A 120m mile house odyssey reached a cheerful ending this week as 4 intrepid explorers returned from the ultimate frontier after months marooned in orbit.
Nasa astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, together with their Russian colleague Aleksandr Gorbunov, had been greeted by a pod of dolphins as their SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down within the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.
Williams and Wilmore had set out for what was meant to be a week-long mission aboard the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) in June final yr, however had been left stranded by technical issues. Hague and Gorbunov had been on the ISS since September.
Wilmore and Williams travelled some 121,347,491 miles (195,289,856 km) in the midst of their nine-month mission, finishing 4,576 laps of the Earth. Williams additionally returned a record-holder after logging 62 spacewalking hours, essentially the most clocked up by a feminine astronaut.
“We’re thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick and Aleksandr dwelling after their months-long mission conducting very important science, know-how demonstrations, and upkeep aboard the Worldwide Area Station,” mentioned Nasa performing administrator Janet Petro.
Picture: NASA/Keegan Barber
Essential picture: PinPep, London Sport
