in space

Although chances of death on their mission are relatively low, the effects of their long term stay in space will likely have an impact on their bodies for the rest of their lives.

To get a better idea of how the unexpected extra months in space may impact Williams and Wilmore, Salon interviewed NASA’s lead flight surgeon, Dr. Steven Gilmore, who supported Captain Scott Kelly during the longest planned space mission in NASA’s history: 340 days.

While one mission was going on in space, another was conducted down here on Earth.

In Captain Kelly’s memoir, “Endurance: A Year In Space, A Lifetime of Discovery,” he describes the feeling of “space brain,” writing, “The full head sensation never completely goes away. It feels a little like standing on your head 24 hours a day, mild pressure in your ears, congestion, round face, flushed skin.”

The way fluids redistribute themselves in space is also why astronauts can’t burp without throwing up — the contents of their stomach become evenly pressed to the sides of the organ instead of settling at the bottom.