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India
After months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), four astronauts are making their way back to Earth. NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are set to land in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
The Crew-9 mission will conclude with a planned splashdown at 5:57 PM ET (21:57 UTC) off the coast of Florida. This marks the end of their extensive research and maintenance work aboard the ISS.
At around 2:15 AM IST, NASA released the first visuals from inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is bringing Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov back to Earth. The footage showed the astronauts seated in a horizontal position, monitoring digital screens and performing final tasks during their 17-hour journey home.
As per NASA’s schedule, Williams and Wilmore are expected to land by 3:27 AM IST. Williams, a seasoned astronaut, has spent over nine months aboard the International Space Station during this mission. Meanwhile, SpaceX confirmed on its official X handle that Dragon’s trunk has been jettisoned, and the deorbit burn will soon commence, marking a crucial step in their descent back to Earth.
