NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally set to return to Earth after spending over eight months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Their extended mission, originally planned for just eight days, was prolonged due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft.
NASA has scheduled their return aboard the Crew Dragon Freedom, which will undock from the ISS on March 16 at 6:30 PM [IST](https://www.financialexpress.com/market/ist-ltd-share-price/), pending favorable weather conditions. The spacecraft will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down in the Atlantic Ocean, marking the completion of the Crew-9 mission.
Before Williams and Wilmore depart, NASA’s Crew-10 astronauts will arrive at the ISS aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Their mission will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on March 13 at 5:18 AM IST.
The Crew-10 team includes:
* **Anne McClain** (Commander)
* **Nichole Ayers** (Pilot)
* **Takuya Onishi** (JAXA Mission Specialist)
* **Kirill Peskov** (Roscosmos Mission Specialist)
Following a 12-hour journey, Crew-10 will dock with the ISS and begin their mission. Williams, who served as the ISS commander, will hand over ongoing scientific experiments to the new team in a transition period expected to last several days.
NASA and SpaceX will closely track the Crew Dragon Freedom’s undocking and re-entry process. The exact splashdown time will depend on weather conditions and the completion of the de-orbiting sequence.
Williams and Wilmore, who have been on the ISS since September 2024, will conclude their nearly 10-month-long space mission, a significant extension from their initial short-term stay. Their return will bring an end to Crew-9’s journey, paving the way for Crew-10’s operations aboard the ISS.