Latest news with #Sunita'Suni'Williams
Indian Express
09-05-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
‘Russian wipes, tissues, Huggies': Take a tour of the International Space Station with Sunita Williams and learn how astronauts eat, sleep and poop
Astronaut Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Butch Wilmore recently made it back to Earth after their trip to space was unceremoniously stretched out to 9 months. Have you ever wondered how exactly astronauts live in the International Space Station? Well, Williams is here to quench that curiosity, showing how astronauts live, work, and even use the bathroom in microgravity. From floating while sleeping to drinking water bubbles while brushing teeth, life in space is unlike anything on Earth. The sleeping quarters on the ISS are compact yet functional. In an old video of the space station, Williams explains: 'Four out of six of us sleep here, and people always ask—do you lie down? Are you in a bed? Not really, because it doesn't matter! You don't have the sensation of lying down. You just get in your sleeping bag.' Each astronaut has a small, phone booth-like Sleep Station equipped with a sleeping bag and personal items like books, computers, and clothes. Unlike Earth, there's no 'right side up' in space, so astronauts can sleep in any orientation—even upside down! One of the most common questions about space travel is: how do astronauts go to the bathroom? Williams gives a humorous yet informative answer: 'For number two, there's a small seat—you need good aim! And for number one, we use this hose. It's colour-coded, so we don't mix things up. And both have suction to make sure everything goes in the right direction!' To prevent floating waste, the ISS toilet uses a vacuum suction system. Astronauts also have various options for toilet paper, from Russian wipes to disinfectant towels. 'Toilet paper? We have different options! Russian wipes, tissues, Huggies—just in case—and disinfectant wipes, because, well, things can get out of control!,' Williams says. Brushing teeth in space is surprisingly different. Since water doesn't flow as it does on Earth, astronauts have to get creative: 'Toothpaste sticks to the brush, and so does water—it forms a floating bubble because of surface tension. You can either swallow the toothpaste (not recommended at home!) or spit it into a paper towel.' Water clings to surfaces, forming little blobs, and astronauts use that to rinse their toothbrushes. The kitchen is where astronauts gather to eat. The ISS is stocked with a mix of American, Russian, and Japanese space food. Some meals come dehydrated and need to be rehydrated with water, while others can be heated and eaten normally. 'We get food from all over—American, Russian, Japanese, and even special treats from home. My family sent up Fluff so I could make my favorite Fluffernutter sandwich with peanut butter!,' Williams exclaimed. Astronauts enjoy a variety of foods, including meats, vegetables, snacks, and even candy. Williams' tour offers a rare glimpse into astronaut life, showing how they eat, sleep, and maintain hygiene in a zero-gravity environment. 🚀
Washington Post
01-04-2025
- Science
- Washington Post
They were stuck in space for 9 months. They'd go back ‘in a heartbeat.'
Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore have had quite the year: The NASA astronauts were the first people to travel aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft last summer, before technical issues left them stuck in the International Space Station for months on end. But when they finally made it back to Earth last month, after 286 days in space, their immediate concerns were much more mundane.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Sunita Williams describes seeing India from 250 miles above Earth onboard the International Space Station
Nasa astronaut Sunita 'Suni' Williams has shared her experience passing over the "incredible" Himalayas and Indian landscape from onboard International Space Station. In their first news conference since coming home, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams discussed life during their space mission. When asked by a reporter how India looks from space, Williams replied: 'India is amazing. Every time we went over the Himalayas, Butch got some incredible pictures. Just amazing.' Wilmore and Williams returned to Earth in a SpaceX capsule on 18 March, nine months after their faulty Boeing Starliner craft upended what was to be a week-long stay on the International Space Station.
The Independent
01-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Sunita Williams describes seeing India from 250 miles above Earth onboard the International Space Station
Nasa astronaut Sunita 'Suni' Williams has shared her experience passing over the "incredible" Himalayas and Indian landscape from onboard International Space Station. In their first news conference since coming home, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams discussed life during their space mission. When asked by a reporter how India looks from space, Williams replied: ' India is amazing. Every time we went over the Himalayas, Butch got some incredible pictures. Just amazing.' Wilmore and Williams returned to Earth in a SpaceX capsule on 18 March, nine months after their faulty Boeing Starliner craft upended what was to be a week-long stay on the International Space Station.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Week in Review: Google buys Wiz
Welcome back to Week in Review! We've got tons of stories to share from this week, like the greatest hits from Nvidia GTC; the NASA astronauts finally came home; Rippling's lawsuit; and Google bought Wiz. Let's get to it! Google finally does it: Google made its biggest acquisition in its history this week when it confirmed that it was buying Wiz for $32 billion. Google says it will position Wiz as a 'multicloud' offering, meaning Wiz will not be a Google-only shop. Last year, Google offered Wiz $23 billion for its business. Guess it pays to say no sometimes. Speaking of acquisitions: xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, bought Hotshot, a startup working on AI-powered video-generation tools. The acquisition could signal that xAI plans to build its own video-generation models to compete with the likes of OpenAI's Sora, Google's Veo 2, and others. Nvidia GTC: Nvidia's biggest conference of the year ended on Thursday, and we were on the ground bringing you the latest from the chipmaker. The company announced two personal AI supercomputers; Groot N1, a foundational model for humanoid robots; new GPUs, called Blackwell Ultra, Vera Rubin, and Feynman; and much more. This is TechCrunch's Week in Review, where we recap the week's biggest news. Want this delivered as a newsletter to your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. The gloves are off: HR company Rippling sued Deel, another player in the space, alleging racketeering, misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, unfair competition, and aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty. Deel denies the allegations. Welcome back to Earth: The two NASA astronauts who were stranded for more than nine months on the International Space Station have finally returned to Earth. Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico in a SpaceX Dragon capsule on Tuesday after a 17-hour return journey from the ISS. Pixel newness: Google this week released a new Pixel, called the 9a. The $499 smartphone features an upgraded 6.3-inch Actua display, which Google says is 35% brighter than the Pixel 8a. But the real update here is to the design: It's ditching its camera bar on the backside. Hacked: The Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the largest organization for educators in Pennsylvania, says hackers stole the sensitive personal information of more than half a million of its members. PSEA said member account numbers, PINs, passwords, and security codes were also accessed during the breach, according to a letter sent to affected individuals. Neat! A 12th grader built a website called Minecraft Bench (MC-Bench) that pits two AIs against each other to see which one builds better creations in Minecraft. MC-Bench is technically a programming benchmark, since the models are asked to write code to create the prompted build. Actually super helpful: Google is switching up how you find email in your inbox. Rather than displaying everything chronologically, it will now use AI to consider factors like recency, most-clicked emails, and frequent contacts when surfacing emails based on your search query. A toggle will allow people to switch between 'Most relevant' or 'Most recent' emails on a search results page. Humanoids in the home: The hype around humanoid robots for the home seems to have reached new heights. Norwegian robotics company 1X is capitalizing on this, announcing that it will test its humanoid robot, Neo Gamma, in 'a few hundred to a few thousand' homes by the end of the year. Nvidia on top: Nvidia is sitting on top of the AI world, but it faces U.S. tariffs, DeepSeek, and shifting priorities from top AI customers. At this year's GTC, the company sought to assure attendees — and the rest of the world watching — that demand for its chips won't slow down anytime soon. Wayve rides the wave: Wayve, which launched in 2017 and has raised more than $1.3 billion over the past couple years, plans to license its self-driving software to automotive and fleet partners, such as Uber. Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall sees promise in bringing his autonomous vehicle startup's tech to market.
