NASA sent two astronauts up in June 2024 expecting they'd be back in just over a week. But the Starliner spacecraft they used had some unexpected issues—think leaky systems and moody thrusters—so it couldn’t safely bring them home. Instead of taking chances, NASA decided to leave the ship up there and bring it back empty. So the astronauts had to hang out on the ISS way longer than planned—like, months longer. They finally hitched a ride back with SpaceX in March 2025. Not the plan, but hey, they made history and got a whole lot of space miles!
00:00It was supposed to be an easy eight-day long mission.
00:07Two NASA astronauts couldn't even imagine they would get stranded in space for at least nine months.
00:16Their task was to test a brand new spacecraft, Starliner.
00:21They were hoping to return it to Earth as soon as possible so engineers could check it out and send it on a new flight.
00:27But from the very start, it didn't go as planned for Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, experienced astronauts who had both been to the International Space Station before.
00:38They were supposed to depart on the 6th of May, 2024, but had to postpone departure for one month because of a leaky valve in the upper stage of their rocket.
00:48When they finally took off on the 5th of June, new problems started before they even got to the station.
00:53There were failures in some of their thrusters and, later, leaks in the gaseous helium.
01:00It's important because it keeps the thrusters pressurized.
01:03Boeing, who built the new spacecraft, and NASA focused on solving those problems and figured out it wasn't safe for the astronauts to fly back home on the Starliner.
01:13They didn't just leave them on the ISS, of course.
01:17NASA came up with a plan where Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams would come back home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
01:27It took off in September of the same year, with two empty seats out of a total of four.
01:32The only problem is that it wasn't supposed to come back until February 2025 at the earliest.
01:38In a press conference from the International Space Station, Wilmore and Williams admitted it was heartbreaking to watch their spacecraft depart without them.
01:48But they were trained to expect the unexpected.
01:51They keep receiving messages of support from Earth.
01:54And they aren't at all sad to spend more time in space as they say it's their happy place.
02:00Mr. Wilmore gets up every day at half past four in the morning, and Ms. Williams at half past six.
02:08They do at least two hours of exercise at the space gym every day to reduce the loss of bone density.
02:15Another big problem is sleeping in space.
02:18The space station has six tiny sleep pods, each about the size of a phone booth.
02:23Inside, there's a sleeping bag, a little storage area for snacks and personal stuff, and even two laptops attached to the walls with bungee cords.
02:32The pods aren't completely soundproof, so astronauts sometimes wear headphones to listen to music or calming sounds from Earth to help them fall asleep.
02:42But here's the problem.
02:43There are more astronauts than sleep pods.
02:46So, three astronauts have to find other places to sleep.
02:49One of them sleeps in a simple backup sleep chamber inside the European Space Agency's Columbus lab.
02:56Butch Wilmore is roughing it in just a sleeping bag inside the Japanese Space Agency's lab.
03:02When they planned this mission, Butch was only supposed to sleep like that for eight days, which didn't sound that terrible.
03:09Another problem they had to deal with was that they didn't pack enough clothes for several months.
03:14So, astronauts had to savor what they brought for the first two months until a resupply vehicle delivered fresh outfits along with hardware, fruits, and vegetables.
03:25The astronauts have a super-packed schedule that's managed by a computer tablet.
03:30It tells them what tasks to do, when to take breaks, and even when to eat, all in 15-minute chunks.
03:36A little red line on the tablet moves through the day in real time, showing them if they're on track or running behind.
03:44At first, Butch and Williams were working on the Starliner spacecraft, testing all its systems like communications, life support, and power.
03:52Once they finished that checklist, they started helping the other crew members with science experiments and maintenance tasks.
03:58The best-case scenario is now a late-March return, and if it actually happens, the Starliner crew will spend over 270 days in space.
04:10An average mission on the ISS lasts around six months, so it's already way longer, but not close to the record time.
04:18The current American record belongs to astronaut Frank Rubio, who stayed in space for 371 days in a row.
04:26He lived on the International Space Station from September 2022 to September 2023.
04:33When Frank first went to space, the plan was for him to stay there for about six months, but it didn't go as planned.
04:41In December 2022, a meteoroid, or maybe a piece of broken satellite junk, crashed into the spaceship that was supposed to bring him and his two crewmates home.
04:51The spaceship was damaged so badly that it wasn't safe to use anymore.
04:55The two astronauts who were on that spaceship also had to stay on the ISS with Frank for six extra months, until another spaceship went to space and rescued them.
05:07During his mission, Frank Rubio zoomed around Earth about 5,936 times.
05:14Altogether, he traveled a distance of 157 million miles.
05:19It's like going to the moon and back 328 times.
05:22Frank also went on three spacewalks and spent 21 hours outside the space station.
05:31One of Frank's big jobs was to do scientific experiments.
05:36He studied how bacteria behave in space, where there's no gravity pulling things down like on Earth.
05:42But his favorite experiment was taking care of a tiny tomato plant and watching it grow.
05:47Frank admitted that being away from his family for so long was really hard.
05:53But it's not the only possible hardship on such an extended space stay.
05:58Space agencies have entire departments that study the effects of space on the human body.
06:03In one of the studies, called Twins, scientists compared two identical twin brothers, Scott Kelly and Mark Kelly.
06:11They're both astronauts.
06:13But for this study, Scott spent a year on the ISS, and Mark stayed on Earth.
06:18By comparing them, scientists could figure out how space changed Scott's body compared to his twin.
06:24He said it took him at least six months to feel like his usual self again after coming back to Earth.
06:32Scientists noticed predictable weight loss and bone mass loss, but they didn't expect to see changes in his DNA.
06:40They found that his telomeres, which are like tiny protective caps at the ends of DNA strands, got longer while he was in space.
06:48But sometime after he got back, he had more short telomeres than before.
06:52It looks like the damage was permanent.
06:56It must have to do with radiation, which is one of the biggest dangers for astronauts who stay in space for a long time.
07:03It can damage DNA, and that can increase the risk of some really serious health problems.
07:09Astronauts need protection from radiation, not just while they're flying in space, but also if they live on the moon or Mars someday.
07:16Scientists are working hard to find ways to keep astronauts safe from this invisible danger.
07:23Every space agency has rules about how much radiation astronauts can safely handle during their careers.
07:30Another big problem astronauts face is bone demineralization.
07:37It happens because there's no gravity in space pulling on their bones like there is on Earth.
07:42Without that pressure, their bones start losing minerals like calcium, which makes them weaker.
07:49Astronauts can lose about 1 to 1.5% of their bone density every month they're in space.
07:54When calcium from the bones gets into the body's waste system, it can lead to kidney stones.
08:01Because of these changes, astronauts coming back from space need time to recover.
08:07Another challenge in space is how the body's fluids, like blood, behave.
08:12On Earth, gravity keeps most fluids lower in your body, but in space, they float upward.
08:18This extra fluid in the head can push on the eyes, which might change how astronauts see.
08:25Some even develop a condition that can make it hard to focus their eyes.
08:29And sometimes, the changes in vision can be permanent.
08:33When astronauts who spend a longer time in space, like Williams and Wilmore, return to Earth,
08:39doctors keep a close eye on their health with regular checkups.
08:43Scientists expect that their condition is going to be like that of six-month astronauts.
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