Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded in space for nine months, received an unexpected welcome on Sunday when an “alien” greeted them upon docking with the SpaceX crew at the International Space Station, following their nine-month extended stay.
The International Space Station shared footage on X showing Hague entering the spacecraft’s hatch wearing an alien face mask. The video captures him floating towards Williams and Wilmore, who respond with smiles, before he gestures to something off-screen and moves away.
The crew arrived after departing from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7.03 pm ET on Friday, March 14.
After Sunita Williams opened the hatch, the ship’s bell rang as new crew members entered, exchanging handshakes and embraces. The 11-person Expedition 72 crew assembled for a brief communication with mission control, with Hague removing his alien mask.
Williams, who documented the reunion with photographs, addressed mission control following the greetings. “Houston, thank you for tuning in this early morning,” Williams said.
“It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive. Thank you so much,” Williams added.
Nasa astronaut Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, stationed in space since last September, will join Wilmore and Williams on their return journey.
Nasa indicated that a “crew handover period” will occur over subsequent days as astronauts prepare for their safe return. “Crew-10 will join the Expedition 72 crew of Nasa astronauts Nick Hague, Don Petitt, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. The number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 people before Crew-9 members Hague, Williams, Wilmore, and Gorbunov return to Earth following the crew handover period,” it said.
The Dragon launch, originally scheduled for March 12, was postponed due to hydraulic complications. Williams and Wilmore remained on the ISS since June 2024, when their Boeing Starliner experienced multiple technical issues preventing their planned eight-day return.
Previously, Nasa astronauts have worn costumes including Superman, Spiderman, a Minion, Darth Vader, Waldo and the Mario brothers.