NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts to share insights from their science mission

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov have successfully returned to Earth after completing a long-duration science mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The team’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission concluded with a splashdown off the coast of Florida on March 18, 2025.

As part of the postflight activities, Wilmore, Hague, and Williams will discuss their mission during a news conference on Monday, March 31, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. EDT, broadcast live from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Following the conference, the crew will be available for a limited number of individual interviews starting at 3:30 p.m.

The astronauts will share insights into the research conducted during their mission, which included over 900 hours of scientific experiments. Their work covered topics such as plant growth in microgravity, advancements in stem cell technology for better healthcare outcomes on Earth, and the effects of space on material degradation. Additionally, the crew completed a spacewalk and collected samples to study the resilience of microorganisms in space.

While Gorbunov will not attend the news conference due to his travel schedule, Hague, Williams, and Wilmore will answer questions from the public and media, discussing their time in space and the significance of their research. Media are invited to participate in the event either virtually or in person. U.S. media representatives who wish to attend in person or request an interview must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m. EDT on March 28. Those participating by phone are asked to dial in 10 minutes before the event begins. Questions can also be submitted on social media using #AskNASA.

The Crew-9 astronauts embarked on their mission in two separate launches. Hague and Gorbunov launched on September 28, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, while Williams and Wilmore launched on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Together, they completed an impressive journey, with Williams and Wilmore covering 121 million miles over 286 days, while Hague and Gorbunov traveled 72 million miles in 171 days. In total, the Crew-9 astronauts orbited Earth more than 7,000 times.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program continues to demonstrate its success in providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to the ISS, thanks to its partnership with private industry. This collaboration has broadened access to low Earth orbit, enabling scientific breakthroughs and opening up opportunities for commercial ventures in space. The ISS remains a key stepping stone for NASA's ambitious plans for human space exploration, including upcoming missions to the Moon and eventually Mars.