NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore safely return to Earth with a wide smile

The wait for two NASA astronauts who went on an eight-day stopover on the International Space Station (ISS) to comeback to earth is over, as they landed back on the planet after nine-and-a-half-month mission. The two landed via a SpaceX Dragon Freedom Rocket bringing relief to many across the globe who were wishing for a safe landing.  

The SpaceX capsule splashed down near the coast of Tallahassee, Florida at around 5:57 pm EDT on Tuesday. The capsule carried both Sunita Williams ‘Suni’ and Butch Wilmore along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.  

As soon as the capsule entered the waters, a pod of dolphins was also seen swimming around the capsule curiously searching around it. A ground crew member was also seen working on the capsule to make it suitable for opening. As soon as they both landed on earth, they were removed from the capsule on special chairs, where they could rest their legs and cope with Earth’s gravity.  

As they were removed, both of them were seen with a wide smile on their faces, highlighting that their experience in space was worth the wait. Both the astronauts are now kept under regular medical care, as they await a long medical recovery due to a change in atmosphere and surroundings.  

While Sunita and Butch, both will have to come up with several different factors, the major challenge for them is said to be coming up with Earth’s gravity. Apart from this the astronauts will have to adjust to the weather, food and their sleeping cycle as well.  

The astronauts notably went to their space mission in June 2024, on a mission to stay at the space station for 10 days. However, the Boeing Starliner Capsule in which they travelled experienced some issues, leaving both of them in space for months.  

The two were in a regular contact with the authorities on Earth through regular communications.