Sunita Williams And Butch Wilmore's Final Photo Op At Space Station Before Leaving For Earth, Netizens Send Best Wishes

Sunita Williams, Indian-origin NASA astronaut and her colleague Butch Wilmore are all set to return to Earth after being stuck on the  International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months. Today, March 18, they have departed and the final photo of them leaving is doing rounds on the internet. NASA shared a video on their official X handle that shows two astronauts taking part in the final photo op before entering Dragon, the SpaceX spacecraft that is bringing them back home.

Soon after NASA shared the video, the netizens wished the team good luck and stated they were looking forward to her landing.

Netizens react to final photo of Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore before landing on Earth

The excited netizens have flooded the comment section with best wishes. A user wrote, "The rescue mission!" Another thanked Elon Musk and called him a "blessing to our country". The third user wrote, "Godspeed and welcome back to earth finally!" "Awesome!!!  They are coming home!!  Good luck SpaceX and NASA!!" wrote netizens. A well-wisher wrote, "As they finally complete their mission to return to earth we wish them a safe journey home. Thanks for making this possible and we hope their journey is uneventful with a perfect splashdown. The world will be watching as they reenter the orbit and we can finally see them as they exit the capsule into safe hands. God speed."

Also Read: Sunita Williams' Homecoming: Know When and Where the Splashdown Will Happen?
 

When and Where will Sunita William and Butch Wilmore will land on Earth?

Sunita, 62, and Butch, 59, undocked from the ISS at 10:35 AM IST to begin a 17-hour trip back to Earth. Their spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida around 3:27 AM IST on Wednesday, March 19. The exact location will depend on weather conditions, sea states, and recovery team readiness.

Their mission, which was initially expected to end earlier, was delayed due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The two astronauts were originally scheduled to return in the Starliner, but after propulsion issues rendered the spacecraft unfit for re-entry, they had to stay longer aboard the ISS. During their extended stay, American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov replaced them, arrived on March 16 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon.

NASA and SpaceX have been monitoring weather conditions for the return, and favourable conditions are expected for the Crew-9 mission’s splashdown off Florida's coast. A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral is scheduled just before the splashdown, at 2:09 PM EDT.

NASA will be providing live coverage of the entire return process, including hatch closing, undocking, deorbit burn, and splashdown. The exact splashdown location will depend on weather conditions, sea states, and recovery readiness.

Also Read: Sunita Williams Homecoming Countdown Begins. Watch The Moment When Crew-9 Undocked From The ISS