Sunita Williams: Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her partner Barry Wilmore, who were stranded on the International Space Station, will return to Earth after nine months. Both NASA astronauts have been stranded on the International Space Station for more than nine months. NASA has approved sending a relief team for the return of both astronauts. NASA officials have confirmed that both will return to Earth by SpaceX Dragon. NASA has also announced the date of return of both.

Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore were earlier scheduled to return early, but due to the rescheduling of the mission and technical problems, they have been delayed. Their return is linked to the arrival of the Crew-10 mission. This crew includes astronauts Anne McClain and Nicole Ayers, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. All astronauts will take charge of operations on the International Space Station. The handover process will continue for a few days when Crew-10 reaches the ISS. This will ensure a smooth transition before Williams and Wilmore return to Earth.

Astronauts stranded on ISS for nine months.

Sunita Williams and her partner Barry Wilmore have been present in the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months. The return of both astronauts was postponed due to a malfunction in the Boeing Starliner. Williams and Wilmore went for a test flight with Boeing's Starliner on June 5, 2024. This mission was only for eight days, but their return could not happen due to a helium leak and thruster malfunction. Now Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore will be brought back by the Dragon Crew capsule of Elon Musk's company SpaceX.

Return will be on March 19

A few weeks after the malfunction in the Boeing Starliner, the SpaceX Crew-9 mission was sent with two astronauts, in which two seats were reserved for the stranded astronauts. Both were to return in February, but now all four will return to Earth together on March 19.

Will be brought back from Crew-9 mission

NASA said the SpaceX Crew-10 mission will be launched on March 12 at 7:48 pm. After Crew-10 arrives, the handover process will continue for a week. Crew-10 includes NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nicole Ayers, Japanese Space Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos astronaut Kirill Peskov. After Crew-10 arrives and takes its place on the space station, Crew-9 will return home.

Where will the Crew Dragon capsule land?

Williams and Wilmore will return to Earth from Crew Dragon. It will enter the Earth's atmosphere in a controlled manner, after which it will land in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. Here recovery teams will be ready to bring the astronauts safely to the shore.

What is Dragon Capsule?

SpaceX's Dragon Crew Capsule has been launched 46 times since its construction. The Dragon Crew Capsule has traveled to the International Space Station 42 times. Apart from this, it has been reflighted more than two dozen times. It can seat seven astronauts at a time. This is the world's first private spacecraft, which continuously carries astronauts and cargo to the space station. Usually, two to four astronauts sit in it. In case of emergency, seven passengers can sit in it.

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