Sunita Williams chin ‘deformed’ after 9 months in space? What happened to her? Doctors weigh in after videos go viral

Ever since Sunita Williams' return to Earth on March 18, after a nine-month-stay at the International Space Station (ISS), the NASA astronaut has been caught on camera multiple times. Health experts had already pointed out that it would not be an easy task for Williams and other astronauts to adjust to Earth.

Now, videos are going viral on social media showing Sunita Williams with an apparent deformed and extended chin.

Doctors weighed in, stating that astronauts experience loss of bone density due to the absence of a gravitational force.

Doctors answer questions about Sunita Williams' chin

Health experts noted that the NASA astronauts experienced several noticeable physical changes, including a shrunken and deformed jawline.

“I don't think people realize that you need gravity to exercise your muscles, and if you don't have gravity, your muscles have nothing to have resistance against,” Dr Vinay Gupta told Mail Online.

‘Bone loss on its own...’

NASA explained that exposure to microgravity leads to bone density loss, muscle atrophy, and fluid redistribution in the body.

Another doctor told Mail Online: "Without gravity, you don't digest food as well. Compromising your ability to digest food is certainly going to contribute to muscle loss and bone loss on its own."

Sunita Williams' 9-month-stay in space

Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore embarked into space on June 5, 2024, aboard the Starliner. What was intended as an eight-day mission, expanded into a nine-month long odyssey due to technical faults with Starliner spacecraft.

Sunita Williams was the Starliner Crew Flight Test Pilot. She is the veteran of three space missions (Expeditions 14/15, 32/33 and 71/72). She also served as the ISS commander for Expedition 33.

Sunita Williams' returns to Earth

Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore safely landed off the Florida coast aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule, bringing an end to their unexpected 286-day mission.

During the mission, Williams and her team conducted numerous experiments, spacewalks, and maintenance tasks that were crucial to the International Space Station's (ISS) operations.

How did Sunita Williams’ manage to stay fit in space?

The manager of the International Space Station, Dana Weigel, had announced last year said that the routines of the two astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, were “adjusted” as they shifted from a short-term mission to a longer-term mission.

“Exercise is optional for the very shortest duration missions, something like an eight-day mission. When we do long-duration, we switch them over to a standard long-duration mission. So, as they have been on board the ISS, we have adjusted their routines and so on,” Weigel said, as per NASA.