Due to Spending Nine Months on the Space Station, American Astronauts Will Suffer from Back Pain for Life

The British newspaper Daily Mail reported that American astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who returned to Earth after spending nine months aboard the International Space Station, will suffer from chronic back pain for life.

The newspaper explained that the lack of gravity in space reduces the load on the spine, causing it to straighten and lengthen, which ultimately weakens it.

Studies have shown that “about one-third of astronauts who spend months in space suffer from chronic back pain due to spinal deterioration in a zero-gravity environment,” according to the report.

Additionally, The New York Times stated that NASA will not pay overtime wages to the two astronauts despite their extended 278-day stay aboard the station. Instead, NASA will cover their travel, food, and accommodation expenses, similar to other federal employees on work trips, providing them with a daily allowance of just five dollars. This means astronauts on the space station do not receive additional pay for overtime.

According to NASA representative Jamie Russell, astronauts aboard the International Space Station do not earn extra wages for working overtime, weekends, or official holidays.