Two astronauts, who have been residing at the International Space Station for nine months, are set to return home thanks to their replacements who launched on Friday evening. This move paves the way for the long-awaited departure of the two stranded astronauts. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Florida carrying four astronauts who will be taking over from the stuck astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. NASA aims to have an overlap between the two crews so Wilmore and Williams can brief the newcomers on life onboard the ISS, setting them up for an undocking next week and a subsequent splashdown off the Florida coast, weather permitting.

In a political twist, Donald Trump and SpaceX’s Elon Musk vowed earlier this year to expedite the astronauts’ return, blaming the previous administration for the delay. However, the astronauts have repeatedly maintained that they support NASA’s decisions. Both Wilmore and Williams have been actively involved in station maintenance and experiments during their stay, with Williams setting a new record for women with a total of nine spacewalks. The return was also delayed due to a last-minute hydraulics issue discovered before launch. The extended stay has had a significant impact on the astronauts’ families, and both are looking forward to reuniting with them and resuming their regular lives.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/14/spacex-nasa-mission-international-space-station