Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally home on Earth after what was supposed to be a brief eight-day mission became a tough nine-month brief stay in space. Their unplanned prolonged stay followed when their initial spacecraft developed technical issues, leaving them stranded at the International Space Station (ISS).

Why were the astronauts stuck in space for so long?

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore traveled to the ISS on June 5 last year aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule, which was on its maiden crewed flight. But things did not go according to plan. The Starliner capsule experienced propulsion problems, rendering it unsafe to travel back to Earth. As it was no longer suitable for the return journey, NASA decided to bring it back uncrewed in September.

This left Williams and Wilmore stranded in space with no definite method of returning home. NASA then tapped them to be part of SpaceX's Crew-9 mission, which would ultimately return them to Earth.

How did they get back?

NASA partnered with SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, to solve the problem. In September, SpaceX sent a Dragon spacecraft with a two-member crew instead of the usual four to make space for the stranded astronauts. However, several delays pushed back the return trip.

Finally, after months of waiting, the Dragon spacecraft carrying Williams, Wilmore, NASA's Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov undocked from the ISS at 10:35 am (IST). The spacecraft splashed down safely off the Florida coast at 3:27 am.

A heartwarming welcome from dolphins

A clip of the return of astronauts has become viral, not only due to the successful landing but also because of a surprise welcoming party. A group of dolphins were spotted swimming close to the capsule as recovery teams attempted to lift it to land.

"This is extremely cool," US Vice President JD Vance commented on the video. Another user said the dolphins "wanted to say hi to the astronauts."

What about the ISS crew now?

After the capsule was recovered, the side hatch was opened for the first time since September. The astronauts exited and were immediately flown to Houston for a 45-day rehabilitation program to assist them in adapting to life on Earth.

Though Williams and Wilmore are back home, the ISS is still fully manned. Crew-10 has already taken over from Crew-9 at the station to ensure that operations on the ISS go on as usual.

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