Sunita Williams is classified under the GS-15 pay grade, which is the highest level for federal employees under the General Schedule (GS) system

A pair of astronauts stranded for more than nine months on the International Space Station were a step closer to returning home Sunday after a replacement crew docked with the orbital outpost.

The astronauts were shown on live TV embracing and hugging their counterparts in zero gravity on the space station shortly after their SpaceX Crew Dragon arrived at 0545 GMT.

All the hugs. ?
The hatch of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft opened March 16 at 1:35 a.m. ET and the members of Crew-10 entered the @Space_Station with the rest of their excited Expedition 72 crew. pic.twitter.com/mnUddqPqfr

— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) March 16, 2025

NASA astronauts Sunita Willams and Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday onboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft.

For MS Williams and Mr Wilmore, test pilots for Boeing's new Starliner capsule, the eight-day mission stretched to more than nine months as a series of helium leaks and thruster failures deemed their spacecraft unsafe and had to return empty in September.

Astronauts who have travelled on space missions earlier have reported facing difficulty in walking, having bad eyesight, dizziness, and a condition called baby feet where space travellers lose the thick part of the skin on the soles that become soft like a baby's.

For their extended 9-month stay on the ISS, Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore will earn a prorated salary between $93,850 - $122,004 (approximately Rs 81 lakh - Rs 1.05 crore).

Including the $1,148 (around Rs 1 lakh) in incidental pay, their total earnings for the mission is expected to be $94,998 - $123,152 (approximately Rs 82 lakh - Rs 1.06 crore).

Expedition 72 flight controllers led by NASA Flight Director Allison Bolinger during docking of NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the space station.

Allison Bolinger, from Lancaster, Ohio, began her career at NASA as an intern in 2001, before getting her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Purdue University in 2004. Upon becoming a full-time NASA employee after graduation, she supported spacewalks in a variety of functions, including as a lead spacewalk flight controller for space shuttle Endeavor’s final mission, and several spacewalks since.

The hatch of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft opened March 16 at 1:35 am ET (11:05 am IST) and the members of Crew-10 entered the space station with the rest of their excited Expedition 72 crew.

All the hugs. ?
The hatch of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft opened March 16 at 1:35 a.m. ET and the members of Crew-10 entered the @Space_Station with the rest of their excited Expedition 72 crew. pic.twitter.com/mnUddqPqfr

— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) March 16, 2025

Crew 10 Dragon vehicle arriving! pic.twitter.com/3EZZyZW18b

— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) March 16, 2025

During their mission, the Crew-10 crew is scheduled to conduct material flammability tests to contribute to future spacecraft and facility designs. They will engage with students worldwide via ham radio and use its existing hardware to test a backup lunar navigation solution. According to NASA, astronauts themselves will also serve as test subjects, with one crew member conducting an integrated study to better understand physiological and psychological changes to the human body to provide valuable insights for future deep space missions.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi is "excited" to be officially part of the Expedition 72.

Onishi has spent roughly 113 days in space as a flight engineer aboard the ISS as part of Expeditions 48 and 49. In 2016, he maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and became the first Japanese astronaut to capture the Cygnus spacecraft in space.

"Houston, thanks for tuning in early morning. Great to see our friends arrive," said Sunita Williams.

"I cannot tell you the immense joy of our crew when we looked out of the window and saw the space station for the first time...,"said Anne C McClain, NASA Astronaut and US Army Colonel.

"You can hardly put it into words. The ride up the Falcon 9, orbiting the earth for the last couple of days, it has been absolutely incredible. It is something none of us could do by ourselves. You cannot be great without the greatness of others. And the greatness of the ground control team has really shined through in getting us up here safely," she added.

McClain was selected in June 2013 as one of eight members of the 21st NASA astronaut class. On her first spaceflight, McClain spent 204 days as a flight engineer during Expeditions 58 and 59 and completed two spacewalks, totaling 13 hours and 8 minutes.

McClain is a commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission, to conduct research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory.

The SpaceX Crew-10 members joined the station's Expedition 72 crew after the hatch opened at 12:35am ET on Sunday beginning a long-duration space research mission.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore embarked on a 10-day mission aboard the Boeing Starliner on June 5, 2024, but the spacecraft experienced thruster malfunctions during its approach and docking maneuvers.

This resulted in an extensive investigation by NASA and Boeing back on the ground, with the space agency finally declaring the Starliner too risky to carry astronauts back home. The Starliner instead returned empty, without experiencing further major issues.

The two astronauts are stranded in space for nearly 10 months now.

The Dragon hatch is now open.

While walking on Earth, our feet face a lot of resistance in the form of gravity and friction, which makes the skin on the soles thicker. It protects us from feeling discomfort and pain while protecting us from general wear and tear.

However, after spending months in space, the harder skin comes off and the feet are left very soft and tender. Until the feet build up hard skin again, which can take from a few weeks to a couple of months, walking can be uncomfortable and even distressing.

Watch the @SpaceX #Crew10 members enter the space station and join the Exp 72 crew for a long-duration space research mission. https://t.co/WHpxBz51Ts https://t.co/WHpxBz51Ts

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) March 16, 2025