NASA Astronauts Returned: What Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Researched In 9-Months Overstay?

NASA has confirmed the return of Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore after their nine-month overstay at the International Space Station (ISS). The crew-9 that included Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov along with Williams and Wilmore splashed down successfully in earth's atmosphere in the early hours of Wednesday, IST. The astronauts are taken out of SpaceX's Dragon aircraft, and they will fly to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston before reuniting with their families.

NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro said, "We are thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick, and Aleksandr home after their months-long mission conducting vital science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the International Space Station."

Petro added, "Per President Trump's direction, NASA and SpaceX worked diligently to pull the schedule a month earlier. This international crew and our teams on the ground embraced the Trump Administration's challenge of an updated, and somewhat unique, mission plan, to bring our crew home. Through preparation, ingenuity, and dedication, we achieve great things together for the benefit of humanity, pushing the boundaries of what is possible from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars."

When Did Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Returned?

As per the details by NASA, Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on June 5, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 41 as part of the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test. The duo arrived at the space station on June 6. In August, NASA announced the uncrewed return of Starliner to Earth and integrated Wilmore and Williams as part of the space station's Expedition 71/72 for a return on Crew-9.

Later, at 1:17 pm on September 28, 2024, Hague and Gorbunov lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The very next day, they docked to the forward-facing port of the station's Harmony module.

Later, the crew of four undocked the ISS at around 1:05 am on Tuesday, and began a long-duration journey to earth. They touched down at 5:57 p.m. EDT on March 18 in the USA but at 3:27 AM IST on Wednesday in India.

How Many Miles NASA Astronauts Covered In Their Mission?

Williams and Wilmore travelled 121,347,491 miles during their mission, spent 286 days in space, and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth. Overall in their work, Sunita holds more experience of walking the space. She has logged 608 days in space over her three flights, while Wilmore has logged 464 days in space over his three flights.

Meanwhile, Hague and Gorbunov travelled 72,553,920 miles during their mission, spent 171 days in space, and completed 2,736 orbits around Earth. The Crew-9 mission was the first spaceflight for Gorbunov. While Hague has logged 374 days in space over his two missions.

What Did Crew-9 Researched?

During their mission, Crew-9 contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations, said NASA.

In her overtime, Williams conducted two spacewalks, joined by Wilmore for one and Hague for another, removing a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station's truss, collecting samples from the station's external surface for analysis, installing patches to cover damaged areas of light filters on an X-ray telescope, and more.

With that, Williams now holds the record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, with 62 hours and 6 minutes outside of the station, and is fourth on the all-time spacewalk duration list.

Furthermore, the crew conducted more than 150 unique scientific experiments and technology demonstrations between them, with over 900 hours of research. This research included investigations on plant growth and quality, as well as the potential of stem cell technology to address blood diseases, autoimmune disorders, and cancers. They also tested lighting systems to help astronauts maintain circadian rhythms, loaded the first wooden satellite for deployment, and took samples from the space station's exterior to study whether microorganisms can survive in space, as per NASA.