NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will return to Earth on March 19, 2025, after an eight-month stay on the ISS due to Boeing Starliner’s technical issues. They dismiss claims of being stranded in space.
After spending over eight months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have confirmed their scheduled return to Earth on March 19, 2025.
Crew-10 Mission to Bring Them Home
The Crew-10 mission is set to launch on March 12, carrying new astronauts to the ISS, including:
Anne McClain & Nichole Ayers (NASA)
Takuya Onishi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
Kirill Peskov (Roscosmos)
Once the new crew arrives, Williams and Wilmore will complete a one-week handover process before boarding the Dragon spacecraft that brought Crew-10 and undocking from the ISS for their journey home.
‘We Are Not Stranded’ – Astronauts Clarify Misconceptions
Despite claims from former U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk that the astronauts were “abandoned” in space, Williams and Wilmore firmly denied feeling “stranded” or “stuck.”
“That’s been the rhetoric, but that’s not what our human spaceflight program is about,” Wilmore said in a CNN interview. He encouraged a shift in perspective, saying, “We prefer ‘prepared and committed’ over ‘stranded and stuck.’”
Williams also emphasized that staying longer was always a possibility as part of their mission. “We expected to find issues with Starliner, and we did. It was never a surprise,” she explained.
Extended Stay Marked Historic Achievements
During her extended mission, Williams broke the record for the most total spacewalking hours by a female astronaut, logging 62 hours and 6 minutes.
While the delay drew political attention, NASA reassured the public that space missions often face unexpected challenges, and partnerships with companies like SpaceX ensure astronaut safety.
With Crew-10’s arrival next month, Williams and Wilmore’s long-awaited journey back to Earth is finally in sight.
