Nasa astronaut Sunita Williams beamed with joy as she stepped out of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, waving and smiling after spending over nine months in space. Williams, along with fellow Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, returned to Earth after an unexpectedly extended mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The crew splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida’s Panhandle on Tuesday evening. Recovery teams swiftly lifted the capsule out of the water before assisting the astronauts in exiting. Williams’ return marks the end of a 286-day stay in space, significantly longer than the originally planned short-duration mission.
As she emerged from the capsule, Williams, 59, appeared in good spirits, waving at the cameras. Her return was closely followed by space enthusiasts and her family, who had been eagerly awaiting the moment. Prayers for her safe return had been held at Hindu temples across the US, reflecting her deep Indian heritage.
Williams’ prolonged stay resulted from issues with Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which forced Nasa to adjust its plans. Despite the delays, Williams and her crew adapted to their extended mission, contributing to ISS operations, experiments, and even spacewalks. With 62 hours across nine spacewalks, she set a record for the most time spent spacewalking by a female astronaut.
Now back on Earth, Williams and her crewmates will undergo medical evaluations before reuniting with their families in Houston.