NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is coming back to earth next month? Here's the reality

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stationed at the International Space Station (ISS) for over eight months, are set to return to Earth sooner than previously scheduled. NASA and SpaceX have decided to expedite their journey back, with their return now planned for mid-March instead of the originally anticipated late March or April timeline.

The duo's prolonged stay aboard the ISS was due to technical issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which was supposed to transport them back. A helium leak and other complications delayed Starliner’s return, leaving Williams and Wilmore in orbit longer than expected. To resolve this, NASA has opted to use the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, Endeavor, for their return journey.

The shift in schedule is tied to the upcoming Crew-10 mission, which will now launch on March 12, 2025, instead of the previously scheduled March 25. This mission will transport four new crew members to the ISS: NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Once the new team arrives, Williams and Wilmore, along with Crew-9 members Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, will return to Earth after a brief transition period.

NASA addressed the developments in a statement, explaining, “Teams will work to complete Dragon’s refurbishment and ready the spacecraft for flight, which includes trunk stack, propellant load, and transportation to SpaceX’s hangar at 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to be mated with the mission’s Falcon 9 rocket.”

The Crew Dragon spacecraft, Endurance, has undergone refurbishment to ensure its readiness for the Crew-10 mission. This adjustment not only accelerates Williams and Wilmore’s return but also guarantees that the ISS remains fully staffed for ongoing research and operations.

Williams and Wilmore initially arrived at the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June 2024. During her extended stay, Sunita Williams played a crucial role in managing operations aboard the station, ensuring that critical projects continued as planned.

Addressing speculation on social media, Williams clarified her situation in an interview with CBS, refuting claims that she and Wilmore had been left stranded in space.

"I don't think I'm abandoned. I don't think we're stuck up here," she stated in the interview with CBS Evening News co-anchor John Dickerson. "We've got food. We've got clothes. We have a ride home in case anything really bad does happen to the International Space Station."

"We're in a posture...where we have the International Space Station fully manned and doing what the taxpayers wanted, to do world-class science. And so I feel honoured, like I said, to be here and a part of the team," she added.

NASA is currently finalizing the details for their return, with sources indicating a potential landing date of March 19. This timeline is about two weeks earlier than the initial plan of late March or early April.

The decision to bring them back slightly ahead of schedule is linked to the availability of a different Crew Dragon spacecraft for Crew-10, as preparations for the originally planned ferry ship are taking longer than expected.

Following a brief weeklong handover period, Crew-9 members Hague and Gorbunov, along with Wilmore and Williams, will undock from the ISS and head home aboard the same Crew Dragon capsule that brought Hague and Gorbunov to the station in September. The capsule has been modified to accommodate Wilmore and Williams, ensuring their safe return to Earth.