A planned eight-day mission developed into a nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for Barry 'Butch' Wilmore, 61, and Sunita Williams, 58, and they finally touched back down to Earth in March 2025.
Their Starliner capsule had a helium leak and thruster issues, meaning it wasn’t safe for them to disembark until repairs were complete. Given the logistical nightmare of getting spare parts and repairs from Earth to orbit, it took a long time.
Many might feel there are worse places to be stranded. Who doesn’t want to experience zero-G or see the Earth from space? Nine months is a hell of a long time though, especially when you’d only made plans to be off-world for a little over a week.
As astronauts, Butch and Suni were nevertheless prepared for the unexpected and seem to have made the most of their time on the ISS.
In terms of food, they were well-stocked throughout their stay.
A resupply is made to the ISS every 90 days, with the bulk of that being ‘space food’ that can last between nine months and five years before going off. Anything heading to the ISS needs to have at least a year’s shelf life.
The fresh food doesn't last very long, but the secret to space travel is having a stockpile of space food to sustain the astronauts.
You’ve probably seen the freeze-dried and rehydratable foods that make up the majority of space grub, but at Christmas time they were treated to some proper delicacies.
According to The Times, the ISS astronauts were treated to smoked oysters, crab, duck foie gras, pate, cranberry sauce, Atlantic lobster, croquettes and smoked salmon, along with getting the day off to speak with friends and family.
That Christmas feast is a far cry from what Yuri Gagarin, the first-ever spacefarer, ate in space. He squeezed a tube of beef and liver paste into his mouth for his main course, and followed it up with a tube of chocolate sauce for dessert.
In 2020, astronauts demonstrated how far off-planet cuisine has come by baking some fresh cookies onboard the ISS.
Now the astronauts are back, they’ll be re-acclimating to life on Earth.
"Your body feels great, it feels like a holiday," astronaut Tim Peake told the BBC whilst explaining what it’s like to be in space.
"Your heart is having an easy time, your muscles and bones are having an easy time. You're floating around the space station in this wonderful zero gravity environment.
"But you must keep up the exercise regime. Because you're staying fit in space, not for space itself, but for when you return back to the punishing gravity environment of Earth. Those first two or three days back on Earth can be really punishing."
Speaking to CBS in February 2025, Suni said: "I'm looking forward to seeing my family, my dogs and jumping in the ocean. That will be really nice - to be back on Earth and feel Earth."
A well-earned rest is very much in order, although both Butch and Suni have said they’d do it all again.
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Rachael Davis