Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams returned to Earth after being stranded in space for nine months. The two departed the International Space Station early on Tuesday morning, using a SpaceX capsule that had docked on Sunday.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams ended up spending 286 days in space — 278 days longer than anticipated when they launched. They circled Earth 4,576 times and traveled 121 million miles by the time of splashdown.

NASA astronauts are returning to Earth after nine months in space. Experts have said a prolonged period in space can come with changes to human physiology and psychology.