What was supposed to be a short eight-day trip to the International Space Station (ISS) somehow turned into a nine-month stay. But finally, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are back on Earth, feeling gravity again.
The two NASA astronauts landed yesterday (March 18) after SpaceX’s Dragon capsule made it to the ISS, bringing in a fresh crew to take over for them.
Originally, they were supposed to return on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. That plan got tossed when NASA decided it wasn’t safe. So, Wilmore and Williams had no choice but to wait for SpaceX to come get them.
What happened when Wilmore and Williams made it back?
They didn’t come back alone — NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were with them. The two had also been on the ISS since September.
As they made their way back through Earth’s atmosphere, the capsule flew over Mexico, heading toward Florida. Then, parachutes deployed, slowing it down before it splashed into the ocean just off the coast, south of Tallahassee.
A recovery ship was already there, ready to pick them up. After 286 days in space, plus the 17-hour journey home, they finally got to breathe fresh air again when the SpaceX capsule hatch opened up.
How did Wilmore and Williams keep busy on the ISS?
They only packed for eight days, so you’d think they might’ve run out of things to do. But nope — they kept themselves pretty busy.
Conducting research
Rather than just sitting around waiting for a ride, they made the most of their time.
NASA’s Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate, said the two spent around 900 hours doing research while they were up there — that’s over a month of full workdays.
Running experiments
They didn’t stop at research. Wilmore and Williams also ran about 150 experiments — and yes, some of those involved their clothing.
Montalbano pointed out that their work wasn’t just for fun; it actually benefits the nation.
Staying in shape
Floating around in zero gravity for months isn’t great for the body, so they had to make sure to stay active.
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Every day, they each did at least two hours of exercise using special machines that help counteract muscle loss.
Taking spacewalks
Being stuck in space didn’t mean they never got to step outside. Williams actually did two spacewalks during her stay, bringing her total up to nine.
She even broke the record for the most spacewalking time by a female astronaut.
Casting their votes
Talk about voting from a distance! Wilmore and Williams hadn’t planned to be in space for the 2024 presidential election, but NASA made sure they didn’t miss it.
The agency sent encrypted ballots to the ISS, and they used satellites to send them back once they were filled out.
Keeping in touch with Earth
They weren’t totally cut off. They made calls to the media and even hopped on video calls with schools to chat with students about life in space.
Celebrating the holidays
It wasn’t all work. When Christmas came around, they got into the holiday spirit — putting on Santa hats and calling home to send holiday wishes to their families.
So yeah, they weren’t just floating around waiting for their ride home. They kept busy. And they’ve definitely earned a good, long break!
