Everything NASA astronauts did while being stranded in space for nine months
After what was supposed to be an eight-day trip to the International Space Station turned into a nine-month mission, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are officially back on Earth and once again bolted by gravity.
The two NASA astronauts touched down yesterday (March 18), after SpaceX's Dragon capsule arrived at the ISS to drop off other astronauts who could relieve the pair of their duties.
Wilmore and Williams ended up having to stay in space for longer than expected after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were originally set to return on was determined to be unsafe, so they instead had to wait for Elon Musk's company to come to their rescue.
What happened when Wilmore and Williams returned?
The two astronauts boarded the Dragon capsule alongside NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who had joined Wilmore and Williams on the ISS in September.
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As they re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, the astronauts flew over Mexico and towards Florida before parachutes on the capsule deployed over the ocean, just off the coast south of Tallahassee.
The capsule then dropped into the ocean, where it was met by a recovery ship.
After 286 days in space and a 17-hour journey back to Earth, Wilmore and Williams were able to take their first breaths of fresh air as the hatch on the SpaceX capsule opened up.
How did Wilmore and Williams spend their time on the ISS?
Considering they'd only planned to be there for eight days, you might expect Wilmore and Williams to quickly run out of things to do while in space.
As it turns out, it was quite the opposite.
Research
Wanting to make the most of their time on the ISS, Wilmore and Williams got stuck into research to help pass the time in space.
According to Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator of NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, the pair carried out 900 hours of research while on the ISS - that's 37.5 full days.
Experiments
As well as doing research, the astronauts carried out experiments - and not just ones involving their pants.
Montalbano said the pair did 150 experiments during their stint in space - work that 'benefits the nation', according to Montalbano.
Exercise
You probably won't be surprised to hear that spending months and months in space can take its toll on the body, so Wilmore and Williams carried out exercises to try and reduce the impacts, which include losing muscle mass.
They each carried out two or more hours of exercise each day, with the help of machines which assist in countering the effects of zero gravity.
Going on spacewalks
Just because you're stranded in space, doesn't mean you can't get outside once in a while!
During her stay on the ISS, Williams conducted two spacewalks, bringing her total number of spacewalks to nine and breaking the record for the total spacewalking time by a female astronaut.
Voting
The astronauts really took 'postal voting' to a whole new level. Williams and Wilmore hadn't planned to be away for the 2024 presidential election, but NASA made sure they didn't miss their chance to vote as the agency sent ballot papers via encrypted email to the ISS, which the astronauts then filled out and returned with the help of satellites.
Calling home
Williams and Wilmore haven't been totally cut off from humanity during their time on the ISS; they have taken part in a number of calls with the media, and have also called into schools to help educate children about life in space.
Celebrating Christmas
It wasn't all science and politics - the pair also got to join in with Christmas festivities on the space station as they donned Santa hats and called home to wish their loved ones a happy Christmas.
So it's safe to say the pair kept busy - they've definitely earned a break!
Topics: Space, NASA, International Space Station, Space X, Science
Emily Brown