Astronaut Suni Williams 'in good health' on the ISS, NASA says, refuting tabloid claims

a man and a woman on the international space station, in a module full of wires, computers and other equipment
NASA astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore talk about voting from the International Space Station. (Image credit: NASA)

NASA astronaut Suni Williams is in good health in Earth orbit, despite some speculation in the media to the contrary, according to the agency.

Tabloids such as The Daily Mail and The New York Post have published stories recently speculating that Williams may be going downhill aboard the International Space Station (ISS), citing an outside doctor's thoughts about a Sept. 24 photo in which she supposedly appears "gaunt."

But there's nothing to worry about, NASA officials said in emailed statement today (Nov. 7). 

That statement stressed that Williams, the commander of the ISS' current Expedition 72, "is in good health" and that NASA is "not tracking any concerns" with her or any other agency spaceflyer aboard the ISS. (There are four NASA astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts living on the station at the moment.)

"All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health," the statement reads.

Related: NASA astronaut Suni Williams sends Happy Diwali wishes from ISS (video)

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams wears a pirate's eye patch in celebration of Halloween while orbiting Earth aboard the International Space Station. (Image credit: NASA)

Williams and fellow NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore arrived at the orbiting lab on June 6 aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. The duo were supposed to come home just a week or so later, but problems with Starliner's thruster system extended their stay and eventually convinced NASA to bring the Boeing capsule home uncrewed.

That happened on Sept. 6. Williams and Wilmore, meanwhile, will stay aboard the ISS until February 2025, when they'll return to Earth with the two astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-9 mission.

There are plenty of supplies — including food — to support Williams and Wilmore through the end of their unexpectedly long orbital stay, NASA officials have said.

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Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

  • Unclear Engineer
    This is one of the "tabloid" articles referenced in a dismissive manner by the article: https://nypost.com/2024/11/08/us-news/nasa-races-to-stabilize-astronaut-sunita-williams-weight/ .

    There does seem to be more going on than NASA is publicly admitting, but it is not clear that it is a serious problem.

    This combined with the highly unusual recent hospitalization of the 4 returning ISS astronauts "out of an abundance of caution" tends to make it look like NASA is trying to hide something.

    I hope there is enough wisdom in NASA management to understand that the rumors will be more damaging than the truth, and they take some action to restore the transparency that they need to survive in this highly politicized environment.
    Reply