Mon Mar 17 01:58:49 UTC 2025: **Headline: Stranded Astronauts to Return to Earth Tuesday**

**Byline:** The Hindu

**Dateline:** Washington, March 17, 2025

Two U.S. astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will finally return to Earth on Tuesday evening after being stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months. Their extended stay was due to propulsion issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that was meant to bring them home after a short test mission in June 2024. The return is aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that docked with the ISS on Sunday.

NASA announced an expedited return, with splashdown now scheduled for approximately 5:57 p.m. Tuesday (2157 GMT) off the Florida coast, earlier than the originally planned Wednesday return. This accelerated timeline allows the crew to complete handover duties before unfavorable weather conditions arrive later in the week.

Joining Wilmore and Williams on the return journey are NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The journey will be broadcast live from Monday evening.

While the nine-month stay is significantly longer than the standard six-month ISS rotation, it’s shorter than the U.S. record of 371 days (Frank Rubio, 2023) and the world record of 437 days (Valeri Polyakov, Mir space station). However, the unexpected duration of their mission, necessitating additional supplies of clothing and personal items, has drawn public attention and sympathy.

Read More