“They’re fine,” he said. “They just got to do an extra spacewalk, which they love. They’ll come home on the next ride.”

Even so, concerns remain over their health. Photos show the astronauts looking noticeably thinner, and reports indicate they must spend hours exercising daily to combat the physical toll of prolonged space travel.

To make matters worse, their financial compensation for this extended stay is shockingly low.

Retired astronaut Cady Coleman revealed in the same interview that astronauts don’t receive any special overtime pay. Since they are federal employees, a mission to space is treated similarly to any other business trip.

“There is some small amount of money every day for incidentals that they end up being legally obligated to pay you,” Coleman explained. However, this amount is only around $4 per day—meaning that for their entire unplanned stay so far, each astronaut has earned just $1,004 in extra pay.

While McDowell suggests that the astronauts are likely enjoying their time in space, many would expect better compensation for the sacrifices they’ve made—including having to drink purified water recycled from their own urine.

Fortunately, their wait may soon be over. A return flight is planned for mid-March, meaning they could finally be back on Earth in just a few weeks.