National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are back on Earth after an unplanned nine-month stay in space. Their Crew 9 Dragon Spacecraft splashed down safely off the coast of Florida early on Wednesday morning.
The space mission, initially designed as a short-term test of Boeing’s Starliner, got extended as Helium leaks and thruster malfunctions in the spacecraft rendered their return trip risky. NASA made the difficult decision to keep Williams, Wilmore and two other astronauts Don Pettit and Nick Hague, aboard the ISS indefinitely while engineers assessed the situation.
Now that the astronauts have returned after their extended stay at International Space Station (ISS), let’s have a look at how they spent these nine months away from the glitz and colours of earth — the only planet in our solar system known to support life.
Helping in space mission
Throughout their time in space, Williams, 59, and Wilmore, 62, kept on providing support in the ongoing space missions at the station. According to BBC, their tasks included repairing equipment that helms the station orientation, replacing a reflector device on an international docking adapter, and adding light filters on the NICER X-ray telescope.
Two spacewalks
It is in the mid-January that Williams ventured outside the ISS for the first time in the nine months. Along with fellow astronaut Hague, she performed some repairs on the craft. She again went out with Wilmore later that month. With this, Williams surpassed former astronaut Peggy Whitson’s total spacewalking time of 60 hours and 21 minutes on January 30.
