NASA Astronauts Stuck in Space: Latest Update on Their Return

Two NASA astronauts are expected to return to Earth after spending nine months in space soon.

Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore have been scheduled to leave the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday morning and are expected to exit the coast of Florida in the evening. Boeing’s Starlineer, his original returns spacecraft, was considered unsafe for the travel home, forcing astronauts to stay in space for longer than planned.

Here you have to know about their extended migration and long -awaited return:

Who are the two NASA Astronauts who are trapped in space?

The two astronauts trapped at the International Space Station (ISS) are 59-year-old Sunita “Sunita” Williams and Barry “Buch”, 61, both have experienced NASA-instrumental astronauts.

Williams, the current Commander of ISS and a retired US Navy officer, joined NASA in 1998. During his career, he spent 322 days in space and completed nine spacewalks. She previously kept records for the most spacewalk by a female astronaut by a female astronaut, when the title went to Paigi Whitson, who completed 10.

Wilmore first flew into space in space shuttle Atlantis in 2009. Prior to the Boeing Starlineer Mission, he logged in space 178 days. He has served as a flight engineer and commander on previous ISS missions, conducting research on plant growth in space, impacts of microgravity on the human body and environmental changes on earth.

In the Boeing Mission, Wilmore served as the commander and Williams was a pilot.

When and how are they coming back to Earth?

Wilmore and Williams are expected to leave the ISS after ET (04:45 GMT on Tuesday 04:45 GMT) on Tuesday after arriving at the space station on Sunday.

They will return to a spacex crew dragon capsule, which has been docked at the station since September 2024. The capsule originally brought NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Alexator Gorbunov to the ISS, with two vacant seats left for the return of Wilmor and Williams.

Four could not return to the same capsule until an additional crew carrying four other astronauts arrived to replace them.

Now this has happened. Crew -10, which was docked at ET (04:04 GMT) at ISS on Sunday at 12:04 pm, including NASA astronaut Anne McClen and Nicole Aires, Japanese astronaut Takua Onishi and Russian Astronaut Kiril Peskov. He launched the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US on Friday.

Late Monday night, the process of returning to Williams and Wilmore began. The preparation of the hatch closure started from ET (02:45 GMT) at 10:45 pm.

NASA is bringing alive the departure and return journey of astronauts. According to NASA, the crew Dragon capsules that will bring them back are expected to retreat slightly from the ISS after ET (045: 45 GMT) at 12:45 pm. It is expected to be published in the Atlantic Ocean just before ET (22:00 GMT) at 6 pm.

Why did they get stuck?

Williams and Wilmore were trapped after technical issues with spacecraft, which were to bring them home.

He traveled to ISS on CST -100 Starlineer in Boeing as part of his first crew test flight. The purpose of the mission under NASA’s commercial crew program is to develop private spacecraft for transporting astronauts from the station. By outsourcing the low-earth classroom missions, NASA has stated that its purpose is to focus on deep space exploration, including Artemis Mission to the Moon and Future Human Mission to Mars.

During a 25-hour flight for ISS, Starlineer experienced helium leaks and a malfunction thruster, which helps to control and control the stear. When it came on 6 June, four out of 28 thrusters failed, with the station delayed.

Although engineers restored four out of five unsuccessful thrusters, NASA considered the spacecraft very risky for the human journey and sent it back empty, causing Williams and Wilmore strand on ISS.

In August 2024, NASA decided to bring him back to a spaceX vehicle. The crew Dragon -9, launched on September 29, 2024, has been docked at the ISS since then, but first would have left only one US astronaut at the space station, limiting research and emergency response.

Now, with their replacement members arriving at crew -10, Williams and Wilmore can finally head home.

How long have two NASA Astronauts stuck in space?

Williams and Wilmore have been in space since June 5, 2024, which means that they would have spent more than nine months of orbit as by the time they return.

After blasting Cape Canverals, Florida in June, they were originally scheduled to stay in space for just eight days.

The standard ISS rotation for astronauts is about six months.

How did they live in space for so long?

Despite the unexpected expansion of his stay, Williams and Wilmore remain in good health and even held a spacewalk simultaneously in January.

Life on ISS follows a structured routine with exercise, work and holiday. This includes a regular routine on both the treadmill and resistance machine to maintain the strength of its bone and muscles.

Throughout the year, many space agencies and private companies also set the mission to re -prepare the space station with food, water and oxygen, regularly filled by cargo missions.

According to the report, during Christmas, both enjoyed a festive dinner, including smoked oyster, crab, duck fa grass, cranberry sauce, Atlantic lobster and smoked salmon.

Williams and Wilmore are also able to maintain contact with their families via email and telephone.

In an interview with Lester Holt on NBC Knightley News in November, Williams said that he and Wilmore were “feeling good, working out, eating right”.

“We have a lot of fun here too,” he said. “Those who are worried about us, in fact, don’t worry about us … we are a happy crew here.”

Are astronauts stuck in space first?

Williams and Wilmore are not the first astronauts to face extended migration in space due to unexpected conditions. The previous cases have come to light where astronauts had to stay in class for longer than planned due to technical problems or geopolitical events.

The longest spaceflight Frank Rubio was the 371-day mission on the ISS by an American astronaut, from 2022 to 2023, expanded due to issues with the Soyuz spacecraft that brought him into class. He eventually returned to a separate Soyuz capsule.

In 1991, Soviet astronaut Sergei Krikalev was stranded on board the now-decommissioned Mir space station for 311 days due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Political turmoil and lack of funds delayed his return, forcing him to stay in class for longer than planned. When he finally landed in March 1992, he returned to a new independent Russia, not in the Soviet Union.