NASA astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were left stranded in space for months due to technical issues, have finally returned to Earth.
According to Daily Trust, the duo landed safely on Wednesday 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.
NASA confirmed their return on Wednesday 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.
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.
