After nine months on the International Space Station (ISS), which was only supposed to last eight days, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally returning to Earth. They left the orbital station on March 17 at 11:05 p.m. EDT aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, along with NASA Crew-9 mission astronauts Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. The crew is scheduled to land off the coast of Florida at 5:57 p.m. on March 18.
Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS in June 2024 on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. But due to technical problems discovered that threatened the astronauts’ lives, their mission was forced to be extended until the spring of 2025. Engineers decided to return the capsule without a crew, forcing the astronauts to wait nine months in Earth orbit for evacuation. To avoid disrupting the crew rotation schedule, NASA delayed two astronauts from the next Crew-9 mission, which launched in September 2023. This allowed Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth on Crew Dragon, where there were two available seats.
Before departing, Sunita Williams shared her impressions: “I will miss everything. This was our third flight to the ISS. We helped create it, watched it change. Living here provides a unique perspective not only on space, but also on how to solve problems. I don’t want to lose that spark of inspiration.”
When asked about the most difficult thing during the mission, Williams said, “It was like riding a tightrope. The hardest part was not knowing when we would be back. All that uncertainty was the hardest part.”
This story is a reminder of how space missions require flexibility, patience, and a readiness to overcome unpredictable circumstances. For Williams and Wilmore, those nine months were not only a challenge, but also an opportunity to see Earth from a new perspective.
Earlier we reported on how two military personnel were among the crew of the Crew-10 mission.
According to NASA
