
Stranded NASA astronauts rejoiced as a four-person crew arrived in the SpaceX Dragon at the International Space Station (ISS) to relieve them after they were stuck in space for more than nine months.
NASA shared a video in which Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are seen embracing their fellow astronauts, two of whom hail from the U.S., one from Japan and one from Russia, along with five crew members who arrived at the ISS early Sunday morning.
"All the hugs," @NASA's Johnson Space Center wrote in a post accompanied by a video of the astronauts and crew members entering one-by-one.
"Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, as the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the orbiting complex at 12:04 a.m. EDT, with the rest of their excited Expedition 72 crew," the post added.
Williams later told Mission control, "It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive," according to NPR.
All the hugs. 🫶
— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) March 16, 2025
The hatch of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft opened March 16 at 1:35 a.m. ET and the members of Crew-10 entered the @Space_Station with the rest of their excited Expedition 72 crew. pic.twitter.com/mnUddqPqfr
Wilmore and Williams were sent to space in a Boeing Starliner capsule back in June 2024. While their mission was supposed to last just a week, NASA insisted they stay put and send back an empty capsule because it encountered several issues throughout the launch, NPR reported.
Weather permitting, the NASA astronauts and two members from the newly arrived crew will return to Earth in a SpaceX capsule later this week.
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