Sunita Williams' latest picture as shared on November 16, 2024. (Photo: X/NASA_Astronauts)
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, 59, and Butch Wilmore, 61, were slated to be on the International Space Station (ISS) for eight days. However, they have been stranded on ISS for five months now, after their Boeing Starliner experienced technical malfunctions. Many space enthusiasts and followers of the astronauts are curious about their diet while on the ISS for such an extended period. Many also grew concerned for Sunita Williams' health after NASA released photos wherein Williams looked thinner with sunken cheeks.
When it comes to their diet, a specialist connected with the Starliner mission told The New York Post that Williams and Wilmore are eating a variety of food, such as breakfast cereal with powdered milk, pizza, shrimp cocktails, roast chicken, and tuna.
However, they have very little fresh fruit and vegetables to supplement their diets. The specialist shared that the ISS only replenishes produce every three months. Their fruits and vegetables are packaged or freeze-dried.
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The food available on the ISS is personalized to meet each astronaut's daily requirements. It is usually freeze-dried or packaged and can be reheated using a food warmer. All meat and eggs are cooked on Earth and have to be reheated in space. Dehydrated soups, stews and casseroles require water that comes from the space station's 530-gallon fresh water tank. Williams and Wilmore prepare their own food and eat it on magnetized trays with metal utensils.
Doctors for the space agency are closely monitoring Wilmore and Williams's health and diets to ensure they are consuming enough calories. "Nothing is left to chance and that includes their food," the specialist explained. "So to be accurate, it should be very clear that any weight loss is not due to a lack of provisions on the ISS. There is plenty of food, even for an extended mission."
A Space X flight is slated to bring the astronauts back to Earth in February 2025.