Blurry vision, wobbly steps, muscle loss, and more: Here's what happens to the human body after returning from deep space

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally on their way back to Earth after spending nine months at the International Space Station (ISS). Their delayed return comes with both well-understood and still-uncertain health risks, making their journey home a significant event for space research.

Astronauts returning home

Williams and Wilmore are accompanied by astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who arrived at the ISS in December on a rescue mission to bring them back. NASA confirmed that the Crew-9 team successfully undocked from the ISS as scheduled. «Suni and Butch successfully begin their belated journey back home,» the agency said.

The four astronauts undocked at 1:05 am ET (10:35 am IST) and began their 17-hour journey back to Earth. Before leaving, they handed over mission responsibilities to Crew-10. Their spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico at 5:57 pm ET on Tuesday (3:27 am IST, Wednesday), with the final landing site determined by local weather conditions.

Health risks in space

The focus will now be on their physical recovery and the scientific discoveries made during their extended stay. Astronauts experience significant changes in their bodies due to the lack of gravity in space. Some of the main health concerns include:

Bone and muscle loss: The absence of gravity causes muscle deterioration and weakens bones. Astronauts use special exercise machines on the ISS to reduce these effects. Rihana Bokhari, an assistant professor at the Center for Space Medicine at Baylor College, told AFP that a two-hour daily workout helps maintain fitness. «The best results that we have to show that we're being very effective is that we don't really have a fracture problem in