•Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore
NASA astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were left stranded in space for months due to technical issues, have finally returned to earth.
The duo landed safely today as SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom capsule splashed down off the coast of Florida, ending a mission that was supposed to last just eight days but stretched to nine months, reports AFP.
NASA confirmed their return today in a post on X, saying, “Home sweet home. NASA’s SpaceX #Crew9 touched down at Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston at 11:19 pm CDT, March 18, after their @Space_Station mission and successful splashdown earlier this afternoon.”
Williams and Wilmore had travelled to the International Space Station in June 2024 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for its first crewed test flight.
However, the capsule suffered multiple technical failures and was deemed too unsafe for their return.
By September, NASA decided to send the faulty Starliner back to Earth empty, leaving the astronauts without a ride home.
They were later assigned seats on a SpaceX capsule, but since it was part of a six-month mission, they had to wait until now to return.
Despite being described as “stranded,” NASA maintained that the astronauts were safe throughout, as emergency spacecraft remained docked at the ISS.
BBC reports that during their extended stay, Williams and Wilmore carried out research experiments and spacewalks, with Williams setting a new record for the most time spent outside the space station by a female astronaut.
NASA officials praised the astronauts for their patience and adaptability.
“It is awesome to have crew 9 home, just a beautiful landing,” said deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations, Joel Montalbano.
The astronauts’ return journey took 17 hours. Upon landing, they were assisted onto stretchers, a routine step after long-duration space missions due to the effects of microgravity on the body.
They were then taken to the Johnson Space Center in Houston for medical checks.
Experts say prolonged time in space weakens muscles, reduces bone density, and affects blood circulation, requiring astronauts to undergo extensive rehabilitation upon their return.
“Your body feels great, it feels like a holiday.
“Your heart is having an easy time, your muscles and bones are having an easy time. You’re floating around the space station in this wonderful zero-gravity environment.
“But you must keep up the exercise regime. Because you’re staying fit in space, not for space itself, but for when you return back to the punishing gravity environment of Earth.
“Those first two or three days back on Earth can be really punishing,” British astronaut Tim Peake told BBC.
