Astronauts stranded in space show off Thanksgiving meal on the ISS... amid fears they're malnourished

NASA astronauts stranded connected the International Space Station (ISS) person been pictured with their Thanksgiving Day meals - amid increasing concerns astir their health.

Sunita Williams, 59, and Butch Wilmore, 61, who person been stuck successful abstraction for 175 days, revealed they volition beryllium feasting connected brussels sprouts, butternut squash and smoked turkey that was dehydrated earlier heading to the ISS.

'Our unit up present conscionable wanted to accidental Happy Thanksgiving to each our friends and household who are down connected Earth and everyone who is supporting us,' Williams said successful a video. 

The NASA astronauts have drawn interest from some the nationalist and officials wrong the abstraction bureau implicit their melodramatic value loss during their extended enactment successful orbit.

Williams sparked fears astir her value in an representation from September, with doctors telling DailyMail.com that she looked 'gaunt.'

And NASA insiders revealed past period that their aesculapian squad was monitoring Wilmore for akin reasons. 

Williams and Wilmore were joined by astronauts Nick Hague and Don Pettit successful the video to stock their vacation paper with friends and household backmost home.

'Our repast whitethorn look a small spot different,' Hague admitted arsenic astir fractional a dozen, sealed achromatic packages floated upward into microgravity, containing 'all the things that we're going to bask connected Thanksgiving.' 

ISS astronauts subsist chiefly connected dehydrated foods successful vacuum-packed pouches that request to beryllium rehydrated – and if needed to beryllium warmed – successful an plane-style instrumentality earlier consumption.

As a byproduct of the orbiting laboratory's substance cells, h2o is simply a plentiful source, but dehydrated nutrient besides helps trim value connected the abstraction station, NASA has said.

Williams offered much details connected the crew's orbital Thanksgiving paper Wednesday, including greenish beans, mushrooms, mashed potatoes and a dessert of pome cobbler.

'Our formation power teams gave america time off, truthful our plans are, arsenic usual, get up and workout, bash the Turkey trot, ticker a small Macy's [Thanksgiving] Day Parade,' she told NBC News.

Williams, however, emphasized that she does not see herself 'stranded' successful space, adding that NASA has a program successful spot successful the lawsuit that she oregon immoderate different astronaut aboard the ISS needs to get backmost to Earth.

'Our ngo power squad and our absorption has ever had an enactment for america to travel home,' she said. 'So yeah, we came up present connected Starliner. 

'We're coming backmost connected a Dragon, but there’s ever been a program of however we would get home.'

Williams and Willmore have  been stuck connected the ISS since Starliner brought them determination connected June 6.

While Starliner has returned backmost to Earth without a unit connected September 7, the duo proceed to hold for SpaceX's Crew-9 ngo that volition pick them up astatine the ISS and bring them location nary earlier than February 2025.

However, galore studies person shown that extended stays successful abstraction tin pb to melodramatic value lost.  

During semipermanent ISS missions, crews tin typically suffer astir 5 percent of their archetypal assemblage mass, owed chiefly to musculus and bony density nonaccomplishment that occurs people owed to microgravity.

Wilmore, according to 1 NASA authoritative who declined to beryllium named, 'had a batch much wide astatine the start,' coming successful at six feet gangly and implicit 210 pounds.

'So, it's not arsenic large of a deal,' this worker told the New York Post.

Despite what seemed evident to observers watching NASA's video feeds, Williams came guardant earlier this period to deny 'rumors' that she had mislaid weight portion connected her unexpectedly agelong enactment successful connected the ISS. 

Williams claimed that she has really gained musculus connected committee the ISS, and pointed to 'fluid shift' to explicate her quality successful the concerning photos.