Joshua Nair
Stranded astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita 'Suni' Williams are nearing their return date, and have now revealed the hardest factor of their nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Butch and Suni were originally sent up for an eight-day mission by NASA, blasting off from Earth in a Boeing Starliner that ran into a number of technical issues on its way to the ISS.
After stepping aboard the space station in June, neither would have thought that they'd be off the face of the planet for three quarters of a year.
A target date of 12 March has been set for their return mission to launch.
Despite claims from Elon Musk that he offered to bring them back even earlier, which has since been rebuffed by senior figures at NASA, the pair can now look forward to feeling the effects of gravity again.
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Musk has been involved in bringing the pair back though, as NASA began working with SpaceX last year.
Wilmore and Williams have become part of the furniture on the ISS, helping to run and maintain the station, even completing a spacewalk in January.
Now, the astronauts are waiting until their replacements arrive next week so that they can check out of ISS for good.
Their extended stay will have taken a toll on their bodies too, as a doctor revealed that they would probably need a six-week rehabilitation programme at the very least, to regain their strength.
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Reflecting on their stay, Williams revealed the hardest part of the pair's unplanned stay aboard the spacecraft.
It's all to do with the fact that they've been unable to see their families and loved ones, adding: “It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little more so than for us.”
They will be joined on their ride home by two other astronauts on the SpaceX capsule, who will be making their way to the ISS with two empty seats.
The Boeing Starliner that Wilmore and Williams arrived on faced so many problems that it was deemed safer to allow it to fly back to Earth, unmanned.
Their return was delayed further after time was needed to complete the SpaceX capsule that will be used to bring them home.
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It is said by NASA that the crews will spend a week together aboard the ISS before departing.
Wilmore and Williams have insisted throughout their stay that they are healthy, and have been prepared to stay onboard as long as it may take.
Williams explained on Tuesday: "We came up prepared to stay long, even though we planned to stay short. That's what we do in human space flight.
"That's what your nation's human space flight program is all about, planning for unknown, unexpected contingencies. And we did that."