NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally nearing their long-awaited return to Earth after more than nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The two 'stranded' NASA astronauts will return on Tuesday (Mar 18) thanks to the successful launch of a replacement crew last week.  

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In what was the first step to bringing Williams and Wilmore home to Earth on Friday (Mar 14), a four-person Crew-10 mission aboard a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre.

As Sunita Williams' return nears, let's have a look at when and where the Indian-origin NASA astronaut will splash down.

Also read | Trump says he instructed Elon Musk to bring ‘abandoned’ astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back

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When will Sunita 'Suni' Williams return to Earth?

Sunita Williams, alongside NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, is completing a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory ISS.

Sunita Williams' splashdown on Earth is expected to happen on March 18, 2025 evening, around 1800 EDT (3:30 am IST, March 19).

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Also read | 'Stranded' NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore to return to Earth soon; SpaceX's swap team launches to ISS

The full schedule of Sunita Williams, Crew-9 return

The Crew-9's return journey will take roughly 42 hours, spanning March 17 to March 19, 2025. Here's the full return schedule with times:

Monday, March 17

— 10:45 pm EDT (8:15 am IST, March 18) — Hatch closes

Tuesday, March 18

  • 1:05 am EDT (10:35 am IST) — Undocking of the NASA/SpaceX Dragon "Freedom" and the Crew-9 Crew (Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, Wilmore) from the International Space Station

Also read | Sunita Williams and crew pack up, close the hatches; undocking from ISS soon. How to watch live

Pending weather conditions at the splashdown sites, NASA will share its continuous coverage. You can catch the return coverage of the three astronauts and one cosmonaut on NASA's on-demand streaming service NASA+.

  • 4:45 pm EDT (2:15 am IST, March 19) — NASA will begin return coverage 
  • 5:11 pm EDT (2:41 am IST, March 19) — Deorbit burn (time is approximate)
  • 5:57 pm EDT (3:27 am IST, March 19) — Splashdown (time is approximate) off the coast of Florida

Following the splashdown of Astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, NASA will hold a Return-to-Earth media conference at 7:30 pm EDT (6:00 am IST, March 19).