NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Returns to Earth After Extended ISS Mission

On March 20, 2025, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee, Florida at 5:57 PM EDT, marking the conclusion of NASA’s Crew-9 mission.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, were picked up by SpaceX recovery teams after spending months conducting vital research aboard the International Space Station (ISS). They are now en route to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for post-flight medical evaluations and to reunite with their families.

“We are thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick, and Aleksandr home after their months-long mission conducting vital science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the ISS,” remarked NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro.

The Crew-9 astronauts launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on September 28, 2024. Williams and Wilmore originally flew on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, as part of the Boeing Crew Flight Test. However, due to technical issues with Starliner, they were brought back to Earth aboard the Crew-9 Dragon capsule instead. The Starliner capsule was returned uncrewed for further inspections and repairs.

During their mission, the crew accomplished remarkable milestones: Williams and Wilmore collectively traveled over 121 million miles, spending 286 days in space and completing 4,576 orbits around Earth. Hague and Gorbunov spent 171 days in space, passing 72 million miles and orbiting the planet 2,736 times.

Mission Objectives

The Crew-9 mission involved over 150 scientific experiments focusing on various fields including plant growth, stem cell technology, and the circadian rhythms of astronauts. Notably, Williams completed two spacewalks, setting a new record for the total spacewalking time by a female astronaut at 62 hours and 6 minutes.

The Dragon spacecraft, named Freedom, which has completed its fourth operational flight, will undergo an inspection and refurbishment at SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral facility. Crew-9’s return coincides with the launch of NASA’s Crew-10 mission on March 16, commencing another extended mission aboard the ISS.