Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore likely have weeks of grinding physical therapy and recovery ahead of them now that they’re back on Earth after more than nine months in space.
Everything from walking, to wearing clothes, to smelling food and other odors terra firma will require getting used to for Williams and Wilmore, 59 and 62, experts say.
But, once they’re back in shape they can expect a grand White House visit with President Trump.
The astronauts will spend the next few days being assessed by doctors at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they were whisked by chopper after their SpaceX capsule safely splashed down off Florida’s gulf coast Tuesday evening.
The astronauts have also likely been reunited with their families by now, according to NASA protocols for a returning space crew.
Suni Williams was all smiles and waves as she was pulled from her return capsule off the Gulf coast on Tuesday Keegan Barber/UPI/Shutterstock
Once they’re given a clean bill of health they’ll be allowed to return home — Wilmore to Tennessee, and Williams to Massachusetts — where they’ll begin a 45-day reconditioning program that will include two hours of physical therapy daily with specialized trainers, NASA told The Post.
“Crews have previously spent longer durations in space, and Suni Williams and Butch Willmore’s performance after their return is expected to be consistent with established norms,” a NASA representative said, explaining that most astronauts’ bodies recover within the 45-day period.
During that time they’ll be working to reacquaint their bodies with Earth’s gravity, and addressing other physiological deficiencies that developed during their 286 days in the ISS’ near-zero gravity — chief among them, muscle wasting from months floating with minimal strain on their bodies.
The side-effects of that wasting were visible as the astronauts were extracted from their Crew Dragon capsule Tuesday. They had to be helped out of the craft by crews and carried off on wheelchairs.
Astronaut Butch Williams was rolled off in a stretcher after he was pulled from the capsule — which is standard practice NASA via Getty Images
In the coming weeks, returning to their feet will be a process that Swinburne University astrophysicist Alan Duffy told the Guardian was akin to recovering from months bedridden in a coma.
The astronauts will likely have to battle dizziness and poor balance as they start walking again.
Even their hearts will have been weakened after months of easily pumping blood without the resistance of gravity, so the astronauts will need to take their recovery slow to avoid hurting themselves.
Bone-density loss — another side-effect of the zero-g environment — has the potential to trouble them for the rest of their lives if they don’t regain muscle mass.
They may have a hard time seeing for periods as low gravity causes circulation changes and fluid buildups in the head, causing the human eye to change shape before returning to form back on Earth.
Those fluid buildups can also make astronauts feel like they’re dealing with an endless head cold in space, and their return home could bring relief as circulation normalizes and that pressure dissolves.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule safely splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday evening Keegan Barber/NASA via AP
But small things like wearing clothes may even be a trial for them, Duffy told the Guardian, because months of fabric floating around your body rather than hugging it often results in an “almost baby-like sensitivity” of the skin and makes wearing clothing uncomfortable.
The astronauts health and developments may also be monitored by researchers for the rest of their lives, as relatively little is known about how extended stays in space affect the body. One of researchers’ primary focuses could be on whether they develop any cancers, as astronauts are exposed to higher levels of radiation in space than people are on Earth.
And there will also be psychological hurdles.
“After months in the calm, controlled environment of space, the sensory changes may feel overwhelming. The pull of gravity might feel strange and uncomfortable, natural sunlight could seem too bright, and even everyday smells like grass or food might feel intense at first,” Cleveland Clinic psychologist Susan Albers told USA Today.
The charred capsule was lifted onto the deck of a recovery ship. The ship is expected to fly again after it is refurbished NASA VIDEO FRAME GRAB HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“These sensations take time to get used to again,” she added.
Once they do, however, Trump said he wants one of their first stops to be the White House.
“Number one, they have to get better,” he told Fox News in an interview just before the astronauts splashed down. “You know, when you’re up there and you have no pull in your muscle, you have no gravity, you can lift 1,000 pounds like this,” Trump said.
“They have to get, they have to get better. It’s going to be a little bit tough for them. It’s not easy. They were up there a long time, and when they do, they’ll come to the Oval Office.”
