Stranded US astronauts to return to Earth after 9 months

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months, will return to Earth tonight. The Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations have begun and will be touching down on Earth at 3:27 AM tomorrow.

In an official statement, the space agency said conditions are favourable for the return of the Crew-9 mission from the



International Space Station. The astronauts anticipate ocean splashdown off the Florida coast.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon craft will also carry NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The astronauts have been on the ISS since June last year, following the maiden crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which encountered technical issues and was deemed unfit for their return journey.