ISS recycles astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore's urine and sweat into fresh water: Report

The spotlight on the astronauts' health and living conditions made headlines after NASA recently released photos that showed Sunita Williams looking jarringly gaunt with sunken cheeks and a noticeably thinner frame.

The International Space Station (ISS) has been recycling the urine and sweat of stranded astronauts Sunita Williams, 59, and Butch Wilmore, 61, into fresh water, ensuring very little waste, the New York Post reported. It also stated that the two NASA astronauts—who have been stranded on the ISS for five months—have been feasting on pizza, roast chicken, and even shrimp cocktails, but have very little fresh produce to supplement their diets.

The spotlight on the astronauts' health and living conditions made headlines after NASA recently released photos that showed Williams looking jarringly gaunt with sunken cheeks and a noticeably thinner frame. Doctors for the space agency are closely monitoring their health and diets, the publication reported.

A specialist connected with the beleaguered Starliner mission told the New York Post that Williams and Wilmore have been consuming a variety of food, including roast chicken, tuna, shrimp cocktails, pizza, and breakfast cereal with powdered milk. The specialist insisted that the NASA astronauts are well-cared for and there shouldn’t be any concern for their health.

“Nothing is left to chance and that includes their food,” the specialist told the publication. “So to be accurate, it should be very clear that any weight loss is not due to a lack of provisions on the ISS. There is plenty of food, even for an extended mission.”

Williams, meanwhile, downplayed the concerns about her visible weight loss as “rumours". She said that she looked different because of fluid shifting in her body due to the weightlessness of space.

“There’s some rumors around out there that I’m losing weight and stuff,” Williams said in a video interview. “No, I’m actually right at the same amount.”