Boeing astronauts depart ISS after nine-month stay - in pictures

  • Nasa astronaut Suni Williams being helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on board the SpaceX recovery ship Megan. AFP
    Nasa astronaut Suni Williams being helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on board the SpaceX recovery ship Megan. AFP
  • Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan. EPA
    Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan. EPA
  • Dolphins swim around the Dragon capsule with the SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts aboard after splashdown. AFP
    Dolphins swim around the Dragon capsule with the SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts aboard after splashdown. AFP
  • Villagers dance as they celebrate the safe return of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams at a temple in her ancestral village, Jhulasan in Gujarat, India. AP
    Villagers dance as they celebrate the safe return of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams at a temple in her ancestral village, Jhulasan in Gujarat, India. AP
  • Support teams working around a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after it landed. AFP
    Support teams working around a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after it landed. AFP
  • Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and Nasa astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams before closing the hatch in preparation for undocking from the ISS to begin their return to Earth. Photo: Nasa / Reuters
    Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and Nasa astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams before closing the hatch in preparation for undocking from the ISS to begin their return to Earth. Photo: Nasa / Reuters
  • Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams sit inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in preparation for undocking from the ISS to begin their return to Earth. Photo: Nasa / Reuters
    Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams sit inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in preparation for undocking from the ISS to begin their return to Earth. Photo: Nasa / Reuters
  • The astronauts depart International Space Station after a nine-month stay. Photo: Nasa
    The astronauts depart International Space Station after a nine-month stay. Photo: Nasa
  • They are expected to splashdown off the coast of Florida on March 19, 1.57am, GST. Photo: Nasa
    They are expected to splashdown off the coast of Florida on March 19, 1.57am, GST. Photo: Nasa
  • The SpaceX Dragon capsule as seen from the ISS. Photo: Nasa
    The SpaceX Dragon capsule as seen from the ISS. Photo: Nasa