India, March 18 -- Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, finally departed the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday after spending nine months in orbit. They, along with two other crew members, undocked from the ISS aboard SpaceX's 'Dragon' capsule at 1:05 am ET (10.35 am IST), beginning their 17-hour journey back to Earth.

Part of NASA's Crew-9 mission, the team is set to splash down off Florida's coast at 5:57 pm ET on Tuesday (3:27 am IST on Wednesday). Their capsule will re-enter Earth's atmosphere, descend under parachutes, and land in the ocean before they undergo routine medical checks and fly to Houston to reunite with their families.

The astronauts' prolonged stay gained international attention, with me...