New Delhi:
The return of Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams from the International Space Station (ISS) has once again been postponed. 59-year-old Williams will now land on Earth after March next year. NASA says the crew on the ISS is healthy and safe.
The US space agency has announced that the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is tasked with bringing it back, will not launch before the end of March. Williams reached the ISS in June. However, his return to space was postponed to February next year due to safety issues in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft he was piloting.
Prolonged exposure to an environment with near-zero gravity has many consequences for the human body, which is designed to function under Earth’s gravity.
The density of bones in the human body decreases, due to which bones become brittle in space. Since the muscles are not used to bear any weight.
Sunita Williams is a veteran of space flights, and this current mission is her third flight in space. Overall, she has spent more than 517 days in space during her missions. At one point, he held the record for most time spent in space, with more than 51 hours spent in extra-vehicular activity (EVA).
Sunita Williams flew to the ISS aboard a Boeing Starliner in June, which was initially planned as a 7 to 10 day mission. However, due to safety issues aboard the Boeing Starliner, their stay was extended to February 2025. Now, NASA has announced that it is adjusting the crew’s dates, meaning they will return in late March or April next year.
Now even NASA is in tension regarding the International Space Station (ISS). This is because leakage was happening in the ISS for the last five years but recently it has come to light that there is a problem of leakage in at least 50 places. Not only this, cracks are also appearing in the ISS. An investigation report by NASA has come out, in which it has been revealed that the ISS is in danger. Because of this, the lives of the astronauts here including Sunita Williams are in danger.
Air pressure is decreasing rapidly in ISSH
According to the information, air and pressure in the ISS is now leaking rapidly. This is the same air and pressure that is necessary for astronauts to survive. Not only this, usually 7 to 10 astronauts are present here at any time. At present, Sunita Williams of Indian origin is also present here along with the other astronauts. However, information about the leak in this space station, the size of a football field, was received in 2019 itself, but now it has become very large and the situation can be dangerous.
Leakage is happening in Russian section
The space station has American and Russian sections. These two sections are separate but also connected to each other. The leak occurred in the Russian section but NASA and Roscosmos do not agree on this. In 2019, a leak was found in the tunnel connecting the Russian module Zvezda to the docking port where cargo and supplies arrive. But now it has increased a lot. Now the astronauts present there are trying to cure it.
Asked to seal these cracks
NASA believes that due to this leak, Zvezda may fail completely, but Russia’s Roscosmos does not believe so. At present, it has been asked to keep these cracks sealed and it has been advised to open them only when absolutely necessary.
