts opened the hatch of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that will take them back to Earth in 17 hours.
If all goes to plan, the capsule will splash down off Florida’s Gulf Coast just before 10pm (GMT), Nasa says.
After so long floating around in space, however, Suni and Butch may come back looking and feeling a little different. Including developing a painful condition simply known as ‘baby feet’.
Why do astronauts develop baby feet?
When we walk around on Earth, our feet are subjected to constant pressure and friction, which makes the skin on our soles thicker.
This protects the feet from general wear and tear and, to an extent, discomfort and pain.
But as there’s no gravity in space, astronauts don’t have too many opportunities to go for a walk, meaning their feet face little pressure.
(Picture: AP)
‘After six months to a year, you gradually lose the thick, calloused skin on your feet,’ retired Nasa astronaut, Leroy Chiao, told NewsNation Prime.
Once the harder skin peels off, the feet are usually left soft and tender he said, adding: ‘You kind of have baby feet when you come back.’
Until the feet build up hard skin again, which can take from weeks to months, walking can be uncomfortable and even agonising.
What other side effects do astronauts face when they return to Earth?
Our bodies are designed to work with gravity squishing us down. Without it,bodily functions like our sense of balance, muscle mass and cell production can be thrown upside down.
So when space travellers are reunited with gravity, they may experience ‘significant dizziness’ as their ‘balance system is disrupted’, Leroy said.
‘You may feel nauseous and slightly unwell,’ the former astronaut added.
(Picture: Reuters)
‘To me, it feels kind of like having the flu. It takes a couple of weeks to get back to normal.’
Another retired Nasa astronaut, Terry Virts, told the channel he felt two things when touching the ground: ‘Really heavy and really, really dizzy’.
He also said he struggled to regain his sense of balance. Floating around in space means we don’t use many muscles we use daily down on Earth – think our legs to talk, or neck and back to keep us upright.
After a while, our bodies begin to reabsorb these now redundant muscles, in what’s often called muscle atrophy.
An astronaut’s heart can shrink slightly because the body needs to make less effort to pump blood around and their vision can be affected due to fluid shifting around differently and putting pressure on the optic nerve.
Prolonged isolation and confinement in a small space can also have psychological impacts, experts say, which can lead to anxiety and depression.
How do astronauts recover?
After returning to Earth, astronauts undergo a physical and psychological evaluation, which is followed by extensive rehabilitation.
This includes strength training, cardiovascular exercises, and psychological support.
Most astronauts fully recover, but some can suffer long-term effects.
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