Days after US President Donald Trump claimed that NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore had been "abandoned" in space, the Indian-origin astronaut has commented on their extended mission. She reassured they are neither stranded nor in danger aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Last month, Trump, in a Truth Social post, claimed that the NASA astronauts had "been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration". He said they were "waiting for many months on the Space Station" and urged Elon Musk and SpaceX to "go get" them.
The SpaceX CEO also claimed that it was "terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long."
While Ms Williams did not directly address Trump's claim, she spoke about their situation in an in-flight interview with CBS News on Friday
"I don't think I'm abandoned. I don't think we're stuck up here," Ms Williams said. "We've got food. We've got clothes. We have a ride home in case anything really bad does happen to the International Space Station."
She added that their extended stay allows them to continue critical research aboard the ISS. "We're in a posture where we have the International Space Station fully manned and doing what the taxpayers wanted - to do world-class science. And so I feel honoured to be here and a part of the team."
Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore launched on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule for what was originally planned as a short test mission. But technical concerns with the spacecraft led to multiple delays, pushing their return to March 19 - over nine months later than planned.
NASA is now finalising a plan to bring them back to Earth alongside Crew 9 commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. Their return is expected to follow the mid-March arrival of Crew 10 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Once the handover is complete, Mr Hague, Mr Gorbunov, Mr Wilmore, and Ms Williams will return to Earth aboard the same Crew Dragon capsule that Mr Hague and Mr Gorbunov used to reach the ISS last September.
NASA confirmed earlier that it was working with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring the astronauts back to Earth from the ISS "as soon as practical." The space agency noted that SpaceX has been conducting regular crewed missions every six months, ensuring smooth astronaut transitions.
