Sunita Williams has ‘tough’ gravity to face when back on Earth. Here’s what changes

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stuck in space for nearly eight months, are likely to face a tough task re-adjusting to the atmosphere on Earth. “Gravity is really tough, and that’s what we feel when we get back,” said astronaut Butch Wilmore, who will return to Earth with Sunita Williams, likely on March 19.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Wilmore said that the two astronauts will even “feel the weight of a pencil” when they reach back on Earth.

The astronauts said, “When you get back [to Earth], Gravity starts pulling everything to lower extremities; fluids will be pulled down…it’s really gonna be different…you don’t even feel a pencil when you lift it [on Earth], but we when we get back, even to lift a pencil, we will feel the weight,” he told CNN.

Dreaming in space

Meanwhile, Sunita Williams shared her experience of dreaming in space. When asked, “Do you dream that you are in space or do you dream that you are on Earth,” Sunita Williams said her father, who was a neuroscientist, had also asked her that question after her first flight to space.

“I do dream that I am up here at times when I am here and I do dream that I am home as well. I think it’s based on your experience…so a little of both…when I was home last time, I actually dream that I was in space a couple of times, that’s pretty unique and special,” Sunita Williams said.

Not ‘virtually abandoned’

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore also rejected claims by President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency Director Elon Musk that the Biden administration had “virtually abandoned” them in space.

Wilmore told CNN in a Thursday interview, “We don’t feel abandoned. We don’t feel stuck. We don’t feel stranded. I understand why others may think that.”

“We come prepared. We come committed,” he added. Wilmore said, “That is what your human spaceflight program is. It prepares for any and all contingencies that we can conceive of, and we prepare for those.”

Donald Trump said he asked Elon Musk’s and SpaceX to “go get” the two NASA astronauts, who have been “abandoned in space” on the International Space Station, as soon as possible.

In a January 28 tweet, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk proclaimed that Donald Trump had tasked him with expediting “stranded” Wilmore and Williams’ trip home by harnessing the resources of his Space X company. “We will do so,” Musk wrote, adding, “Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”

Sunita Williams news: The story so far

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June 2024. They were supposed to stay in space for about eight days.

But after Starliner was detected with some faults, NASA decided to return the Boeing spacecraft without its two crew members in September 2024.

NASA had then announced that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore would return with NASA-Space Crew 9 mission which was launched in late September along with Nick Hague and Aleksandr Grubonov.

Now, NASA said the two astronauts won’t be back to Earth until the replacement of Crew 9 mission — which is NASA-SpaceX Crew 10 mission — is not launched to the International Space Station.

NASA uses SpaceX spacecraft for its Commercial Crew Program to transport crews to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

The lift-off of the Crew 10 mission, which was scheduled in February 2025, was delayed to late March 2025. This has pushed back the arrival of the Crew-9 mission, which Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are part of.

NASA has not yet announced the exact date of Sunita William and Butch Wilmore’s return to Earth. However, it is expected that the two Starliner astronauts, “stuck” in space, won’t return until the end of March or even April because of a delay in launching their replacements.