The Crew-9 mission crew successfully returned to Earth after a long stay on the ISS
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying four astronauts, splashed down off the coast of Florida, marking the completion of the Crew-9 mission in support of ISS operations.
GPA Photo Archive, PDM 1.0
The four Crew-9 members, including NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, successfully returned to Earth, according to a NASA report.
On March 18, at 5:57 PM Eastern Time, their SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast.
After landing, the astronauts were evacuated by SpaceX specialists and then transported to shore for medical check-ups before returning to NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston.
The crew spent between 171 and 286 days aboard the International Space Station, conducting experiments including stem cell research and studies on microorganism survival in outer space.
Crew-9 also participated in ISS maintenance: Williams performed two spacewalks to install a new telescopic module.
Their return marks the successful completion of the ninth mission under NASA’s commercial flight program.
It is worth noting that on September 28, the Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the SLC-40 launch pad at Cape Canaveral.
Onboard were two NASA astronauts sent for a six-month stay as part of the ISS-72 expedition. The spacecraft will also return the Boe-CFT crew, who had to extend their stay at the station due to a CST-100 Starliner malfunction.