Doctors raise more concerns over stranded astronauts' health after even more delays arise

Doctors have raised more concerns over the health of the stranded astronauts after even more delays arise.

The two NASA astronauts were initially meant to be on an eight-day mission to the International Space Station but have currently been stuck in space for the past six months.

They are waiting on a SpaceX ship to pick them up, which was due to be in February, but delays have pushed their rescue date further back.

The two astronauts have been stuck in space since June (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams arrived at the ISS in June this year on Boeing’s Starliner.

However, faults with the spacecraft led to NASA making the decision to send it back down to Earth empty.

Since then, concerns have been growing over the health of Wilmore and Williams as it now won’t but until late March at the earliest when they are able to return home, making their mission over nine months long.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Dr John Jaquish, who is a biomedical engineer, said: “By the time they get back to Earth, they will be at extreme risk of fragility fracture.

“They probably will not be able to walk under their own power. They will probably leave the space vehicle on a stretcher, and it will take them months to recondition their bodies.”

Psychiatrist Dr. Carole Liberman also said: “Of course, astronauts are taught how to handle stressful circumstances, but this up and down, hope - no hope, scenario for 300 days is beyond what they would have expected.'

The astronauts were meant to be on an eight-day mission but will spend over nine months aboard the ISS (SCIEPRO/Getty Images)

“It plays havoc on their psyche, which then plays havoc on their body. They would have steeled themselves to hang in there for the previous dates they were given for their return, convincing themselves there’s only 10, 9, 8, 7, 6… days to go.

“But, each time it is delayed, a little voice inside themselves grows stronger, gnawing at them to wonder whether they will ever get home again.

“NASA needs to be transparent and tell them everything they're doing to fix the problem because this trust is all the astronauts have to go on.”

Jaquish explained the physical toll a long period in space has on the human body, warning that ‘when you remove gravitational pull, the body doesn't see a reason to maintain bone density and muscle mass, so it starts to break down very quickly’.

Jaquish went on to say: “They would need to put very heavy loads to the body on a very regular basis to even just maintain any sort of strength or bone density.”