Astronauts return from nine-month ISS mission amid pay dispute

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams returned to Earth after nine months on the International Space Station (ISS). Initially planned for eight days, their mission was prolonged due to technical problems. The reason was the failure of the propulsion system on their return spacecraft. Consequently, they were assigned to the Crew-9 mission, which arrived at the ISS in September. NASA plans to compensate the astronauts for their extended stay, although the exact amount has not been disclosed.

A former NASA astronaut, Cady Coleman, explained that astronauts receive only basic pay without additional benefits. "For me it was around $4 [£3 per day-ed.note] a day," Coleman said.

As the "Daily Mail" indicates, Wilmore and Williams may receive just over £800 in additional pay based on this data.

A lengthy stay in space poses health challenges, such as muscle and bone mass loss, vision problems, and the need to readjust to gravity after returning. The astronauts will undergo intensive rehabilitation to strengthen bones and muscles, among other things.

The mission also sparked political controversy. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, head of SpaceX, suggested that the previous Joe Biden administration neglected the astronauts, causing outrage in the space community. NASA, however, stresses that the plan for the astronauts' return has not changed since their assignment to the Crew-9 mission.

The astronauts eventually returned to Earth on 18 March at 5:00 AM GMT. Williams and Wilmore spent 286 days in space. This is longer than the average ISS mission length, about six months. However, they did not break the record held by another American astronaut, Frank Rubio, who spent 371 days on the International Space Station.