Nasa’s Crew-8 astronauts to return home after six months in space

Three Nasa astronauts and a cosmonaut are set to leave the International Space Station after inclement weather delayed their return to Earth for weeks.
Astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin are slated to depart the ISS around 2:30 am (IST) on Thursday, on their SpaceX Dragon capsule.
Crew-8’s journey back to earth will take around 34 hours. The four astronauts are likely to splash down near the Florida coast on Friday at around 1 pm (IST) on Friday.
The astronauts’ return was first deferred on October 7 when an undocking attempt was called off because of Category 3 storm Hurricane Milton, which hit Florida.
According to Nasa, the return flight was put off several times again because of unfavourable weather conditions near the splashdown sites.
Inclement weather conditions and rough seas can damage the capsule when it lands in the water, and also pose great danger to the rescue teams who attempt to retrieve the astronauts and the spacecraft.
The mission, which took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at Launch Complex 39A on March 5, saw a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propel the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, into orbit. This event marked the eighth commercial crew rotation mission to the ISS.
Dominick, Barratt, Epps and Grebenkin’s journey to the ISS was not just a routine trip but a science expedition that saw them conduct over 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations.
They were originally scheduled to return to Earth in September, but their stay was extended as their Dragon spacecraft played lifeboat for two astronauts who flew to space on Boeing’s Starliner capsule.
That particular spacecraft developed some technical issues which led the US space agency to recall the Starliner capsule without a crew in early September.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who were launched on the spacecraft, were originally scheduled to have a week-long stay on the ISS. However, they still have not been able to return after four months.