After being stranded in space for nine months, two NASA astronauts are getting closer to finally returning to Earth as a new group of astronauts prepare to head to the International Space Station.
On Wednesday, March 12, four astronauts are scheduled to blast off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, according to NASA.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will carry astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
After a handover period, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — who had been in space since June 2024 – will then fly back home.
Also joining them on the return flight are NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who have been in space since last September.
Once they arrive, the new group of astronauts is expected to spend about four months at the ISS for a science mission.
According to NASA, Wilmore and Wiliams spent their time on Monday, March 10, maintaining upkeep at the space station, preparing for the end of their mission and “packing for their upcoming departure.”
NASA via AP
Wilmore and Williams, who arrived at the ISS in June 2024, originally expected to stay in space for no more than 10 days, but their return was delayed after their spacecraft encountered mechanical issues. After weeks of troubleshooting, the spacecraft was sent back to Earth without them — and since then, their return home has continually been pushed back.
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In recent months, President Donald Trump has blamed his predecessor for their lengthy stay.
In a Jan. 28 Truth Social post, Trump wrote that he had asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to “‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration.
However, speaking with CNN last month, the astronauts pushed back on that claim.
“That’s been the rhetoric. That’s been the narrative from day one: stranded, abandoned, stuck,” Wilmore said while speaking with CNN’s Anderson Cooper from the ISS on Feb. 13.
“We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded,” the astronaut said at the time. “If you’ll help us change the rhetoric, help us change the narrative, let’s change it to ‘prepared and committed.’ That’s what we prefer.”
“Every day is interesting because we’re up in space and it’s a lot of fun,” Williams said at a separate press conference earlier this month. “The hardest part is having the folks on the ground have to not know exactly when we’re coming back.”
NASA said that the upcoming mission marks the “10th crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system and its 11th flight with astronauts.”
During their time at the ISS, the new crew will conduct material flammability tests and become test subjects themselves — “with one crew member conducting an integrated study to better understand physiological and psychological changes to the human body to provide valuable insights for future deep space missions.”
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