India, March 5 -- Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, NASA's two stranded astronauts, will soon return to Earth after spending nine months in space. However, they will not be able to check out until their successors arrive at the ISS next week.

Ahead of their expected return to Earth, the duo addressed a press conference, where Williams rejected SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's recent suggestion that the International Space Station (ISS) should be retired early, rather than at the end of 2030, as currently planned.

She pointed out that the orbiting lab was conducting a lot of scientific research.

"This place is ticking. It's just really amazing, so I would say we're actually in our prime right now," she asserted. "I would think that right now is ...