“Countdown to Home: The High-Stakes Mission to Rescue Stranded Astronauts Amidst Cosmic Challenges”

After an unexpected nine-month adventure aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore are finally preparing to touch down back on Earth! Can you imagine signing up for a week-long space mission and ending up extending your cosmic vacation more than eight times longer? Wow, talk about a plot twist! Their journey, which began last June, was initially meant to showcase the Boeing Starliner’s first crewed voyage, but propulsion issues turned their trip into a real-life space saga. As the SpaceX Crew-10 mission successfully docked with the ISS, the countdown for their return home is now officially on, with much anticipation building around splashdown plans off the Florida coast. Buckle up as we dive into all the details of their long-awaited trip back to our blue planet! LEARN MORE.

After more than nine months living on the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore are heading back to planet Earth.

Their trip to the ISS was only meant to have lasted for one week when Williams and Wilmore blasted off in to space back in June last year. But their time on board the orbital research facility has seen them last until mid-March 2025; more than nine months after leaving the planet.

It was after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing on its first ever crewed voyage to space encountered propulsion issues with uncertainty around whether they could safely return to Earth in it.

Now, the trip to space is finally coming to an end after the SpaceX Crew-10 mission docked on the ISS on Sunday (16 March) following a launch from the Kennedy Space Center last Friday evening.

Sunita Williams on the ISS (NASA)

A team of four – Williams, Wilmore, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov – will now depart from the ISS when the spacecraft goes on its journey back to Earth.

The plan now is set in stone as much as it can be, NASA says.

First up preparations for the return home will begin at 10.45pm ET tonight (17 March). But there’s still much to be done to get ready for the journey back to Earth.

The SpaceX Crew 10 launch to bring the stranded astronauts home (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NASA says: “NASA and SpaceX met on Sunday to assess weather and splashdown conditions off Florida’s coast for the return of the agency’s Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station.

“Mission managers are targeting an earlier Crew-9 return opportunity based on favourable conditions forecasted for the evening of Tuesday (18 March).

“The updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties while providing operational flexibility ahead of less favourable weather conditions expected for later in the week.”

In coming back to Earth, the astronauts and cosmonaut will return ‘time-sensitive research’ to the planet, NASA says.

The stranded NASA astronauts on the ISS (NASA)

As for final confirmation of timings, mission managers will continue monitoring weather conditions in the area. NASA says that the spacecraft’s undocking from the ISS depends on ‘various factors including spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors’.

NASA and SpaceX will confirm the specific splashdown location closer to the Crew-9 return.

As it stands, the anticipated splashdown off of the Florida coast is 5.57pm local time on Tuesday (18 March).

For those watching from the UK, that is 9.57pm GMT.

Time to come home (NASA)

Timeline for astronauts’ return to Earth

Tuesday, 18 March

2.45am (UK time) – Hatch closing coverage begins on NASA+, NASA’s on-demand free streaming service.

4.45pm – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+

5.05am – Undocking

Following the conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA will switch to audio only. From there and depending on weather conditions at the splashdown sites, continuous coverage will resume on Tuesday on NASA+ prior to the start of de-orbit burn.

8.45pm – Return coverage begins on NASA+

9.11pm – Deorbit burn (time is approximate)

9.57pm – Splashdown (time is approximate)