Two Astronauts on an 8-Day Mission That Turned Into a 9-Month Odyssey

A spacecraft malfunction in June kept the NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore on the International Space Station for more than nine months. They are scheduled to return home in the next few days.

Before they do, Michael Barbaro spoke to them about their extended stay in orbit.

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On today’s episode

• Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, the two astronauts currently at the International Space Station.

Background reading

• Here’s what to know about the long-awaited return of Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

• The astronauts are not, technically, “stranded” on the space station. But that’s the word a lot of people have been using.

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Special thanks to Kenneth Chang.

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