New Delhi, March 18 -- The stage is all set for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to finally set to return to Earth after spending nearly nine months at the International Space Station (ISS).

Originally scheduled to stay at the ISS for a week in June last year, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had to over nine months due to technical issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which had to facilitate their return.

The return of astronauts to Earth is part of a contingency plan devised by NASA with technical assistance from Elon Musk's company SpaceX. The company's Crew Dragon capsule arrived on the space station Saturday night to rescue stranded "Butch and Suni."

The Dragon spacecraft hatch was closed at 8:15 am on Tues...