The situation with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who are “stuck” on the ISS, remains unresolved. NASA and Boeing have extended their stay on board the International Space Station indefinitely. Let us recall that the astronauts have been in orbit for two months longer than expected and will most likely not be able to return to Earth in 2024. The situation sounds like a plot for a Hollywood blockbuster, but for the two astronauts it has become reality. According to scientists, this will certainly change their perception of time.
American astronauts most likely will not be able to return to Earth until February 2025. Photo source: mixnews.lv
What happened on the Boeing Starliner
We previously reported that two astronauts arrived at the ISS aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The expedition was expected to last no more than 8 days and end on June 14. However, due to an unforeseen situation, the delivery of the astronauts to Earth was impossible.
There were problems with the spacecraft from the very beginning, or rather, the NASA team knew about the gas leak. However, it was considered insignificant, so they decided not to cancel the flight. At the moment of Boeing Starliner docking with the ISS, the ship experienced malfunctions in five engines, and a more intense helium leak was detected.
The engines on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft failed. Photo source: point.md
While the team on Earth figures out what might have gone wrong, the astronauts will have to remain on board the space station indefinitely. However, NASA officials should make a final decision soon, and then the uncertainty will be eliminated.
What will happen to the stranded astronauts on the ISS
Most likely, the astronauts will be able to return to earth only in February 2025, which means they will have to wait another six months. Waiting is a difficult task even in normal circumstances, for example, we find it difficult to wait for transport at a bus stop for only 10-15 minutes. In extreme conditions, when the stakes are particularly high, waiting can become a real agony.
One of the reasons that makes waiting so difficult is the distortion of the sense of time. For most people, time moves very slowly when they are waiting. As a result, it seems much longer than it actually is. Why does this happen?
With uncertainty, anticipation and stress, time will slow down greatly for astronauts. Photo source: oxu.az
According to scientists, the reason is that waiting changes the amount of time we spend thinking about time. When we are busy doing something, we often forget about time because it does not have much meaning to us. Therefore, in such situations, time can fly by. But if we are waiting for something, we have a desire to know when the wait will end, that is, time becomes more significant, as a result of which we constantly think about it.
To better understand how it works, just take a watch and watch the second hand or stopwatch for a minute. As a result, you will notice that a minute lasts quite a long time, although in ordinary life minutes fly by completely unnoticed. Time can slow down even more while waiting due to discomfort, stress, pain, etc.
In addition, there is another factor that affects our perception of time – this is our activity. Ordinary life is always hectic, it involves many of our actions and interactions. As a result, time speeds up. But when we wait, we usually remain without other things to do, that is, the usual “busy” flow of life stops and a tedious wait begins.
When we keep track of time, it seems to us that it drags on longer. Photo source: kronostime.ru
Therefore, time on the ISS for astronauts will probably last much longer than during a normal “everyday” wait. They will face all factors at once – lack of things to do, stress, discomfort and constant thoughts about time.
How time flows in Antarctica for polar explorers
For many people, the situation on the ISS may seem like a real nightmare. However, scientists often have to spend even more time in complete isolation. For example, crews are often sent to Antarctica for up to 16 months.
It must be said that being in Antarctica can be even more difficult psychologically than being on the ISS, since emergency delivery of astronauts to Earth takes only a couple of hours, but getting to Antarctica during the harsh Antarctic winter is sometimes completely impossible. There were even cases when a polar doctor had to perform an appendectomy on himself in Antarctica, since no one else could help him.
Polar explorers stay in Antarctica for up to 16 months. Photo source: travelask.ru
In addition, during the polar winter, which lasts from March to October, polar explorers have to spend time in almost complete darkness. And from May to August, complete darkness sets in and the outside temperature drops to -60 degrees. At the same time, the wind speed reaches 160 km/h. The Internet speed at polar stations is very weak, as a result of which communication with the outside world is severely limited.
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But, despite such conditions, only 3% of polar explorers reported that their time lasted longer than usual. True, polar explorers always have a lot to do. That is, due to their constant busyness, they do not experience anticipation as such. Astronauts who stayed on the ISS do not have such a large number of tasks. In addition, the situation is aggravated by uncertainty – they still do not know exactly when they will be able to return to Earth.