Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, the two US astronauts currently stuck in space for nine months, had an unlikely ‘alien’ friend around when the newly arrived SpaceX crew docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday (Mar 16). In footage shared by ISS on X, Crew-9 commander Nick Hague was seen entering the hatch of the spacecraft wearing an alien face mask.
Mr Hague floated towards a smiling Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore while pointing to something off-camera while moving offscreen. The Crew-9 commander wore the extraterrestrial outfit while awaiting the arrival of Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Pesko, who will be taking over from him and his Crew-9 members.
Notably, Mr Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, have been in space since last September and are joining the stranded duo on their flight back home. Ms Williams, who was clicking pictures of the joyous incident, spoke to mission control and expressed happiness after hugging the incoming members.
“Houston, thank you for tuning in this early morning. It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive. Thank you so much,” Ms Williams said.
Also Read | Stranded Astronauts Face Painful Return: Baby Feet, Bone Density Loss And More
Social media reacts
M Hague’s antics did not go unnoticed by the eagle-eyed social media users who were amused by the sight of an alien-mask-wearing astronaut floating in the ISS.
“What’s with the guy in the alien mask? Is no one else seeing that? Did I miss something here?” said one user while another added: “Amazing. Love the camaraderie and happy to see their sense of humor is intact! Safe journey back home.”
A third commented: “Why is no one commenting about the Alien who was caught on camera?”
NASA astronaut Nick Hague dresses as a space alien to welcome the incoming International Space Station crew.👽 pic.twitter.com/3PUxrLuZBN
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) March 16, 2025
When are Williams and Wilmore returning?
NASA in a statement on Sunday evening informed that it had pushed the astronauts’ anticipated ocean splashdown off the Florida coast to approximately 5:57 pm Tuesday EDT (3:27 am IST, Wednesday). It was initially slated for no sooner than Wednesday.
The stranded pair of Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams, flew to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule on June 5 last year on what was supposed to be an eight-day test mission. However, the two were forced to endure a nine-month ordeal owing to safety concerns about the Boeing capsule.
Their prolonged stay was significantly longer than the standard ISS rotation for astronauts of roughly six months.