:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(1065x283:1067x285)/butch-wilmore-suni-williams-nasa-082524-e8edb4d07a314240ad9b9ec155a109e5.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1267&ssl=1 "Astronauts ‘Packing’ for Lengthy-Awaited Return to Earth After 9 Months")
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After being stranded in house for 9 months, two NASA astronauts are getting nearer to lastly returning to Earth as a brand new group of astronauts put together to go to the Worldwide House Station.
On Wednesday, March 12, 4 astronauts are scheduled to blast off from Florida’s Kennedy House Heart, in response to NASA.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will carry astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, together with mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Company) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
After a handover interval, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — who had been in house since June 2024 – will then fly again house.
Additionally becoming a member of them on the return flight are NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who’ve been in house since final September.
As soon as they arrive, the brand new group of astronauts is predicted to spend about 4 months on the ISS for a science mission.
In keeping with NASA, Wilmore and Wiliams spent their time on Monday, March 10, sustaining maintenance on the house station, getting ready for the top of their mission and “packing for his or her upcoming departure.”
NASA through AP
Wilmore and Williams, who arrived on the ISS in June 2024, initially anticipated to remain in house for not more than 10 days, however their return was delayed after their spacecraft encountered mechanical points. After weeks of troubleshooting, the spacecraft was despatched again to Earth with out them — and since then, their return house has regularly been pushed again.
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In latest months, President Donald Trump has blamed his predecessor for his or her prolonged keep.
In a Jan. 28 Reality Social submit, Trump wrote that he had requested Elon Musk and SpaceX to “‘go get’ the two courageous astronauts who’ve been just about deserted in house by the Biden Administration.
Nevertheless, talking with CNN final month, the astronauts pushed again on that declare.
“That is been the rhetoric. That’s been the narrative from day one: stranded, deserted, caught,” Wilmore mentioned whereas talking with CNN‘s Anderson Cooper from the ISS on Feb. 13.
“We don’t really feel deserted, we don’t really feel caught, we don’t really feel stranded,” the astronaut mentioned on the time. “When you’ll assist us change the rhetoric, assist us change the narrative, let’s change it to ‘ready and dedicated.’ That’s what we desire.”
“Every single day is fascinating as a result of we’re up in house and it is a number of enjoyable,” Williams mentioned at a separate press convention earlier this month. “The toughest half is having the parents on the bottom should not know precisely once we’re coming again.”
NASA mentioned that the upcoming mission marks the “tenth crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human house transportation system and its eleventh flight with astronauts.”
Throughout their time on the ISS, the brand new crew will conduct materials flammability checks and turn into take a look at topics themselves — “with one crew member conducting an built-in examine to higher perceive physiological and psychological adjustments to the human physique to supply precious insights for future deep house missions.”
