Mugdha Das

Sunita Williams begins her long-awaited journey back home

Digital Desk: Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, NASA astronauts, are all set to leave the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, bringing their incredible nine-month voyage to a close. 

The duo's mission, which was originally planned as a modest eight-day test journey onboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, was prolonged due to unexpected technical challenges with their aircraft.

Williams, Wilmore, and two other Crew-9 members will return to Earth in the SpaceX Dragon spaceship. 

The astronauts had been on the ISS since June of last year, following the first crewed voyage of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which had technical faults and was ruled unfit for their return journey.

The Starliner's propulsion issues forced an alternative plan, which resulted in their inclusion in the Crew-9 mission. 

Despite the hurdles, Williams and Wilmore have been working on station research, maintenance, Starliner system testing, and data processing during their extended stay on the ISS.