NASA works to bring back Sunita Williams, Butch Willmore

New Delhi

NASA, in collaboration with SpaceX, said on Thursday that is working urgently to bring back astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore, who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for 238 days.

The announcement follows comments from SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who said US President Donald Trump had urged him to facilitate their return. Musk called the prolonged stay “terrible” and expressed his concern about the astronauts being stuck in space for so long.

NASA confirmed that it and SpaceX are working swiftly to return the astronauts, but did not specify the exact date of their return. The astronauts are expected to return in March aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule. NASA is also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to ensure a smooth handover between expeditions.

Williams, who has spent over 322 days in space across two missions, and Willmore were initially set to return in February, but their return has now been delayed by a month. The duo had previously flown aboard a faulty Starliner spacecraft developed by Boeing in June 2024.

Williams, 59, will also undertake her second spacewalk in 12 years. During this mission, the astronauts will remove a radio frequency antenna and collect samples from the Destiny laboratory, among other tasks. With 50 hours and 40 minutes of spacewalk time, Williams is second on the list for female astronauts.