With anticipation growing over the return of two U.S. astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months, NASA confirmed on Sunday that they will head back to Earth on Tuesday, March 18, evening (GMT).
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will return aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, accompanied by another American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut, after the capsule successfully docked at the ISS early Sunday.
Elon Musk recently shared a video of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore expressing their gratitude to former US President Donald Trump for assisting in their return after spending over nine months stranded in space.
On Monday, Musk posted the clip on social media platform X, captioning it, “Stranded NASA astronauts thank Elon Musk and Trump.”
In the 25-second video, Williams can be heard saying, “We are coming back before long, so don’t make those plans without me. We’ll be back before too long.” Wilmore also conveyed his appreciation, stating, “All of us have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk and obviously respect and admiration for President of the United States Donald Trump. We appreciate them, we appreciate all what they do for us, human spaceflight for our nation, and we’re thankful for the positions they are in.”
pic.twitter.com/aAkJRKsu1Q
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 16, 2025
The two astronauts initially embarked on a 10-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. However, due to propulsion issues, the spacecraft was deemed unfit for their return, leaving them on the ISS far longer than expected.
NASA has now confirmed their return is scheduled for Tuesday evening. Williams and Wilmore will travel back to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, alongside NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
.@NASA will provide live coverage of Crew-9’s return to Earth from the @Space_Station, beginning with @SpaceX Dragon hatch closure preparations at 10:45pm ET Monday, March 17.
Splashdown is slated for approximately 5:57pm Tuesday, March 18: https://t.co/yABLg20tKX pic.twitter.com/alujSplsHm
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) March 16, 2025
The SpaceX Crew Dragon’s arrival at the ISS is part of NASA’s routine crew rotation mission. The Crew-10 Dragon capsule successfully docked at 12:04 a.m. ET on Sunday, roughly 29 hours after launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. While initially intended as a standard rotation flight, the mission took on added significance as it enabled Williams and Wilmore’s long-awaited return.
Former President Donald Trump had earlier addressed the astronauts’ extended stay during a speech at the Oval Office, stating, “We love you, and we’re coming up to get you. You shouldn’t have been up there for so long. The most incompetent president in our history allowed this to happen to you, but this president won’t let that happen. We’re going to get you out. I’ve authorised Elon because they’ve been left up there.”
Trump also made specific remarks about Sunita Williams, commenting on her appearance in zero gravity. “And I see the woman with the wild hair—a good, solid head of hair she’s got. There’s no kidding, no games with her hair. But, you know, there’s a danger up there, too. They could face failures, which would be very bad. We’ve got to get them out. So, I authorised Elon a week ago,” he added.
Blaming the previous administration for the delay, Trump stated, “We have two people up there that Biden and Kamala left behind.” He further promised to personally welcome the astronauts upon their return, saying, “When they come back, I’ll greet them. How about that?”
