Holiday Photos of Astronauts Stuck in Space For Half a Year Shock Internet: 'They're Wasting Away!'

NASA astronauts Don Pettit, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been trapped on the International Space Station for a half-year, but they haven't lost their holiday spirit.

Williams and Pettit were captured donning smiles and Santa Claus hats in a merry photo that sent social media users into a tailspin.

"Another day, another sleigh @NASA_Astronauts Don Pettit and Suni Williams pose for a fun holiday season portrait while speaking on a ham radio inside the @Space_Station's Columbus laboratory module," NASA's Johnson Space Center posted from its X account earlier this week.

Social media users commented on the astronauts' appearance and wondered how the trio have survived in space.

The astronauts were supposed to return a week after taking off in an experimental, Boeing-built spacecraft, Starliner, in June, but technical issues have now extended their trip to as late as April 2025.

Despite social media users' concern, NASA claimed the astronauts are not at risk as a result of the delay, per the BBC.

"GET THEM OUT OF THERE. THEY'RE WASTING AWAY!! WTF," one concerned X user said in response.

"They are getting pretty skinny! Praying for their safety!," X user @Tammy7253 added.

"That place looks junked out! They look too thin and are living in a crowded cell. Media makes it sound like a vacation? Praying for a safe return to earth," another X user asserted.