‘Alien’ greets SpaceX crew as Nasa stranded astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore await return to Earth

Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded in house for 9 months, acquired an sudden welcome on Sunday when an “alien” greeted them upon docking with the SpaceX crew on the International Space Station, following their nine-month prolonged keep.
The International Space Station shared footage on X displaying Hague getting into the spacecraft’s hatch sporting an alien face masks. The video captures him floating in 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 Space Center 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 short communication with mission management, with Hague eradicating his alien masks.
Williams, who documented the reunion with images, addressed mission management following the greetings. “Houston, thank you for tuning in this early morning,” Williams mentioned.
“It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive. Thank you so much,” Williams added.

Nasa astronaut Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, stationed in house since final September, will be part of Wilmore and Williams on their return journey.
Nasa indicated {that a} “crew handover period” will happen over subsequent days as astronauts put together for his or her secure return. “Crew-10 will join the Expedition 72 crew of Nasa astronauts Nick Hague, Don Petitt, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. The number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 people before Crew-9 members Hague, Williams, Wilmore, and Gorbunov return to Earth following the crew handover period,” it mentioned.
The Dragon launch, initially scheduled for March 12, was postponed due to 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.
Previously, Nasa astronauts have worn costumes together with Superman, Spiderman, a Minion, Darth Vader, Waldo and the Mario brothers.