Stranded NASA astronaut reveals concerning effects being stuck in space for eight months is having on her body

An astronaut stranded in space has said that she's been up there so long it's starting to have an impact on her body.

It was in June last year that NASA astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita 'Suni' Williams journeyed up into space for a mission that was only supposed to last for eight days.

However, technical issues with the spacecraft that brought them to the International Space Station were discovered and it was decided that the craft shouldn't be used for their return trip.

What was meant to be an eight-day mission is coming up on eight months now, and the pair aren't scheduled to return until March at the earliest.

When answering questions from students at her old high school, Williams explained that she's been in space for such a long time that remembering how to walk is getting difficult.

Suni Williams said she was trying to remember what walking was like (NASA)

CBS reports that the astronaut was asked all sorts of questions, including whether moving while in space felt like swimming or flying.

She said: I’ve been up here long enough right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk.

"I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down. You don’t have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here."

Speaking to the students, she told them the amount of time she and Wilmore had been stranded in space was 'a little bit of a shock actually'.

"We knew that it would be probably a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different," the astronaut explained of the extended time stranded among the stars.

While she's having fun being in space, Williams said that being away from her family for so long was challenging, though since she keeps busy and can talk to them often she doesn't feel isolated.

They set off on 5 June and were only supposed to be in space for slightly more than a week, it's been months now (Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images)

"My mother’s getting a little bit older, so in that regard, I just try to stay in touch with them and those guys as much as possible," the astronaut said of being beyond the confines of our world for so long.

"I think I talk to my mom practically every day. Just check in with her and call her and see how she’s doing.

"So it’s just a little bit different relationship than we had potentially planned on for the last couple months. But we’re managing."

Hopefully, they can be brought back down to Earth soon enough.