NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX announce official date they hope to reach 'stranded' astronauts

After an eight-day mission that turned into an eight-month nightmare, NASA's stranded astronauts are set to return to Earth soon.

Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore were launched into space on June 5, 2024, onboard NASA's Boeing Starliner Calypso as the pair were tasked with undertaking minor jobs on the International Space Station (ISS).

However, as the capsule approached the ISS, its thrusters malfunctioned and NASA ultimately decided it was too dangerous for Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth as they had originally planned.

The agency has since teamed up with Space X to prioritize 59-year-old Williams and 61-year-old Wilmore's return.

Now, NASA has confirmed the date of their homecoming. If all things go as planned, they should be rescued as early as March 12.

The agency wrote in a press release: "NASA and SpaceX are accelerating the target launch and return dates for the upcoming crew rotation missions to and from the International Space Station.

"The agency’s Crew-10 launch now is targeting Wednesday, March 12, pending mission readiness and completion of the agency’s certification of flight readiness process. The Crew-9 mission is planned for return to Earth following a several day handover period with the newly arrived Crew-10 expedition crew.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are said to be 'doing great' despite being stuck in space for eight months (NBC News)

"The earlier launch opportunity is available following a decision by mission management to adjust the agency’s original plan to fly a new Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-10 mission that requires additional processing time."

It continued: "The flight now will use a previously flown Dragon, called Endurance, and joint teams are working to complete assessments of the spacecraft’s previously flown hardware to ensure it meets the agency’s Commercial Crew Program safety and certification requirements.

"Teams will work to complete Dragon’s refurbishment and ready the spacecraft for flight, which includes trunk stack, propellant load, and transportation to SpaceX’s hangar at 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to be mated with the mission’s Falcon 9 rocket.

"This will be the fourth mission to the station for this Dragon, which previously supported the agency’s Crew-3, Crew-5, and Crew-7 flights."

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 members Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos, NASA's Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and JAXA's Takuya Onishi (NASA/Bill Stafford/Helen Arase Vargas)

The move will allow SpaceX, which owns and operates the Dragon fleet, to 'complete the new spacecraft’s interior build and perform final integration activities, while simultaneously launching Crew-10 and returning Crew-9 sooner', NASA explained.

NASA astronauts commander Anne McClain and pilot Nichole Ayers, will be joined by cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, as well as JAXA's (apan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Takuya Onishi, aboard the Crew-10.

"After Crew-10 arrives to the space station, Crew-9 will help the newly arrived crew familiarize with ongoing science and station maintenance work, which supports a safer transition of operations aboard the orbital complex," NASA continued.

"Following the handover, NASA and SpaceX will prepare to return to Earth NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard Crew-9 pending weather conditions at the splashdown sites off the coast of Florida."