NASA astronauts stuck in space to return to Earth: All you need to know Space News

NASA’s astronauts are expected to be soon on their way back to Earth, after spending nine months cut in space.

Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore will leave the International Space Station (ISS) early on Tuesday morning, and is expected to start from the Florida coast in the evening. Boeing’s Starliner, their original spacecraft, was, An insecure consideration For the trip to the house, forcing astronauts to stay in space for a long longer period than the scheme.

Here is everything you need to know about their extended stay and the long -awaited return:

Who are the astronauts that are stuck in space?

Astronauts They were cut off on board the plane The International Space Station (ISS) is Sonita “Sony” Williams and Barry “Poach”, Wigmore, 59, Williams and Barry “Bush” Wilmor, 61, both of them are veteran travelers who were trained in NASA.

Williams, the current commander of ISS and a retired US Navy officer, joined NASA in 1998. During her career, she spent 322 days in space and completed nine space. She previously set the record for most of the spacecraft by an astronaut, until 2017 when the title went to Peggy Whitson, which completed 10.

Wilmore flew for the first time in space in 2009 on the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Before the Boeing Starliner mission, he had recorded 178 days in space. He has served as a flight engineer and commander in the previous ISS tasks, conducting research on plant growth in space, the effects of minor gravity on the human body, and environmental changes on Earth.

At the Boeing Mission, Wilmor worked as the commander of Williams, the pilot.

When and how do they return to Earth?

Willore and Williams are expected to leave after 12:45 am on Tuesday (04:45 GMT on Tuesday) after their alternatives arrived at the space station on Sunday.

They will return on board the Crew Dragon Crew Crew Crew capsule, which has been established at the station since September 2024. A capsule was originally brought NASA astronaut Nick The Hague and Russian astronaut Alexander Gorbonov to ISS, leaving two empty seats to return Wilmur and Williams.

The four were unable to return to the same capsule until an additional crew carrying four other astronauts arrived to replace them.

This has happened now. The Crew-10, which was installed in ISS on Sunday at 12:04 am Each time (04:04 GMT), consists of NASA astronauts, Ann McLean, Nicole Aires, the Japanese astronaut Takoy Ounishi, and Russian spacecraft Kirill Peskov. They were launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the United States, on Friday.

Late Monday night, William and Wilmmore began to return. The closure preparations started at 10:45 pm Each time (02:45 GMT).

NASA broadcasts a journey to leave and return from astronauts. The crew dragon capsule is expected to bring them back from ISS shortly after 12:45 am Eastern time (04:45 GMT), according to NASA. It is expected to start in the Atlantic Ocean before 6 pm East time (22:00 GMT).

Why did you stumble?

Williams and Wilmmore stumbled after that Technical issues With the spacecraft it aims to return them home.

They traveled to ISS on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner as part of the first tested test flight. The task, within the framework of the NASA’s commercial crew program, aims to develop a special spacecraft to transport astronauts to and from the station. With the use of external sources of low -Earth orbit tasks, NASA said it aims to focus on exploring deep space, including Artemis missions to the moon and future human missions to Mars.

During the 25 -hour trip to the International Space Station, Starliner suffered from helium leakage and inhibiting a malfunction, which helps to direct and restore control. When it arrived on June 6, four of the 28 defenses failed, which resulted in delaying the establishment with the station.

Although the engineers recovered four out of five failed defenders, NASA considered the spacecraft very risky to human travel and Send it emptyWilliam and Wilmmore left the ways on ISS.

In August 2024, NASA I decided to bring Again on a Spacex vehicle. The Dragon-9 crew, which was launched on September 29, 2024, has been in ISS since then, but bringing them home earlier would have left only one American astronaut on the space station, limiting research and response to emergency situations.

Now, with their alternative organs reach Crew-10, Williams and Wilmore can finally go home.

How long has the astronauts stuck in space?

William and Wilmmore have been in space since June 5, 2024, which means that they would spend more than nine months in orbit with the time they returned.

After the explosion of Cape Capeeral, Florida, in June, it was scheduled to stay in space for only eight days.

The standard ISS for astronauts is about six months.

How did they survive in space for a long time?

Despite the unexpected extension of their stay, Williams and Wilmore remained in good health and even a space in January.

Life follows ISS is an organized routine with exercise, work and entertainment. This includes regular procedures for both the mill and resistance system in order to maintain its strength in the bones and muscles.

Throughout the year, many space agencies and private companies have identified tasks to re -supply the space station with food, water and oxygen, which were regularly renewed by shipping tasks.

During Christmas, the two enjoyed a festive dinner that included smoked oysters, crabs, loba, cranberry sauce, Atlantic sea locusts, and smoker and smoker, according to the Times in London.

William and Wilmmore also managed to keep contact with their families through email and phone.

In an interview with Leicester Holt on NBC Nightly News in November, Williams said that Wilmmore “feels satisfied and exercises.”

“We also have a lot of fun here,” she added. “People who are worried about us, really, don’t worry about us … We are a happy crew here.”

Are astronauts stuck in space before?

William and Wilmmore are not the first astronauts to face extended stay in space due to unexpected conditions. There were previous cases that astronauts had to stay in orbit for a longer period than planned due to technical problems or geopolitical events.

The longest developed of space by an American astronaut was the 371 -day Frank Rubio mission on the International Space Station, from 2022 to 2023, which was extended due to problems with the Soyuz spacecraft that brought it to orbit. Ultimately returned to a different Soyuz capsule.

In 1991, the Soviet astronaut Sergei Krekalif was cut off on the Mir satellite station now for 311 days due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Political turmoil and the deficiency in financing delayed his return, forcing him to stay in a much longer orbit. When he finally landed in March 1992, he did not return to the Soviet Union, but to the newly independent Russia.