NASA's 'Stranded' Astronauts to Return to Earth Next Week

NASA announced that the "stranded" astronauts will return to Earth on March 16 following the arrival of their relief crew. The two NASA astronauts, who embarked on a short mission to the International Space Station (ISS) last year, ended up staying for nine months in what turned into an extended mission.

According to Space.com, the astronauts, who launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5 as part of its first crewed flight test, have been living aboard the ISS since then. Their capsule returned to Earth without them due to technical issues.

NASA authorized the relief crew to launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon next week, paving the way for the long-awaited return of the two astronauts.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally expected to spend around 10 days on the ISS. However, issues with the Starliner spacecraft forced the agency to delay their return while engineers worked to resolve the problems.

Eventually, NASA decided to bring the Starliner back without its crew, leaving Williams and Wilmore on the ISS for a long-term mission — which now finally has an end in sight.

NASA officials confirmed that the astronauts will return to Earth on March 16. The Starliner capsule departed the ISS without its crew in September. Weeks later, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov launched on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, with two seats reserved for Williams and Wilmore on the return flight, originally planned for February. However, the return is now scheduled for March 16, with all four astronauts traveling together.

Meanwhile, the next mission, Crew-10, will launch on March 12 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts to the ISS for a six-month mission. Crew-10 will bring back the Crew-9 team, along with Boeing astronauts Williams and Wilmore.