Photos don’t show NASA astronaut returned to Earth with dark hair despite it being gray in space

Claim:

Photographs show that NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams came back to Earth with dark hair despite it being gray while she was in space.

Rating:

Context:

The photographs purportedly showing Williams after her return to Earth were taken in June 2024, before her space mission.

After NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams returned to Earth on March 18, 2025 — following an unexpectedly long stay at the International Space Station — rumors spread that her hair had grown out gray while in orbit but that she had dark hair by the time she splashed down off the coast of Florida.

On X, users posted photographs of Williams, who was on the ISS for nine months after her capsule malfunctioned, claiming they were before-and-after shots of her return from space. One speculated that gravity had affected her hair color. 

Another overlaid the side-by-side images with meme text reading: “When you spend 9 months stuck in space and come back with a tan and your hair did.” The post implied that Williams hadn’t actually been in space: “Nine months in ‘zero gravity,’ no barbers, no showers … but her gray hair magically transformed back to a rich, dark brown — no roots, no touch-ups, just pure space alchemy. … Must be that exclusive Orbit Salon & Spa package—only available at Studio NASA!”

(X user @TNTJohn1717)

On TikTok, one video (archived) claimed the change had given those “who had always doubted” the astronaut had been in space reason to believe she had been “hiding in some filming base all along.”

The images of Williams with dark hair shared online were real photographs and not the result of manipulation or artificial intelligence. However, they were taken before her mission to the ISS; therefore, we have rated this claim as miscaptioned.

Several social media posts included photographs of Williams in a blue spacesuit. The French international news agency Agence France-Presse holds the rights to the photograph included in the X post above. It says photographer Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo took the image June 5, 2024, before Williams boarded the Boeing Starliner spacecraft in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Getty Images holds the rights to the photograph of Williams with dark hair included in the post below. The image’s caption on Getty Images states it was taken in Cape Canaveral on June 1 — the date of a canceled launch of the spacecraft.

(X user @truthache68)

(Getty Images)

The images of Williams with gray hair were taken while she was in space. The image included in the post below was a screenshot from a video taken aboard the ISS.

(X user @TNTJohn1717)

The Associated Press and British news network Sky News posted clips to YouTube of a NASA live event that documented Williams and others welcoming astronauts from the SpaceX Crew-10 as they docked at the International Space Station. The frames that match the screenshot can be seen in the AP’s video at 3:14:20 and Sky News’ video at 00:09.

(Sky News)

NASA posted a portrait of Williams and her fellow astronauts in space, taken on Feb. 19, 2025, that further confirms her gray hair grew out while on board the ISS.

Getty Images also holds the rights to an image, seen below, that showed Williams after she arrived back on Earth on March 18 and clearly showed she had gray hair.

(Getty Images)

Snopes has covered other claims about NASA, including a rumor that former President Joe Biden left Williams and fellow astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore on the ISS for political gain and the truth behind an image purporting to show Saturn in the Cassini spacecraft’s “final moments.”

Sources:

Agence France-Presse. “NASA Astronauts Suni Williams, Wearing…,” 5 June 2024, www.afpforum.com/AFPForum/Search/ViewMedia.aspx?mui=3&hid=A5F7FC39B1FCCBF49366F77A72865D680B6E3106D76B161C0482941441DFF6A1&cck=a1aff2. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Associated Press. “LIVE: Watch NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Docking to International Space Station.” YouTube, 16 Mar. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLza2no0Qgg. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Boeing. “Boeing Starliner Spacecraft Completes Successful Launch.” Boeing.com, 5 June 2024, investors.boeing.com/investors/news/press-release-details/2024/Boeing-Starliner-Spacecraft-Completes-Successful-Launch/default.aspx. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Doyle, Tiernan P. “LIFTOFF! NASA Astronauts Pilot First Starliner Crewed Test to Station – NASA.” Nasa.gov, 5 June 2024, www.nasa.gov/news-release/liftoff-nasa-astronauts-pilot-first-starliner-crewed-test-to-station/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Getty Images. Boeing Starliner Prepares to Launch Manned Test Flight to International Space Station, 1 June 2024, www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/s-boeing-crew-flight-test-pilot-suni-williams-greets-people-news-photo/2155596977?adppopup=true. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

—. Boeing Starliner Prepares to Launch Manned Test Flight to International Space Station, 5 June 2024, www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/s-boeing-crew-flight-test-commander-butch-wilmore-and-pilot-news-photo/2156180691?adppopup=true. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

—. Boeing Starliner Prepares to Launch Manned Test Flight to International Space Station, 5 June 2024, www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/s-boeing-crew-flight-test-commander-butch-wilmore-and-pilot-news-photo/2156181713?adppopup=true. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

—. Boeing Starliner Prepares to Launch Manned Test Flight to International Space Station, 5 June 2024, www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/s-boeing-crew-flight-test-commander-butch-wilmore-and-pilot-news-photo/2156180681?adppopup=true. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

—. Boeing Starliner Prepares to Launch Manned Test Flight to International Space Station, 5 June 2024, www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/s-boeing-crew-flight-test-commander-butch-wilmore-and-pilot-news-photo/2156178383?adppopup=true. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

—. NASA Astronauts Return to Earth after 9-Month Delay, 18 Mar. 2024, www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/astronaut-suni-williams-is-helped-out-of-a-spacex-dragon-news-photo/2205269759?adppopup=true. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Luabeya, Monika. “NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Members Pose for Portrait – NASA.” NASA, 18 Mar. 2025, www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-spacex-crew-9-members-pose-for-portrait/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

NASA. “Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building – Kennedy Space Center.” Nasa.gov, 5 June 2024, blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/tag/neil-a-armstrong-operations-and-checkout-building/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Sky News. “SpaceX Crew Welcomed into ISS to Replace Astronauts Stranded for Nine Months.” YouTube, 16 Mar. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YtYcN8Bnw8. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Taveau, Jessica. “Welcome Home! NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Back on Earth after Science Mission – NASA.” NASA, 18 Mar. 2025, www.nasa.gov/news-release/welcome-home-nasas-spacex-crew-9-back-on-earth-after-science-mission/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.