DNA damage equal to a daily pack of cigs and frail bones due to lack of gravity: If astronaut Suni Williams looks likes she’s aged a decade after spending 288 days in space – that’s probably because she has! https://t.co/ovfqF1ApyL
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 19, 2025
DAILY MAIL
When Nasa astronaut Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams, 59, returned to Earth this week, after being stranded in space for 288 days, the changes to her appearance were startling.
She seemed to have aged a decade in less than a year. And biologically speaking, she might have.
Because it turns out that spending months in orbit has shocking effects on both your body and brain, akin to extreme ageing.
Williams’s record-breaking, unplanned extended stay in space – the voyage was supposed to take eight days – is not only a glimpse into what would happen to all of us if we had to last nine months without our hair appointments, health regimes or beauty products (imagine!), she is also a case study in the brutal toll of a space mission.
Enough stress to turn hair grey
When Williams left Earth back in June, she was widely known for her long, flowing chestnut hair.
Donald Trump even referred to her as ‘the woman with the wild hair’ when he announced efforts to bring her and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore back to Earth.
But when she splashed down off the coast of Florida this week in a SpaceX Dragon capsule, the hair that was visible through her helmet had gone entirely white.
Anyone who was forced to skip their regular colourist appointments during the pandemic can empathise.
However, this dramatic change might be more than just going nine months without a root touch-up.
In 2020, a study found that stress can turn hair white, as adrenaline and cortisol speeds up the depletion of stem cells that produce melanin in hair follicles.
In pictures and videos from her time stuck on the International Space Station (ISS), Williams always wore her hair down or loosely tied.
This is because microgravity shifts bodily fluids upwards, leading to increased pressure in the scalp.
Astronauts also have limited access to water, so they wash their hair in foil-and-plastic water bags with rinseless shampoos. Having loose hair allows for better aeration, reducing the chances of clogged follicles, dandruff or bacterial growth.
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