National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts, including Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, have boarded the SpaceX crew dragon capsule and departed for Earth. Indian-origin NASA scientist Williams, along with her crew members Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov expected to land on Wednesday, March 19 as per the Indian Standard Time (IST).
The four-member crew had originally planned a short seven-day mission aboard Boeing's Starliner Space rocket. However, technical glitches, including helium leaks from the spacecraft and propulsion issues, made the spacecraft unsafe to travel to Earth, extending their stay at the International Space Station (ISS) and Williams's stay to more than nine months.
When and How Williams and Others Return?
The NASA crew of four scientists will return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which arrived at the ISS on Sunday (March 16). The US space agency launched the Crew-10 mission on Friday, March 15, 2025 (US Ttime), using a Falcon 9 rocket to transport the replacement crew to the ISS. This new team will replace Williams and her team and use the returning Crew Dragon for their journey back to Earth.
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The process of returning from the ISS began on Monday evening, March 17, when the spacecraft undocked from the station and was on its way to Earth. The landing is scheduled and splashdown is on, and they are expected to splash down off the Florida coast around 5.57 pm EDT. They started around 10.35 am IST on March 18 and will land around 3.27 am IST on March 19.
Where NASA Astronauts Will Land on Earth?
The scheduled splashdown will occur off the coast of Florida, United States of America (USA). After landing, Williams and crew will be transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, for their medical checkups and other post-mission treatments, which will help them re-adjust the Earth's gravitational force after spending nine months in space.