NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have made a triumphant return from their extended stay on the International Space Station (ISS). Despite initial expectations of an eight-day mission, they spent 286 days in orbit, conducting spacewalks and carrying out over 900 hours of research.
The duo’s journey was marked by several challenges, including helium leaks and engine outages with the Boeing Starliner vehicle. However, NASA ultimately decided to keep them on board and wait for their return on the next available SpaceX capsule.
In a surprising twist, President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have claimed that Williams and Wilmore were “abandoned,” a statement rejected by the astronauts themselves. Despite this, the mission was not record-breaking, with NASA’s Frank Rubio spending 371 days in space.
Meanwhile, a robotic lunar lander developed by Firefly Aerospace has successfully completed its historic 14-day operation near the moon’s south pole. The Blue Ghost lander carried 10 NASA research instruments and transmitted over 120 gigabytes of data back to Earth before signing off.
Recent scientific discoveries have also shed new light on our understanding of the universe. Astronomers have discovered four planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, a study that suggests these exoplanets are too hot to be habitable. Additionally, scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA telescope have revealed evidence of oxygen and heavy elements in the most distant confirmed galaxy ever observed.
These findings have sparked excitement among astronomers, who believe they may have uncovered new insights into the formation of galaxies and the possibility of life beyond Earth.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/22/science/nasa-astronauts-return-science-newsletter-wt/index.html