India, March 19 -- NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams safely returned to Earth on Tuesday (US local time), splashing down off Florida's coast in a SpaceX capsule. Their return came nine months after their planned week-long stay on the ISS was disrupted due to issues with Boeing's Starliner craft.

The International Space Station (ISS), located 254 miles (409 km) above Earth, has hosted astronauts from around the world for nearly 25 years now. The US and Russia primarily manage the football field-sized research lab, which serves as a key hub for scientific collaboration.

Both Wilmore and Williams are Navy test pilots who later joined NASA. Wilmore, 62, was a high school and college football player in Tennessee, while Willia...