NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on Earth after spending more than nine months in orbit on the International Space Station, splashing down off the coast of Florida on a Tuesday evening.

The duration of their time in space was unexpectedly long after launching on June 5, 2024, with the mission to stay on the ISS (International Space Station) for nearly a week. Due to issues with the Boeing Starliner flight to the space station, however, the return flight was delayed. In November, NASA’s chief health and medical officer had to push back against tabloid rumors that the astronauts’ health was deteriorating. But their prolonged mission is not the first time astronaut crews have spent a longer duration in space than planned, NASA says. Both Wilmore and Williams transitioned to “long-duration” status early in the mission so they could access the station’s crew health care system, the agency tells NPR. A “comprehensive reconditioning process” is also in place for the astronauts. 

Despite the outsize interest in the unexpected journey, this mission was not record-breaking: A 371-day stay from NASA’s Frank Rubio, for example, was much longer (and included intrigue over a rare tomato grown in space that went missing!). Williams and Wilmore routinely emphasized they were prepared to take on the scientific and technical aspects of extending their stay and joining the space station crew. The pair conducted spacewalks and carried out 900 hours of research in microgravity.