• Due to delays with the Boeing Starliner, two NASA astronauts are stranded on the International Space Station.

• Butch Wilmore camped in a sleeping bag in the Japanese space agency’s module, Time reported.

• According to Time, the duo is probably currently doing odd jobs on the ISS while waiting to return home.

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, the two NASA astronauts stranded on the International Space Station due to delays to the Boeing Starliner, previously said they were doing well while waiting to return to Earth.

In a press conference on July 10, Williams said they were having a good time on the ISS and it was “a good feeling to be floating around.” And Wilmore said he was “absolutely confident” that the Starliner will bring them home safely.

But after a report by Time editor Jeffrey Kluger, who covers space and science, Wilmore is having a good time during his stay.

Kluger said Wilmore was prepared to sleep in a sleeping bag in the Japanese space agency’s Kibo module for eight days, but the June 5 trip has stretched well over two months, and it could be February 2025 when the astronauts return to Earth.

According to NASA, there are only six private sleeping quarters on the ISS. Time reported that each quarter has a sleeping bag, a storage area for snacks and personal items, and two laptops mounted on the walls.

But Wilmore and Williams joined an international crew of seven that was already on the ISS – so the sleeping cabins were already at maximum capacity.

Time reported that Williams camped with one of the astronauts in a simple sleep module called CASA (Crew Alternate Sleep Accommodation).

And Wilmore was given a sleeping bag to rest in outside in the Japanese module.

Kluger wrote that Williams joked to him in May before their departure into space: “Butch is going to have to take it a little rough.”

While stuck in space, the duo also likely started taking odd jobs on the ISS, according to Time. They began with mission objectives for the short stay they had originally planned, such as conducting checks on the Starliner after its test flight.

“But they have long since completed that checklist and are instead assisting the rest of the crew with scientific experiments and maintenance work, including such unglamorous tasks as repairing a urine processing pump,” the Time report said.

The duo also only had a small selection of clothing with them, which was not enough for an extended stay. But Time reported that a Northrop Grumman supply spacecraft delivered fresh clothing to the two astronauts last week.

A game of patience

The astronauts have now spent more than 70 days on the ISS, and there is no end in sight.

On August 7, NASA raised the possibility of bringing the duo to Earth on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon if the Starliner proved unfeasible.

The downside, however, is that they will be stuck on the International Space Station for around eight months longer than planned and will not be able to return until February 2025.

The Starliner spacecraft encountered engine problems and helium leaks during its approach to the ISS in June. Even after weeks of testing and troubleshooting, NASA still has concerns about whether the craft can bring astronauts home.

Williams, who was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998, spent 322 days in space before the Starliner project. Wilmore, a NASA astronaut since 2000, spent 178 days in space before the Starliner launch.

NASA representatives did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment, sent outside regular business hours.

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