NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will return to Earth this week after spending almost nine months on the International Space Station (ISS). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has confirmed that the Indian-origin astronaut and Wilmore will be sent back to the earth with another American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft, reported AFP.

NASA said in a statement on Sunday evening that it had moved forward the astronauts' anticipated ocean splashdown off the Florida coast to nearly 5:57 p.m. on Tuesday (21:57 GMT and 3:30 a.m., March 19, IST).

Dragon Spacecraft Reaches ISS:

Notably, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft with four astronauts reached the ISS on Sunday. Four astronauts that are part of the Crew-10 Mission are - Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA ) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

Williams and Wilmore have been on the ISS since June last year after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing on its maiden crewed voyage suffered propulsion issues and was deemed unfit to fly them back to Earth.

NASA And SpaceX's Crew-10 Mission:

"The updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties while providing operational flexibility ahead of less favourable weather conditions expected for later in the week," the space agency said. They were supposed to stay there for about a week.

Williams, Wilmore, An American Astronaut And A Russian Cosmonaut Aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon Craft:

NASA said in a statement that it will provide live coverage of the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the ISS, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations at 10:45 p.m. EDT Monday, March 17 (around 8:30 a.m. on March 18 IST). NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will also return on the Dragon capsule.