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In Photos | Sunita Williams' And Butch Wilmore's Nine-month Space Ordeal

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have finally returned to Earth after spending nine months in space on a mission that was supposed to last just eight days. The duo left Earth in June 2024 on a mission to test Boeing Starliner's capsule. As the capsule suffered technical issues, NASA decided to keep them on the International Space Station and return the Starliner to Earth empty. The two astronauts finally returned to Earth aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft on March 19. Here is a look their journey and life aboard the ISS:

| Photo: NASA via PTI

This screenshot from a NASA video shows Sunita Williams and other astronauts greeting each other after the SpaceX capsule docked with the International Space Station.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts | Photo: NASA via PTI

This screenshot from a NASA video shows Sunita Williams and other astronauts greeting each other after the SpaceX capsule docked with the International Space Station.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts | Photo: NASA via PTI

This screenshot from a NASA video shows astronauts greeting each other after the SpaceX capsule docked with the International Space Station. Top row from left: Nick Hague, Alexander Gorbunov, Sunita Williams, Alexei Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. Bottom row from left: Butch Wilmore, Takuya Onishi, Anne McClain, Kirill Peskov, Nichole Ayers, and Don Pettit.

NASA's stuck astronauts depart from ISS
NASA's stuck astronauts depart from ISS | Photo: AP/PTI

This image made from video by NASA shows a SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts on final approach to the International Space Station before docking.

NASA's stuck astronauts depart from ISS
NASA's stuck astronauts depart from ISS | Photo: @NASA via PTI

In this screenshot via @NASA on X, SpaceX capsule carrying NASA's stuck astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore departs from the International Space Station.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: SpaceX capsule floats over the Gulf of Mexico
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: SpaceX capsule floats over the Gulf of Mexico | Photo: Keegan Barber/NASA via AP

In this image provided by NASA, a SpaceX capsule floats over the Gulf of Mexico as it lands off the coast of Florida with NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: SpaceX capsule floats in the Gulf of Mexico after landing
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: SpaceX capsule floats in the Gulf of Mexico after landing | Photo: NASA via AP

In this image taken from a video provided by NASA, a SpaceX capsule floats in the Gulf of Mexico after landing off the coast of Florida with NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: A support team member works on the SpaceX capsule shortly after it landed
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: A support team member works on the SpaceX capsule shortly after it landed | Photo: Keegan Barber/NASA via AP

A support team member works on the SpaceX capsule shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Russia라이브 바카라 Alexander Gorbunov aboard, as a dolphin swims past in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: NASA astronaut Suni Williams
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: NASA astronaut Suni Williams | Photo: Keegan Barber/NASA via AP

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams gives a thumbs-up after being helped out of a SpaceX capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after landing in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore | Photo: Keegan Barber/NASA via AP

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore is helped out of a SpaceX capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after landing in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: Russia라이브 바카라 Alexander Gorbunov
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: Russia라이브 바카라 Alexander Gorbunov | Photo: Keegan Barber/NASA via AP

Russia라이브 바카라 Alexander Gorbunov waves after being helped out of a SpaceX capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after landing in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.

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SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: Butch Wilmore, Alexander Gorbunov, Nick Hague and Suni Williams
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts: Butch Wilmore, Alexander Gorbunov, Nick Hague and Suni Williams | Photo: Keegan Barber/NASA via AP

From left, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, Russia라이브 바카라 Alexander Gorbunov, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Sunita Williams sit inside a SpaceX capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after landing in the water off the coast of Florida.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts | Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

This picture from November 2024 shows NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Nick Hague from the International Space Station as they speak to attendees during the opening ceremony of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit on day two of the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference at Baku Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts | Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

On October 28, 2024, NASA astronaut Sunita 'Suni' Williams delivered remarks via video from the International Space Station during a reception celebrating Diwali at the White House in Washington, DC.

SpaceX Stuck Astronauts
SpaceX Stuck Astronauts | Photo: Manoj Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

On July 14, 2024, astronauts Jeanette Epps, Sunita Williams, and Tracy Dyson shared a surprise video message from the International Space Station during the American Independence Day celebration in New Delhi. Their message highlighted the enduring partnership between India and the U.S., emphasizing the inspiring potential of space cooperation.

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Prayers for Sunita Williams' safe return
Prayers for Sunita Williams' safe return | Photo: AP/Ajit Solanki

Indian students holds poster of American astronaut of Indian origin Sunita Williams during a ritual for the safe return of her from the International Space Station (ISS), in Ahmedabad, India, Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

Sunita William and Barry Butch
Sunita William and Barry Butch | Photo: Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

From rear left, Sunita Suni Williams, selected as pilot and Barry Butch Wilmore, selected as commander, pose for photos after responding to questions during a media briefing after the pair is identified to be the first crew to fly the Boeing CFT-100 Starliner spacecraft tentatively set to lift off in early summer of 2024.

Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center | Photo: Gregg Newton/ Gregg Newton/AFP

A Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is rolled out from Boeing's Commercial Cargo and Processing Facility in the pre-dawn hours past the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA is targeting May 1st for the Crew Flight Test-1 (CFT-1) mission to the International Space Station with astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams. A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket will ferry the Boeing capsule on its historic first flight of the new, crewed spacecraft.

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