India, March 16 -- Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are further closer now to return to Earth after a replacement crew docked with the orbital outpost on Sunday, NASA said.

Williams and Wilmore have been stranded in the International Space Station for over nine months now.

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov entered the International Space Station shortly after opening the hatches between the space station and the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 1:35 a.m. EDT, read the NASA website.

Hague, Williams, Wilmore, and Gorbunov will return to Earth after a brief handover period.

NASA said they are not expe...