Butch is a veteran of two spaceflights and has accumulated 178 days in space, according to Nasa, however this figure may rocket as his latest voyage hasn't yet been fully tallied up. He was selected as an astronaut by Nasa in July 2000 and is a retired US Navy captain.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — retired Navy captains and repeat space fliers — have insisted that they are healthy and committed to the mission as long as it takes.

NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore have been on the International Space Station since June, even though they initially expected to stay for just eight days. But Williams told PBS NewsHour recently that they don't feel abandoned by NASA.