NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro praised the achievement, emphasising its importance in strengthening American leadership in space and fostering growth in the national space economy.

After a brief setback on Thursday, astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore can now look forward returning home soon after nine long months of being stranded on the International Space Station (ISS).

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have completed over 900 hours of research involving 150 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations during their extended stay on the orbiting laboratory.