What Happens After NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Land On Earth? All You Need To Know

Last Updated:March 18, 2025, 20:21 IST

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will first be flown to their crew quarters for several days of health checks, per routine for astronaut returns, before flight surgeons approve they can go home to their families

Astronauts Butch Wilmore (L) and Sunita Williams (R) posing for pictures before departing from the Space Station on March 18. (Image: NASA/AFP)

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are on their way to Earth after departing the Space Station early on Tuesday.

Williams and Wilmore, two veteran NASA astronauts and retired US Navy test pilots, are headed back home inside their Crew Dragon spacecraft along with two other astronauts. They undocked from the orbiting laboratory, embarking on their 17-hour trip to Earth.

WHEN WILL THEY LAND?

The four-person crew, formally part of NASA’s Crew-9 astronaut rotation mission, is scheduled for a splashdown off Florida’s coast later on Tuesday at 5.57 pm ET (3.27 am IST on Wednesday, March 19).

Officials from NASA said the weather conditions for the splashdown were expected to be “pristine".

Dressed in re-entry suits, boots and helmets, the astronauts were seen on NASA’s live footage laughing, hugging and posing for photos shortly before they were shut into the capsule for two hours of final pressure, communications and seal tests.

INTENSIVE HEALTH CHECK-UPS RIGHT AFTER LANDING

Williams and Wilmore will first be flown to their crew quarters at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for several days of health checks, per routine for astronaut returns, before flight surgeons approve they can go home to their families.

This is especially because living in space for months can affect the human body in multiple ways, from muscle atrophy to possible vision impairment.

Earlier this month, Williams told reporters that she was looking forward to returning home to see her two dogs and family. “It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us," she had said.

(With agency inputs)

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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