Dolphins greet NASA astronauts after SpaceX splashdown

NASA Astronauts Santa Williams and Bach Wilmette

Dolphins greet NASA astronauts after SpaceX splashdown

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov have returned to Earth after a nine-month space mission.

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule safely touched down off the coast of Florida, where a dolphin unexpectedly began swimming around the spacecraft during recovery.

Originally planned for eight days, their mission was extended due to problems with Boeing’s Starliner. NASA reassigned them to Crew-9, and SpaceX’s Dragon retrieved them in September.

After months in space, they will undergo a 45-day recovery in Houston. Crew 10 has now taken over the ISS.