NASA responded to the statement of doctors who were frightened by the appearance of Sunita Williams: the astronaut stuck on the ISS has lost a lot of weight. Photo

After numerous online posts and public concern about the health of 59-year-old Sunita Williams, who is stuck on the International Space Station and has lost a lot of weight, NASA was quick to reassure that everything is fine. The agency assured that Williams and the rest of the astronauts aboard the ISS are doing well.

But NASA again refused to provide any details about the four astronauts who were hospitalized late last month after returning from the space mission. Although the agency has repeatedly expressed confidence in the well-being of its astronauts, studies have shown that life in space has a negative impact on human health, DailyMail writes.

As a reminder, after the publication of a photo from the ISS, where Sunita Williams is making pizza with her colleagues, the network began to discuss the astronaut's health. After all, she lost a lot of weight after being forced to spend more than 150 days in space.

"Her cheeks look sunken. This usually happens when you have a generalized weight loss. She probably had a significant calorie deficit for some time," said pulmonologist Vineet Gupta.

But the space agency assures that the 59-year-old astronaut is fine. "All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station receive regular medical examinations, are monitored by specialized flight surgeons, and are healthy," said Jimmy Russell, a spokesman for the agency.

Concerns about Sunita Williams' health have arisen less than two weeks after the hospitalization of four NASA/SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts who landed off the coast of Florida on October 25. One of them was hospitalized overnight for "medical problems," while the other three were discharged the same day after undergoing a medical examination.

NASA refused to provide any details about why the crew was hospitalized, which astronaut had to stay in the hospital, and whether the medical problems were related to their return to Earth or to their long stay in space. After all, the Crew-8 crew, which included NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, spent 232 days aboard the ISS.

NASA's decision not to disclose who the hospitalized astronaut was was allegedly made "to protect the medical privacy of the crew member."

Despite the reassuring statements of the American space agency, numerous studies have shown that life in space has a negative impact on human health. This is especially true for long-term missions lasting more than six months.

According to scientists, space is a harsh environment where astronauts lose fat, muscle mass, bone density, and are exposed to high doses of radiation. This can lead to a number of health problems, such as vision problems, kidney stones, and even make astronauts more vulnerable to infections on the ISS.

As a reminder, Sunita Williams and her fellow astronaut Barry Wilmore were stuck in space for 9 months instead of 8 days because a faulty Boeing Starliner spacecraft failed to deliver them to Earth on time. Their return home is scheduled for February 2015.

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