NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stationed on the International Space Station (ISS) for the past nine months, embarked on their much-anticipated journey back to Earth early Tuesday morning.

The two astronauts have been aboard the ISS since June of last year due to their Boeing Starliner spacecraft experiencing malfunctions and being forced to return to Earth without a crew

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived to Earth on SpaceX after spending 9 months on the ISS after Boeing’s Starliner was sent back empty.