NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore recently returned to Earth after a prolonged 9.5-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Originally launched on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, their mission was planned as an eight-day test flight. However, technical issues with the Starliner, including thruster failures and helium leaks, rendered the vehicle unsafe for their return. NASA decided to send the spacecraft back uncrewed in September 2024, extending the astronauts’ stay on the ISS significantly.

During their extended mission, Suni and Butch integrated into the Expedition 71/72 crew and contributed to various scientific experiments and maintenance tasks. Suni achieved a record-breaking total of 62 hours and 6 minutes of spacewalk time, making her the female astronaut with the longest spacewalking duration. Butch also performed a spacewalk and assisted in repairing equipment outside the ISS. Despite challenges, they maintained optimism, describing their time aboard as fulfilling but acknowledging the strain on their families back on Earth.

The astronauts finally returned aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft on March 18, 2025, alongside Crew-9 members Nick Hague (NASA) and Aleksandr Gorbunov (Roscosmos). Their capsule splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico off Tallahassee, Florida. Shortly after landing, rescue teams conducted medical checks before transporting them to Johnson Space Center in Houston for recovery. Their journey covered 195.29 million kilometers over 286 days, orbiting Earth 4,567 times.

Post-mission recovery includes a structured 45-day program involving medical tests and performance evaluations. Both astronauts are adapting to Earth’s gravity after months in microgravity conditions. While Suni now holds records for cumulative space travel duration among women astronauts, Butch has completed three spaceflights totaling 464 days. Their resilience underscores NASA’s commitment to safety and exploration.