Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded in area for 9 months, obtained an surprising welcome on Sunday when an “alien” greeted them upon docking with the SpaceX crew on the Worldwide Area Station, following their nine-month prolonged keep.
The Worldwide Area Station shared footage on X exhibiting Hague coming into the spacecraft’s hatch carrying an alien face masks. The video captures him floating in the direction of Williams and Wilmore, who reply with smiles, earlier than he gestures to one thing off-screen and strikes away.
The crew arrived after departing from Nasa’s Kennedy Area Middle in Florida at 7.03 pm ET on Friday, March 14.
After Sunita Williams opened the hatch, the ship’s bell rang as new crew members entered, exchanging handshakes and embraces. The 11-person Expedition 72 crew assembled for a quick communication with mission management, with Hague eradicating his alien masks.
Williams, who documented the reunion with pictures, addressed mission management following the greetings. “Houston, thanks for tuning on this early morning,” Williams stated.
“It was an exquisite day. Nice to see our mates arrive. Thanks a lot,” Williams added.
Nasa astronaut Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, stationed in area since final September, will be a part of Wilmore and Williams on their return journey.
Nasa indicated {that a} “crew handover interval” will happen over subsequent days as astronauts put together for his or her secure return. “Crew-10 will be a part of the Expedition 72 crew of Nasa astronauts Nick Hague, Don Petitt, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, in addition to Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. The variety of crew aboard the area station will enhance to 11 folks earlier than Crew-9 members Hague, Williams, Wilmore, and Gorbunov return to Earth following the crew handover interval,” it stated.
The Dragon launch, initially scheduled for March 12, was postponed on account of hydraulic problems. Williams and Wilmore remained on the ISS since June 2024, when their Boeing Starliner skilled a number of technical points stopping their deliberate eight-day return.
Beforehand, Nasa astronauts have worn costumes together with Superman, Spiderman, a Minion, Darth Vader, Waldo and the Mario brothers.
