• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
How long it will take for stranded NASA astronauts to reach Earth as they begin return mission

Home> News> Science

Updated 18:57 18 Mar 2025 GMTPublished 18:41 18 Mar 2025 GMT

How long it will take for stranded NASA astronauts to reach Earth as they begin return mission

NASA astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita Williams have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) since June, 2024

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

NASA's most talked-about space mission is finally coming to an end as Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams embark on their long-awaited return home.

Given that the pair were only supposed to be on the International Space Station (ISS) for eight days, they have been stranded there since June 2024.

Their mission was extended due to technical issues with the spacecraft, and an alleged political reluctance to bring them home, according to the likes of Wilmore, Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

On 7 March, President Trump promised to bring them back to Earth with the help of his SpaceX sidekick.

"Biden left them up there," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Advert

"We have two astronauts that are stuck in space. I have asked Elon (Musk), I said, ‘Do me a favour. Can you get them out?' He said, 'Yes'."

Now, their extended 286-day mission is finally set to come to an end as Williams and Wilmore have officially begun their 17 hour return journey aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, which undocked from the ISS at 05:05 GMT on Tuesday.

This means that they are expected to land at their planned splashdown site off the coast of Florida at around 21:57 GMT.

NASA astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita Williams have been stranded on the International Space Station since June 2024 (NASA)
NASA astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita Williams have been stranded on the International Space Station since June 2024 (NASA)

While we can only imagine how difficult it's been to be stuck up there for so long, Wilmore insisted that the pair were well equipped to do just that.

Advert

"We came up prepared to stay long, even though we plan to stay short. That's what we do in human space flight. That's what your nation's human space flight programme is all about," he said.

Williams, however, said this could be her last ever space mission.

"I think just the fact that we're living up here, in this very unique place, gives you an amazing perspective," she said. "I don't want to lose that spark of inspiration when I leave, so I'm going to have to bottle it somehow."

This comes after the pair were asked in a press conference if the Biden administration declined Musk's offer to bring them back earlier.

They're finally coming home! (NASA)
They're finally coming home! (NASA)

Advert

"I can only say that Mr Musk, what he says, is absolutely factual," Wilmore claimed.

"So I believe him. I don't know all those details, and I don't think any of us really can give you the answer that maybe that you would be hoping for."

Musk said on X: "The astronauts were only supposed to be up there for eight days and now have been there for eight months.

"SpaceX could have sent up another Dragon and brought them home six months ago, but the Biden-Harris White House (not NASA) refused to allow it.

"President Trump asked to bring them back as soon as possible and we are doing so."

Featured Image Credit: NASA

Topics: Space, NASA

Anish Vij
Anish Vij

Anish is a Journalist at LADbible Group and is a GG2 Young Journalist of the Year 2025. He has a Master's degree in Multimedia Journalism and a Bachelor's degree in International Business Management. Apart from that, his life revolves around the ‘Four F’s’ - family, friends, football and food. Email: [email protected]

X

@Anish_Vij

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
10 hours ago
  • 9 hours ago

    Everything we know about Texas floods that have killed at least 121 as Trump arrives at disaster site

    The President and the First Lady have headed to the state one week after the horror floods wreaked havoc

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Scientists make surprising discovery at what lies under Antarctic ice sheet after its been covered in ice for 34 million years

    It could help scientists predict the future of the ice sheet

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Paedophile to be surgically castrated after raping girl, 6, in nation's shock new punishment tactic

    It comes a year after a law was passed in Madagascar permitting the controversial punishment

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Scientists think they've worked out what unknown interstellar object in our solar system is

    It came from outside our own solar system

    News
  • Gruelling 45-day process 'stranded' astronauts will have to undergo as they begin intense readjustment to Earth
  • How long stranded NASA astronauts could survive on ISS if all life on Earth was destroyed
  • NASA mission to deflect asteroid size of 'Pyramid of Giza' causes some very unexpected results
  • NASA shares major update on astronauts stranded in space as rescue mission is delayed