Four astronauts back to Earth. Butch, Suni still in space

A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying NASA’s Crew-8 mission team splashed down off the coast of Florida early Friday morning. American astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Russian astronaut Alexander Grebinkin spent nearly eight months aboard the International Space Station. While in orbit, the team conducted stem cell research, studied how fuel temperatures affect material flammability, and researched how spaceflight affects the function of the human immune system.

What about the astronauts who were stranded this summer? The Crew-8 mission was scheduled to end in August but their return was delayed when Boeing’s Starliner capsule experienced thruster problems when it arrived at the space station in June. The Starliner in June carried NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams to replace the team. The four crew members were scheduled to return to Earth aboard the Boeing craft, but NASA in September flew the craft back to Earth empty after deciding it was too risky to use it to shuttle astronauts. Hurricane Milton further delayed the Crew-8 team’s return due to unfavorable weather conditions around Florida.

After the disruption, Wilmore and Williams are due to return in February aboard a SpaceX craft along with two other astronauts who joined them on the space station last month. 

  Dig deeper: Listen to Bonnie Pritchett’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about how NASA researchers are preparing to, eventually, send astronauts to Mars.