By Loshinniy Nair S. Baskaran,
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have safely returned to Earth after spending over nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Their mission, initially planned for a shorter duration, was extended due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which was intended to bring them back.
To facilitate their return, NASA collaborated with SpaceX to launch the Crew-9 mission. This mission, which lifted off on September 28, 2024, was specifically designed to bring Williams and Wilmore back home.
The Crew-9 spacecraft, carrying astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, successfully docked with the ISS, allowing Williams and Wilmore to board for their journey back to Earth. The Crew-9 capsule undocked from the ISS and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, culminating in a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee, Florida, on March 18, 2025.
/Upon landing, the astronauts were assisted from the capsule and will begin a rehabilitation program to readjust to life on Earth. Throughout their extended mission, Williams and Wilmore continued to contribute to various scientific experiments and maintenance tasks aboard the ISS.
Their safe return marks the successful conclusion of a mission that tested the resilience and adaptability of the astronauts and the international partnerships that support space exploration, as stated in The Economic Times
