Old Video of Sunita Williams Sparks False Claims of Return from Space

A video showing American astronaut Sunita Williams aboard a spacecraft has recently gone viral on social media, with the misleading claim that she is returning to Earth after completing 127 days in space. However, this video is over a decade old and unrelated to Williams' current mission.

The facts

The video in question, which has been widely shared with captions like, "After successful 127 days of Space Tour, 'Ms Sunita Williams' returning safely to Earth," is actually from 2012. In the original seven-minute clip, Williams gives a tour of life aboard the International Space Station (ISS) during the final days of one of her earlier expeditions. The viral version is a shorter edit of that tour video, uploaded by NASA on YouTube more than 12 years ago.

What’s actually happening

Sunita Williams is currently on the ISS, but she has not yet returned to Earth. Since June 2024, Williams has been stationed aboard the ISS alongside fellow astronaut Barry Wilmore. Initially, their mission was scheduled to last 10 days after docking Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the ISS. However, due to technical issues with the Starliner, their stay has been extended to February 2025. The astronauts are expected to remain in space for a total of 240 days, continuing their work collecting data for their mission.

Williams and Wilmore are now scheduled to return to Earth using SpaceX's Dragon capsule instead of the Starliner.

Here is what you need to know

The resurgence of this old video, shared by many with false captions, has led to confusion about Williams' current status. It is important to note that she is still actively on her mission and will not be returning to Earth until next year.

While the video of Sunita Williams giving a tour of the ISS is certainly fascinating, it is over a decade old and not related to her ongoing mission. Misinformation like this can spread quickly, but the facts show that Williams is still aboard the ISS and will return in 2025.