Space Exploration Day| What happens to our body in space?

When astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth after spending nine months on the International Space Station due to a technical issue aboard the Boeing Starliner in March 2025, the pair took time to readjust to the Earth’s gravitational pull on their bodies, requiring extensive rehabilitation. If nine months sounds like a long time, consider this: two Russian astronauts — Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub — broke the record for the longest stay on the ISS, spending a total of 374 days in orbit, before returning to Earth in September 2024. Of course, astronauts are rigorously trained to cope with the rigours of space travel. Even so, the prolonged stay in microgravity can significantly alter the human body. Here’s how it does.