Questão 18 - UPF Inverno 2025

        Astronauts may have 'baby feet,' get shorter, face strange health problems after return

[1] NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore say gravity makes them tired. How their bodies changed after spending nine

months on the International Space Station.

 

April 1, 2025

By A. Pawlowski

 

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have finally ended their unexpected nine-month stay in space, but their health 
journey on Earth is far from over.  They may face a variety of health problems — from weaker bones and muscles to vision issues 
[5] and “baby feet” — as their bodies adjust back to the planet’s gravity. 
The astronauts underwent a thorough medical exam at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they were 
monitored for any cardiac, blood pressure, vision or neurological changes.  Williams said she's "feeling better and better" every 
day. "It's pretty much a miracle to see how your human body can adapt," she noted at the NASA news conference.   
While in space, many astronauts experience changes similar to what happens with aging, such as arterial stiffening and thickened 
[10] artery walls, NASA has found. Here are other health issues the astronauts may deal with after a long stay in space. 
Bones become about 1% less dense for each month in space, according to NASA, especially bones in the legs, hips and spine, 
which do the heavy lifting on Earth.  Muscles don’t need to work as hard in space so they, too, atrophy. All of it could lead to falls, 
bone fracture, osteoporosis and other medical problems once the mission is over.  As part of the adjustment, the astronauts will 
spend a few weeks doing supervised workouts — going to the gym with special trainers who'll instruct them to lift weights, move 
[15] around, run and do the things "they enjoy doing and that they need to do," told former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino.  NASA 
calls it "a progressive 45-day post-mission recovery program," and says most crew members recover within this period of time. 
After such a long time away from the planet, the astronauts' immune systems have undergone changes, experts say. "They have 
to deal with being back on Earth, so that means all the little germs and bugs that we have," said Dr. Mark Rosenberg, director of 
the aerospace neurology and human performance program at the Medical University of South Carolina. "Their immune system 
[20] has been suppressed over a period of time." 
Astronauts grow in space because the spinal column expands out without gravity. Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly became 2 
inches taller. On Earth, the spinal disks compress again so a “dramatic” back pain upon coming back can be experienced.  
Astronauts’ eyes and brain structure change in space because without gravity, “fluids in the body shift upward to the head, which 
may put pressure on the eyes and cause vision problems,” NASA says. Changes include swelling of the optic nerve, folds in the 
[25] retina, flattening of the back of the eye and blurry vision. Some changes may be permanent in some astronauts, NASA notes. 
Those changes are seen in astronauts even six months to a year after their return, which could impact their long-term health. 
The feet are designed to bear the body’s weight on Earth, so the skin on the bottom is tough and sturdy as people walk around. 
But since astronauts bounce and float in space, the feet don’t support much and the soles become delicate, said former NASA 
astronaut Leroy Chiao. “You basically lose the thick part of the skin on your feet that develops, and you kind of have baby feet 
[30] when you come back,” he told. The feet return to normal quickly, Chiao added. 

Retrieved and adapted from https://www.today.com/health/news/nasa-astronauts-return-possible-health-problems-rcna196862 Accessed on April 11th, 2025.

While astronauts are in space, the spinal column