Body language expert uncovers NASA astronauts’ secret turmoil… and who is REALLY to blame for leaving them stranded

It’s the question we’re all dying to have answered ever since NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore returned to Earth last month: What was it really like to be trapped in space for nine months?

On March 18, the pair splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico after a planned 10-day trip to the International Space Station turned into a 286-day odyssey when complications with their return capsule led to delays.

As a precaution, they were rushed to hospital upon their return and kept media contact to a minimum. 

But on Monday, Williams and Wilmore sat for a joint interview with Fox News to discuss thier experiences.

And now, body language expert Judi James has analyzed their on-screen behavior for the Daily Mail and identified subtle indicators of their true feelings about being stuck in space.

James says the pair displayed clear ’emotional survival techniques’, including moments of ‘stoicism’ and an ‘utter sense of loyalty’ during the Fox interview.

‘Asked if they felt abandoned, both replied with strong signals of rebuttal and denial,’ she says. ‘Wilmore was the spokesperson here, but Williams’s emphatic nodding registered total agreement.’

The pair also showed signs of ‘camaraderie’ and ‘shared playful fun’ – an indication that they may have found solace in friendship during their ordeal –  and ‘spoke almost as one,’ James added.

Body language expert Judi James says astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore displayed clear ’emotional survival techniques’, including moments of ‘stoicism’ and an ‘utter sense of loyalty’ on Monday

The pair also appeared initially to be in a jovial mood during a NASA press conference on Monday afternoon following the Fox interview. But when asked who they thought was responsible for their delayed return to Earth, they seemed to stiffen, James notes.

Wilmore insisted he, as the commander of the spacecraft, was equally as responsible as staff at NASA and Boeing (who made the return capsule). 

‘There were questions that, as the commander of the spacecraft, I should have asked, and I did not,’ he said. ‘At the time, I didn’t know I needed to, and maybe you could call that hindsight. But I’ll start, and point the finger, and I’ll blame me.’

Wilmore had made similarly defensive statements during the Fox interview, saying: ‘I’ll admit that to the nation. There are things that I did not ask that I should have asked.’

That said, he did concede that Boeing and NASA were also to blame for ‘shortcomings in tests and shortcomings in preparations.’

‘Everybody has a piece in this because it did not come off,’ he said, adding that he did not want to ‘point fingers.’

However, James says picked up on signs of unease while Wilmore made these statements — such as him scratching his neck and speaking with ‘anger’ and ‘energy.’ 

James suggests this was an attempt to protect NASA’s reputation.

‘[Wilmore] appeared to carry personal responsibility like a shield,’ James says. ‘When he spoke of questions, he scratched the back of his neck [during the press conference] in one of the only off-message body language gestures of the session.

‘The gesture suggested possible confusion or even an act of distraction. His “point the finger at me” sounded stronger, and he threw his hands out in a shrug as he claimed, “We all own this”. This was [all] said with energy and a sense of anger… [He] opened his mouth wide as he spoke, chewing on his words to create emphasis.’ 

In less heated moments during the press conference, James says that ‘the theme of being “part of a team” was used on repeat.’

During a NASA press conference, ‘the theme of being part of a team was used on repeat,’ James says

When asked who they hold responsible for the extra months they spent in space, Wilmore ‘appeared to carry personal responsibility like a shield,’ James says

Both astronauts spoke of feeling part of something larger than themselves and how that helped them stay focused on the mission at hand while trapped in space. 

‘Williams placed both hands out to illustrate what she called the “tunnel vision” that being one of a large team produced,’ James says.

However, for all the team playing and shows of unity, James adds that some ‘very individual personality traits’ came through.

In the Fox News interview, she says, ‘Williams was the one shrugging to play down the drama, [while] Wilmore was the more vocal and passionate denier of any problems. Her posture and her gestures suggest a calming presence. She sat with her legs crossed and her hands crossed in her lap and her head moved gently from side to side as she spoke.’

On the other hand, ‘Wilmore was more active and his hand movements hinted at a nervous energy at times… His hands formed a steeple between his splayed knees and his voice sped up with emotion during a couple of points.’

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk