Tue Mar 18 11:49:09 UTC 2025: ## NASA Astronauts Williams and Wilmore Return to Earth After Nine-Month ISS Mission

**Houston, TX** – After a nine-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have begun their journey home. The duo departed the ISS at 10:35 am IST aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, marking the end of their Crew-9 mission. The return trip is expected to take approximately 17 hours.

The ISS, a multinational collaborative project involving NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and CSA, is the largest structure ever built in space. Launched in 1998 and continuously occupied since November 2000, it serves as a hub for scientific research and international cooperation. The station, a modular structure measuring 109 meters across and weighing over 400,000 kg, orbits Earth at an altitude of 370-460 km. It can house between 3 and 13 astronauts and is powered by vast solar arrays.

While the ISS is planned to remain operational until at least 2030, NASA and its partners are developing a controlled deorbit plan for its retirement in 2030. Initial plans to use Russian Progress spacecraft for a controlled descent have been deemed unfeasible, and disassembling the station is considered impractical. Therefore, a controlled deorbit strategy is being developed to ensure the safe disposal of the aging space station.

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