NASA astronaut’s wife revealed the biggest change in him since being in space for 286 days

The wife of a NASA astronaut has revealed the biggest changes she’s noticed in him after his 286 days in space.

Tennessee astronaut, Butch Wilmore, returned to Earth after nine months on the International Space Station with Suni Williams.

The mission was originally only meant to last for eight days, but technical issues delayed their return home.

Now, Butch’s wife Deanna has opened up about having her husband back home – and what changes she’s noticed in him.

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What this NASA astronaut’s wife noticed about him

It may seem like an obvious statement, but space isn’t a place we can all easily go to.

So when astronauts head up there, they are apart from their families for a long time.

And in the case of Butch Wilmore, his time apart from his family was far longer than planned.

Butch and Suni went up on June 5, 2024, but ended up remaining a staggering 286 days due to issues with their Boeing Starliner.

The Crew-9 rescue mission arrived on the ISS a few months later, but they were delayed in returning, too.

Finally, everybody made it back to Earth in March 2025 – 278 days over schedule.

Since their big return to Earth, much has been made of the story.

Photos have shown the impact that being out in space has had on them physically, whilst the astronauts themselves have opened up on readjusting.

But now Butch’s spouse has spoken out about having him back.

Speaking to Texas’ WVLT News, she said: “Barry does say gravity is not his friend right now. And you know the stamina is not there, and so they do have to rest and relax quite a bit because they’re just not strong yet.”

Coming back down to Earth – literally and figuratively

Whilst in space, the astronauts were forced to do two hours of exercise each day.

This was in a bid to reduce some of the side effects that they’d experience once they came down to Earth again.

Deanna expressed appreciation for all the support the family had received in the trying nine-month period.

She said: “From East Tennessee and all over the world, really, we had so many people tell us they were praying for it.

“We certainly appreciate all those because we know that the Lord answers prayers and that he brought Crew-9 home safely, and those prayers definitely helped do the job.”

Suni has also opened up about her experiences since returning.

It won’t be easy readjusting, but hopefully, they can take some comfort from all the support they received from around the world.

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