Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, are finally preparing for their return trip to earth from the International Space Station. The duo had initially embarked on a 10-day mission aboard the Boeing Starliner, but had been stranded for the past nine months at ISS.
On Friday, Nasa cleared a relief crew to launch on SpaceX Dragon next week for their return. Nasa officials have confirmed that the duo will return to Earth on March 16.
The Starliner spacecraft returned without a crew in September last year. However, weeks later, Nasa astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were launched on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission with two seats aboard their Dragon spacecraft reserved for the stranded astronauts. They were originally scheduled to return in February; now all four will return together on March 16.
A Furry Welcome Expected
Williams’ return is awaited by the world along with her husband and pets. In a virtual media interaction, she shared that the uncertainty about her return would have been even more difficult for her pets, who don’t understand the concept of time.
“I have two Labrador Retrievers right now…who have been having boy time with my husband. I think they’ll be very happy for mom to come home, so I’m excited to see my labs when I get back,” the Indian-origin astronaut said.
Reflecting on her time at the ISS, Williams said that the uncertainty around their return must have been more challenging for her friends and family than for the astronauts themselves.
“It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more than for us. You know we’re here. We have a mission. We’re just doing what we do every day and you know every day is interesting because we’re up in space and it’s a lot of fun…,” she said, adding that the hardest part is having the “folks on the ground have to not know exactly when we’re coming back.”
When asked about what she was going to miss the most about her stay, she said, “probably everything.” Reflecting on her three trips to the ISS, Williams said that it has always been a unique place which gives one an “amazing” perspective.
“Not only out the window, obviously, but also just on how to solve problems. I don’t wanna lose that spark of inspiration in that perspective when I leave, so I’m gonna have to bottle it up somehow,” she added.
