Astronauts return to Earth

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have returned to Earth. They've spent 256 days in space.

Williams and Wilmore arrived on the International Space Station (ISS) in June. They'd only planned to spend 8 days there. But their Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which was on a test flight, had some difficulties. It was too dangerous for them to fly home on.

The next astronauts that travelled to the ISS, who came on a SpaceX Dragon spaceship, arrived in September. Their spaceship had enough room to bring the two astronauts home. But Williams and Wilmore couldn't leave until the astronauts' 6-month mission ended.

When astronauts on the next ISS mission arrived in March, they could finally return to Earth. The return journey lasted 17 hours. The capsule travelled through space at 27,300 kilometres an hour. Then, it floated down into the Gulf of Mexico.

Williams has been on three space missions and spent 608 days in orbit. Only one other astronaut's spent longer in space than her.

Long stays in space can cause health issues for astronauts. Their health's checked on the ISS and when they've returned home. Luckily, most problems correct themselves after astronauts are back on Earth. View Less