People are only just noticing how the NASA astronauts that were ‘stranded’ in space for months had an unexpected ‘earthly welcome’ when they successfully splash landed yesterday.
On Tuesday (March 18), the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft safely returned NASA astronauts Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams back to their home planet after they spent nine months ‘stuck’ in orbit.
As the vessel successfully splashed down at 5.57pm EST off the Gulf Coast, near Tallahassee, Florida, it was a touching moment for several reasons.
Their touchdown was streamed live by NASA, which showed a ‘capsule of smiles’ aboard the Dragon as its parachutes deployed and came safely back down as planned.
The team bracing for landing (NASA)
Yet while recovery vessels lay in waiting, viewers are only now just realizing the team were met by not just one but an entire pod of curious dolphins.
Before Crew-9 had even met another human being or took their first breath of fresh air, around six aquatic mammals could be seen swarming around the floating vessel and jumping out of the blue waters.
While every minute detail of the homeward bound journey was planned to excruciating precision, no one expected the team would be graced by the oceanic family.
As the spaceship bobbed in the waters, gray dorsal fins were spotted all around which NASA has since called the ‘unplanned welcome crew.’ Check it out:
Kate Tice, webcast host and senior quality systems engineering manager at SpaceX, commented in the livestream: “Here on your screen, we can see dolphins, actually, who want to come and play with Dragon.”
She later added: “Wow, we got a cute little pod of dolphins, it wasn’t just one or two.”
“That was really fun to see,” Sarah Walker, the director of SpaceX Dragon mission management, added in a press conference after the landing.
Williams and Wilmore became stuck at the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024 as their Boeing Starliner Calypso malfunctioned when they arrived.
The pod of dolphins were curious about the vessel (NASA)
What was meant to be a short eight-day round trip soon escalated into almost 300 days as the pair joined the ISS rotation crew.
NASA likes to keep the station occupied at all times, and so the duo set to work, conducting science experiments while patiently waiting for their replacements to come and take over.
The big day finally came yesterday as Crew-10 exchanged hands with them on Friday, giving them the green light to begin the 17-hour descent home accompanied with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunobv, who joined the pair in September.
Commander Hague was the first off the spacecraft, followed by Gorbunobv, both of whom were seen smiling and waving enthusiastically as they were carried away on stretchers.
Sunita Williams emerging from the spacecraft after nine months in space (NASA)
Williams, who is one of the most experienced NASA spacewalkers as well as being a retired Navy officer, then emerged via the hatch with a thumbs up, followed finally by Wilmore in similar high spirits.
The dolphins have certainly added another element of joy to the historic occasion, with many writing it was ‘epic,’ a real ‘Earth welcome’ and a ‘good omen.’
“I couldn’t stop smiling!” another viewer online said. “Absolutely picturesque.”
“The dolphins stole the show,” another joked after saying the moment ‘was amazing.’
