Astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore is slowly reacclimating to life on Earth after spending an unexpected nine months in space, but the adjustment hasn’t been easy, according to his daughter, Daryn Wilmore.
“He’s doing good,” Daryn shared on TikTok in response to a question about her father’s return to gravity. “It’s rough, but he’s a trooper.”
Wilmore, 62, along with fellow astronaut Sunita Williams, 59, landed off the coast of Florida earlier this week aboard a SpaceX capsule, concluding a prolonged mission that was originally intended to last just 10 days.
The challenge of readjusting to gravity
Returning from an extended stay in microgravity poses significant challenges for astronauts. The absence of Earth’s gravitational pull leads to muscle atrophy and bone density loss, requiring extensive rehabilitation upon return.
“Without Earth’s gravity affecting the human body, weight-bearing bones lose on average 1% to 1.5% of mineral density per month during spaceflight,” Nasa explains. “Astronauts also lose muscle mass in microgravity faster than they would on Earth.”
Following their splashdown, Wilmore and Williams were transported to Houston, Texas, for medical evaluations and quarantine. Daryn confirmed that she saw her father the same day he landed.
A family’s long wait for his return
Daryn, a 19-year-old college student, documented much of her father’s space ordeal on TikTok. In August, she posted a video explaining that his return had been delayed until “late February, early March” due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, including thruster malfunctions and helium leaks.
Despite the unexpected extension of his mission, Daryn said their family remained in “constant contact” with him throughout. However, she also hinted at frustrations over the situation, saying in a February video that “there’s been negligence” behind his prolonged stay in orbit.
“There’s a lot of politics, there’s a lot of things that I’m not at liberty to say, and that I don’t fully know about,” she said.
On Wednesday, following Wilmore’s safe return, Daryn shared what she called the “final installment” of her social media series, “My Dad is Stuck in Space.”
“I’m so happy. I’m so proud,” she said, posting a video just hours before her father’s return to Earth.
A homecoming fit for a space traveler
Excited to reunite with her father, Daryn revealed she had plans to make his favourite dessert—pecan pie—and compiled a list of activities to do together as he settled back into life on Earth.
“He’s going to spend the next few days going through tests, lots of medical stuff, because they’re still technically part of the experiment of human spaceflight, and just getting re-acclimated to gravity and routine back here on Earth,” she explained.
Grateful for the overwhelming support from her 36,000 TikTok followers, Daryn even pitched a Hollywood adaptation of her father’s journey.
“Hollywood, I think a movie should happen,” she joked. “If you want to call me, I have ideas. ‘Apollo 13’ is a great movie, but do you know what could be even better? This movie right here.”
Wilmore’s return marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in spaceflight history—one that his daughter believes deserves a place on the big screen.