A mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, which was supposed to last a week, could end up extending till February 2025. NASA officials announced on Wednesday that astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station (ISS) might return to Earth in February 2025. 


The officials stated that the two astronauts might return to earth on SpaceX's Crew Dragon instead of Boeing's Starliner, according to media reports.


Williams and Wilmore took off aboard the Boeing Starliner in June. They had reached the ISS on June 6. The Starliner has faced glitches in the propulsion system after a series of helium leaks, as per an NDTV report. Boeing and NASA have been scrambling to fix the issues.


As per the NDTV report, the International space agency said that Williams investigated using fluid physics, such as surface tension, to overcome the lack of gravity when watering and nourishing plants being grown in space.


‘Placed All Option On The Table’


During a media interaction on Wednesday, a NASA official said that the space agency said that it has "placed all the options on the table" while planning the return of its Starliner astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from space. 


The official said it has weighed in on many options. One of those would ensure the return of the two astronauts to Earth in 2025. And this plan involves Boeing's rival SpaceX. Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, said NASA's prime option is to return Butch and Sunita on Starliner. "However, we have done requisite planning to make sure we have other options open," he said, as quoted by Livemint.


Stich said NASA has been working with SpaceX. "We have been working with SpaceX to ensure that they are ready to respond on Crew 9... returning Butch and Suni on Crew 9 if we need that."


In June, NASA denied that astronauts Williams and Wilmore were stranded. The US space agency and Boeing officials had stated they are currently “not in any rush to come home.” The reaction had come amid multiple reports claiming that the two astronauts, sent to the orbiting laboratory onboard Boeing Starliner spacecraft, are stranded after suspected helium leaks.


NASA and Boeing officials said they are using “the luxury of time” to learn more before the astronauts return to Earth.


“I want to make it real clear that we’re not in any rush to come home,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew programme manager, was quoted as saying during a press conference late on Friday (US time), as quoted by news agency IANS. “The station is a nice, safe place to stop and take our time to work through the vehicle and make sure we’re ready to come home,’ he added.