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NASA astronauts return to Earth after 9 months: How space changes the body?

By in News, World News

EXPLAINER

The mission went much longer than expected.

On June 5, 2024, American astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore boarded the Boeing Starliner Calypso. Eight days on the International Space Station (ISS) was intended for them.

However, the spacecraft’s thrusters malfunctioned as it approached the station, prompting NASA to keep them on the ISS while repairs were being made.

Williams and Wilmore are now two of the longest-serving space travelers on a single mission thanks to their nine-month, 288-day mission.

Who has been in space for the longest?

The ISS travels to Mars on average 225 million kilometers (140 million miles) from Earth at an altitude of 354 kilometers (220 miles).

With more than a year spent on the ISS, astronaut Frank Rubio currently has the longest space mission of all time for NASA.

Valeri Polyakov, a Russian who spent 437 days on board the Mir space station, holds the overall record for a single spaceflight.

The SpaceX Crew-9 mission made its return to Earth when?

Williams and Wilmore’s SpaceX Dragon spacecraft crashed about 5:57 p.m. local time (21:57 GMT), after undoing from the ISS at 5:05 p.m.

Aleksandr Gorbunov, a cosmonaut from Roscosmos, was aboard with Wilmore and Williams.

The lead up to the splashdown was live-streamed by NASA.

INTERACTIVE NASA ASTRONAUTS HEAD BACK TO EARTH - MARCH 18 2025

The crew will have to adjust both physically and mentally to returning to Earth.

How does physical health suffer from space travel?

The body feels brutally shivering in months of microgravity. Without the gravitational pull of the Earth, muscles and bones would deteriorate.

Because they don’t use their legs to support their weight, astronauts quickly lose muscle mass. They lose 1% of their bone mass each month, which is equivalent to an entire year of Earth ageing due to their fragile bones.

Another major issue is radiation. Despite the magnetosphere shielding the ISS, astronauts on missions lasting six months or longer receive more than ten times the radiation as it would naturally be on Earth. Long-term exposure is linked to higher risk of developing cognitive decline and cancer.

INTERACTIVE-HOW-SPACE-HARMS-BODY1-1742321325

    Body mass and fluids: While in space, astronauts lose about 20% of their body mass and about 5% of it.

  • Muscle: Microgravity results in muscle atrophy, but taking supplements and two hours of exercise per day, six days per week can help.
  • Skin: In space, skin thins, brittles, and heals more slowly.
  • Eyes: Radiation increases the risk of cataracts while microgravity impairs vision.
  • DNA: About 7% of genes are still inactive after returning to Earth, compared to the majority of genes.
  • Cognitive psychology and radiation: Alzheimer’s may develop and cause brain damage. Motion sickness is caused by space changing orientation.
  • Red blood cell production decreases as blood circulation slows down and red blood cell production slows down. Cardiac arrhythmia is a common condition.
  • Immune system: It becomes less effective. Six months of space-time radiation exposure equals ten times the annual exposure on Earth.
  • Bones: Approximately one-third of the bone mass is lost each month due to bone loss and deformation. Because of their increased spine expansion while in orbit, astronauts gain height.

How does the body repopulate from Earth?

Returning to Earth doesn’t immediately relieve astronauts’ bodies’ months of strain. Balance issues, dizziness, and weakened cardiovascular function are some of the symptoms of their bodies adapting to gravity.

Not everything comes back to normal even after a few months. They are susceptible to degenerative diseases, cancer, and nerve damage over the long term.

INTERACTIVE-HOW-BODY-RECOVERS-BACK-ON-EARTH-1742316424

    Return of the spine to normal size after entering space. Blood pressure is normalized, and flirtatious behavior is no longer a problem.

  • After a week, motion sickness, balance issues, and disorientation are gone. Sleep resumes as usual.
  • Two weeks later, body fluids that were lost are recovered and the immune system returns. Red blood cell production returns to normal levels.
  • One month later, almost all of the muscle reformation has finished.
  • Three months later, the skin has fully developed. Body mass is restored to Earth-levels, and visual issues no longer exist.
  • Six months later, there is still a higher risk of bone fractures and cancer. Exactly 7% of genes are still in the disorder, compared to 93 percent of those that are back to normal.

Israel’s Netanyahu warns deadly Gaza onslaught ‘only the beginning’

By in News, World News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the overnight airstrikes against Gaza “only the beginning” were to cause hundreds of Palestinians to die.

Netanyahu stated in a televised address on Tuesday night that future ceasefire negotiations would “only take place under fire” and that Israeli forces would “increasing force” attack Hamas.

The Israeli leader said, “Hamas has already felt the weight of our force in the last 24 hours, and I want to assure you that this is only the beginning.”

“We will continue to fight to achieve all of our war goals, including the release of all of our hostages, the end of Hamas, and the guarantee that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.”

Netanyahu’s defiant remarks come after Israel’s deadly attacks across Gaza shattered the fragile ceasefire&nbsp with Hamas, which started on January 19 and continued until January 20.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the air strikes killed at least 404 Palestinians, many of whom were children, and injured more than 560 others.

In the process, the assault wiped out entire families in Gaza, including Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, Gaza City in the north, and Deir el-Balah in the center.

Due to Israel’s insistent request to extend the first phase of the ceasefire agreement until mid-April, talks on the second stage of the agreement have reached a standstill. This would result in the release of nearly 60 Hamas captives and the establishment of a permanent ceasefire.

In exchange for the start of second phase negotiations and the end of the Israeli blockade, which was put in place earlier this month, Israel rejected an offer from Hamas to release an American-Israeli dual national and the bodies of four dead captives.

Since the ceasefire’s start, which had been a six-week long first stage of negotiations, Hamas has released nearly 300 prisoners in exchange for nearly 2, 000 Palestinian ones.

Steve Witkoff, the US president’s envoy for the Middle East, had been pushing for a “bridge” proposal to extend the ceasefire beyond Ramadan and Passover prior to Israel’s assault.

In exchange for prisoners, Hamas would have allowed additional living prisoners as part of the proposed agreement while the parties worked out a framework for a permanent ceasefire.

Netanyahu directly blamed Hamas for the stagnant talks in his speech on Tuesday.

Hamas “absolutely refused to do so” according to Netanyahu, “while Israel accepted the offer of President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.” “I authorized yesterday the resumption of military action against Hamas because of this.”

Netanyahu also charged Hamas with being responsible for “every unintended casualty” in Gaza.

He advised Palestinian citizens to stay away from Hamas terrorists and urge the people of Gaza to leave.

Judge says Musk and DOGE ‘likely violated’ constitution in USAID shutdown

By in News, World News

Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) attempted to dismantle an organization tasked with distributing foreign aid, but a federal district judge in Maryland determined otherwise.

In response to a complaint made by 26 US Agency for International Development (USAID) employees and contractors, Judge Theodore Chuang issued the preliminary ruling on Tuesday.

According to Chuang, “The Court finds that defendants’ actions taken to shut down USAID on an accelerated basis, including their apparent decision to permanently close USAID headquarters without the approval of a duly appointed USAID Officer, likely violated the United States Constitution in a number of ways.”

He continued, not only did the plaintiffs suffer, but the “public interest” was also at risk.

According to Chuang, DOGE and Musk “deprived the public’s elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to dissolve an agency that Congress established.”

In response to that finding, the judge granted a temporary injunction to stop DOGE and Musk from cutting jobs with USAID, ending contracts, closing buildings, and destroying USAID equipment.

The restrictions will help to maintain the status quo and prevent USAID from closing its doors too soon, Chuang wrote.

Musk, who has had a ambiguous role in the government but has had a significant impact as a result of his close ties with US President Donald Trump, suffered a significant blow.

As a “special government employee,” a position frequently held by outside advisers, and one of the wealthiest men in the world, Musk is a tech billionaire.

He has, however, spearheaded DOGE’s extensive effort to restructure the federal government by reducing its workforce, ending contracts, and attempting to close all of its branches.

One of the first DOGE crosshairs was USAID. A key component of USAID’s mission was a 90-day freeze on all foreign aid upon its second-term presidential decree, which was issued on January 20.

By the time the US’s main arm for distributing foreign aid abroad was established in 1961 as a result of a law passed by Congress.

However, only aid that was in line with the president’s foreign policy could continue under Trump’s order.

Musk served as the campaign’s sole representative for the end of USAID. On February 2, he wrote, “USAID is a criminal organization,” without providing any proof, on his social media platform X. It has reached its death.

Musk also wrote a message on X later that day, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.” [Had]gone to some fantastic parties. Instead, did that.

The agency’s Washington, DC, headquarters effectively closed by the end of February, with employees only having 15 minutes to collect their belongings. On average, 1,600 workers were fired, and 4,700 took leave of absence.

Eventually, USAID Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed that 83 percent of all agreements had been terminated.

Musk and Trump have repeatedly charged departments and bodies of “waste” and “fraud” without providing evidence to support their repeated claims.

Judge Chuang ruled that Musk’s actions “likely violate the constitutional principle of separation of powers” because USAID was established as an independent agency under the Foreign Assistance Act.

According to Chuang, DOGE was required to re-establish access to USAID employees’ electronic systems as part of the injunction on Tuesday, and it also demanded that the department re-establish any deleted emails.

However, Chuang, a former president of the United States, was quickly criticized for his temporary injunction.

Coronation Street fans given rare update on soap legend, 93, almost 10 years after exit

By in Entertainment News, News

With their son posting about them on social media, Coronation Street fans have been updated on a former cast member who hasn’t appeared on the ITV show for a while.

Years after her exit, Coronation Street fans have received updates on a former cast member.

The son of a former Coronation Street cast member who appeared on the show for decades has shared an update on how she’s doing. They had prompted comments about the actor after sharing memorabilia from their home.

Eileen Derbyshire, 93, is best known for her role as Emily Bishop on the long-running ITV soap opera. She made her debut as the character back in 1961 and then remained on the show for over 50 years before leaving in 2016.

Continue reading the article.

She later made a brief cameo back in 2019. That marked her latest appearance on Corrie and it saw her character Emily feature in a video message for Ken Barlow (played by William Roache) to mark his 80th birthday at the time.

Just a few days ago, Oliver Holt, her son, updated Eileen on X. The sports journalist suggested he had discovered at his mother’s house during a visit and posted a number of photos that included Corrie-related memorabilia.

Someone responded to the question, “Your mother is okay, but I’m loving these memories.” “She’s doing okay, Matthew,” Oliver replied. It’s a bit of a question you have. She’s now 93, so she has some issues that need to be addressed.

Sir Ian McKellen, Eileen Derbyshire and Malcolm Hebden in a promo photo for Coronation Street.
Eileen Derbyshire (centre), pictured with co-stars Ian McKellen (left) and Malcolm Hebden (right), played Emily Bishop on Coronation Street for years(Image: PA/ITV)

Eileen’s former co-star Antony Cotton – who has been on the show since 2003 – also reacted. He wrote: “Hey Oliver. Please give my love to your mum – we miss her very much x.” Eileen’s son replied: “Thanks very much, Antony. I will.”

In response to the post, someone else responded, “A fantastic actress and I’m sure a wonderful mother Ollie.” “Thanks, pal,” Oliver said. Yes, she is a wonderful mother. I’m hoping things will go well with you, mate.

Last week, Oliver had previously posted a number of career-related photos on the platform. A black-and-white image of Eileen posing alongside a number of other actors was included in the cover of the film.

The group featured likes of the late Pat Phoenix, the late Doris Speed and the late Betty Driver. The trio played Elsie Tanner, Annie Walker and Betty Williams respectively.

George Waring and co-star Eileen Derbyshire in a promo photo for Corrie.
The actor, pictured with George Waring, left the ITV soap in 2016 but made a brief return in 2019(Image: Granada Television)

Oliver wrote in the caption of the framed photo, which was his first post in the series: “Back at my mum’s place. Found this packed away. Halcyon days of Coronation Street.”

As part of Corrie’s celebrations marking her 30th birthday, Eileen and coworkers were recently seen posing outside the fictional pub. In its wrapping-photo, Oliver stated in that post, “Still in its 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Street.”

Another of his posts showcased a newspaper article, dated 1965, which reported on his parents’ marriage. The article announced that Eileen had married her late husband Thomas Holt, who passed away decades later in 2021.

Continue reading the article.

Boys need role models not gaming and porn, Sir Gareth Southgate says

By in News, Sports News
Grace Dean
BBC Sir Gareth Southgate speaking at this year's Dimbleby LectureBBC

Sir Gareth Southgate says he believes that young men need better role models besides online influencers because they spend too much time watching porn, gambling, and gaming.

The former England men’s football manager discussed his own experience of missing a crucial penalty at Euro 1996 in a wide-ranging talk for the BBC’s annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture. He claimed he didn’t let it define him.

He continued, “I guess that pain still bothers me today,” and “I suppose it will always do so.”

Sir Gareth feared that many young men were looking for direction online rather than reaching out to teachers, sports coaches, or youth group leaders. He claimed there that they were discovering a novel role model that frequently overlooked their best interests.

These are manipulative, toxic, and callous influencers who only want to profit from themselves, he said.

Sir Gareth mentioned missing the crucial penalty for England’s defeat to Germany in the 1996 Euros semi-final.

PA Media Gareth Southgate, a man in a blue football kit, stands on a pitch with his hands behind his head, looking defeatedPA Media

In 2018, when England won the World Cup penalty shootout with Sir Gareth as manager, he contrasted his own miss with Eric Dier’s successful penalty kick against Colombia.

He claimed that England players had undergone a change of perspective over the course of the previous 22 years.

He said, “I had walked 30 yards to the penalty spot thinking I would miss.” Eric “thought he would score,” he said in 2018, “and had walked 30 yards to the penalty spot.”

He played for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough, and Middlesbrough for the entirety of Sir Gareth’s professional career, including between 1995 and 2004. In 2016, he assumed the role of manager and led the team to the 2020 and 2024 World Cup semi-final, 2022 World Cup quarter-final, and Euro finals.

He stepped down as manager in July, two days after England lost to Spain in the Euros.

PA Media Gareth Southgate, a man in a pale blue suit and navy waistcoat, celebrates with his fists clenched and his mouth wide open on a football pitchPA Media

The Richard Dimbleby Lecture, which has been held every year since 1972 in honor of the broadcaster, is the latest in a line of academics, business leaders, and other notable figures to do so.

Too many young men are confined to themselves

In Sir Gareth’s speech, he cited three things that young men need to develop: identity, connection, and culture. He emphasized the value of belief and resilience for young men.

He referred to a report, released earlier this month by the Centre for Social Justice, which said boys and young men were “in crisis”, with a “staggering” increase in those not in education, employment or training.

In his speech, Sir Gareth said, “Too many young men are isolated.” Too many people “feel uneasy” talking to friends or family. Many don’t have mentors who can help them grow, be they teachers, coaches, or bosses. And so, when they struggle, young men inevitably attempt to deal with any circumstance alone.

He continued, “Young men always end up withdrawing, reluctant to talk to or express their emotions.” They “spend more time looking for direction online,” according to the statement, “and are resorting to unhealthy alternatives like gambling, porn, and gaming.”

He added that there aren’t enough opportunities for young men to fail and grow from their mistakes.

He said, “In my opinion, if we make life too easy for young boys right now, we will undoubtedly make it harder when they become young men.” Too many young men face failure because they have had so few opportunities to experience and manage it. Instead of trying, they fail.

The former football player also reflected on what his career has taught him about perseverance and belief.

He said, “Success is much more than the final score is what I’ve learned from my life in football. In the most difficult situations, “true success is how you respond.”

Conditions hit Arsenal hopes as Wright says pitch a ‘disgrace’

By in News, Sports News
Reuters

After former Arsenal player Ian Wright called Real Madrid’s pitch “disgraceful,” Renee Slegers says the “next step for women’s football” is better pitches.

Wright expressed his emotions at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano’s 2-0 defeat in the Champions League quarter-final.

Real Madrid men’s reserves’ playing conditions quickly deteriorated, making it difficult for both teams to play freely.

Following complaints from Chelsea players and experts regarding the pitch for the Women’s League Cup final last Saturday at Derby County’s Pride Park, Wright was criticised on social media.

Slegers, a former Netherlands midfielder, acknowledged that her side’s defeat on Tuesday was caused by the wet and murky conditions that were present.

On March 26, the return leg will take place at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

Slegers responded, “It’s not on me to criticize,” when asked whether the main Bernabeu stadium for Real Madrid should have been used for the first leg.

It’s obviously a club decision, and Uefa is making sure to provide the best conditions for the competition. Of course, we can’t control the weather all the time.

However, I believe that the pitch conditions haven’t been ideal for a number of games recently, making it the next step for women’s football to go.

After an impressive interim spell, Slegers, who became Arsenal’s permanent head coach, said: “We knew the pitch’s condition. Before the game, we had a discussion with the players about it.

We had a plan for it, so we knew what to do, but it’s always difficult because you work on things over time and discover your identity.

What was Wright’s statement?

Melanie Leupolz of Real Madrid was covered in mud by the time she was substitutedGetty Images

Wright, a former England international who made 185 goals between 1991 and 1998, posted a video on social media during the women’s team’s game on Tuesday.

Heavy rain that caused the pitch to easily sag in Madrid did not help the situation.

“Watching the Champions League quarter-final.” This is worse than Derby’s pitch in the Conti Cup final the day before, according to Wright.

These girls play on disgraceful pitches, they say.

Lucy Ward, a former Leeds striker and a TNT Sports contributor, also played a role in the game.

In these first ten minutes, players who typically deal with the ball well struggle to accept it, she said.

This pitch is terrible, I say.

After her side beat Manchester City 2-1, Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert claimed the Pride Park pitch was “not fit for a final.”

It needs to be improved, it says.

Ellen White, a former England striker, says it is crucial for women’s football that the pitches’ quality improves in order to improve both the finished product and the players’ safety.

White said on the Women’s Football Weekly podcast on BBC Radio 5 Live: “We’ve seen the men’s League Cup final at Wembley, and I’m not saying that it has to be there, but I just think we need to keep hammering home that we think it needs to be better, it needs to be looked at.”

The women’s League Cup final, which takes place at Wembley, has no permanent home, with organizers aiming to bring it to various parts of the nation.

Jen Beattie, a former Arsenal defender, claimed the match was overshadowed by the pitch’s condition during the weekend’s cup final.

In the end, Beattie argued, “We’re trying to get the best product of football; it’s a huge game, two great footballing teams, and you want it to be a good spectacle.”

related subjects

  • Football
  • Women’s Football