Two NASA astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, have safely returned to Earth after spending more than nine months stranded on the International Space Station (ISS). Their return was delayed due to technical problems with their original spacecraft. 

Who are Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore?

Sunita Williams, 59, is a veteran astronaut and retired United States Navy officer. She joined NASA in 1998 and has spent a total of 322 days in space. Williams has completed nine spacewalks — a record for female astronauts until Peggy Whitson broke it in 2017. For this mission, Williams served as the pilot.

Barry “Butch” Wilmore, 62, is also an experienced astronaut. He first travelled to space in 2009 on the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Before this mission, he had spent 178 days in space. He has worked as a flight engineer and commander on past ISS missions, studying plant growth in space and how microgravity affects the human body. Wilmore was the commander of this mission.

The two astronauts travelled to the ISS on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. This was the first time the spacecraft carried people as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Why did they get stuck?

The journey didn’t go as planned. Their spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner, had serious problems on its way to the ISS. It had helium leaks and one of its thrusters, which controls the spacecraft’s direction, stopped working. After docking with the ISS on June 6, 2024, more thrusters failed.

Although engineers fixed most of the thrusters, NASA decided the spacecraft wasn’t safe enough for the astronauts to use for their return. The Starliner was sent back to Earth empty.

Since there wasn’t another spacecraft ready to bring Williams and Wilmore home immediately, they had to stay on the ISS. NASA later decided to bring them back using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, but this couldn’t happen until more astronauts arrived to replace them. The new crew, called Crew-10, finally arrived on Sunday, allowing Williams and Wilmore to return.

The return journey started on Monday night, March 18, 2025. The astronauts closed the hatch at 10:45 pm ET (02:45 GMT). Their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule undocked from the ISS at 1:05 am ET (05:05 GMT) on Tuesday and splashed into the Atlantic Ocean just before 6 pm ET (22:00 GMT).

The capsule had been docked at the ISS since September 2024. It was originally used to bring NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the ISS, with two empty seats left for Williams and Wilmore’s return.

NASA livestreamed the astronauts’ journey home, showing their safe splashdown off the coast of Florida.

How did they survive for nine months in space?

Williams and Wilmore were only supposed to stay on the ISS for eight days, but they ended up staying for over nine months — a total of 287 days. A usual ISS mission lasts about six months, so this was much longer than expected.

Even with the extended stay, the astronauts stayed healthy. They followed a strict daily routine, which included exercise to keep their muscles and bones strong. They used a treadmill and a resistance machine to work out.

The ISS was resupplied regularly by other missions, bringing fresh food, water, and oxygen. Over Christmas, Williams and Wilmore even enjoyed a special holiday meal that included smoked oysters, crab, duck foie gras, cranberry sauce, Atlantic lobster, and smoked salmon.

The astronauts stayed connected with their families through email and phone calls. Williams told NBC News in November, “We have a lot of fun up here too. People who are worried about us, really, don’t worry about us... We’re a happy crew up here.”

In January, Williams and Wilmore even went on a spacewalk together—a challenging task that involves leaving the ISS while wearing a bulky spacesuit.

Other astronauts who got stuck in space

In 2022, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio spent 371 days on the ISS — the longest mission ever for a US astronaut. His return was delayed because the Soyuz spacecraft he travelled on had a coolant leak. He eventually returned on a different Soyuz.

In 1991, Soviet astronaut Sergei Krikalev was stranded on the Mir space station for 311 days. His return was delayed because the Soviet Union collapsed while he was in space. By the time he came back to Earth in 1992, the Soviet Union no longer existed—he returned to a newly formed Russia.

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