Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore had been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) since early June 2024 due to malfunctions with their spacecraft, Boeing’s Starliner. However, they finally made their return to Earth in March.
“On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” radioed SpaceX Mission Control in California as Williams and Wilmore returned to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule on March 18, 2025.
WATCH: NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore exit capsule on Earth after nine unexpected months in space. pic.twitter.com/RKGjnDSNtK
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 18, 2025
Upon their return, find out more about Williams and Wilmore, and whether they have plans to return to space in the future.
Who Is Suni Williams?
Williams was born in Ohio and raised in Massachusetts. A former test pilot in the U.S. Navy, she has accumulated over 3,000 hours of flight time across 30 different aircraft. She was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1998.
With 62 hours spent on nine spacewalks, Williams set the record for the most time spent spacewalking in a career by any female astronaut.
In August 2024, Suni’s husband, Michael Williams, shared with The Wall Street Journal that he didn’t believe she was disappointed about spending additional time at the space station, adding, “That’s her happy place.”
Who Is Butch Wilmore?
Wilmore, a native of Tennessee, is also a Navy test pilot who flew combat missions over Iraq and Bosnia in the 1990s. He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2000.
Wilmore, who shares two teenage daughters— Daryn and Logan—with his wife Deanna, has been able to FaceTime his family several times a day from the ISS, as shared in August 2024.
“It is so cool. He gives us a lot of Earth views. I especially like seeing the sunset,” said his eldest daughter, Daryn, at the time.
Deanna added, “He just takes it knowing the Lord’s in control, and since the Lord’s in control of it, he’s content where he is.”
“You just sort of have to roll with it and expect the unexpected,” she said.
Are Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams Returning to Space?
The astronauts spent approximately 286 days on the ISS, from June 5, 2024, to March 18, 2025. Despite the extended stay, both Williams and Wilmore insisted during a February 13, 2025, interview with CNN that they never felt stranded or stuck.
While they have not yet made any explicit comments about returning to space, their bodies will need time to recover after such a long duration in space. They must also be assessed for both mental and physical fitness before considering another mission, especially given the potential risks if things don’t go as planned.