NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on Earth after spending nine months in space. They returned aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, which splashed down off the Florida coast on Tuesday evening, March 18.
Their journey home lasted 17 hours, with two other astronauts—NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Aleksandr Gorbunov—also on board.
The mission was supposed to last just eight days. However, technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft delayed their return.
NASA had planned to use Starliner to bring them back, but it developed faults that made it unsafe. The spacecraft was eventually sent back to Earth empty in September.
Instead, NASA had to wait for the next available ride—a SpaceX capsule that reached the International Space Station (ISS) later that month. Since it had only two astronauts instead of four, there were two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams.
But there was a catch. The SpaceX mission was planned for six months, meaning Wilmore and Williams had to stay in space much longer than expected.
Experiments, and a Festive Christmas
During their extended stay, the astronauts made the most of their time. They conducted several scientific experiments and participated in spacewalks.
Suni Williams even set a new record for the most hours spent outside the space station by a female astronaut.
At Christmas, the crew celebrated in space, wearing Santa hats and reindeer antlers while sending a holiday message back to Earth.
Return and Medical Checks
After landing, the astronauts waved and smiled as they were helped out of the capsule. They were then taken for routine medical checks in reclining stretchers.
“The crew’s doing great,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Joel Montalbano, NASA’s deputy associate administrator, also praised them: “It is awesome to have Crew-9 home, just a beautiful landing.“
British astronaut Helen Sharman added that the astronauts were looking forward to seeing their loved ones. “Now they can catch up on lost time,” she said.
Wilmore and Williams will next travel to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where medical experts will continue their health assessments.
Their nine-month adventure in space may not have gone as planned, but it was certainly one for the history books.
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