Overview

• They completed a standard 45-day readaptation period following their March return, reclaiming muscle strength and equilibrium.
• Since returning to Earth, they have spent at least two hours daily working with NASA’s medical unit, Boeing’s Starliner team, ISS operations, and agency researchers.
• Starliner’s propulsion failures in 2024 extended last summer’s capsule test from eight days into nine months on the ISS, prompting NASA to return the spacecraft crewless in September.
• Boeing has recorded $2 billion in charges on Starliner development, and NASA will use summer testing outcomes to guide a possible uncrewed refly before resuming crewed flights.
• Their experience underscores the physical demands of prolonged microgravity exposure and informs NASA’s protocols for future long-duration missions.