Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are conducting a spacewalk outside the International Space Station to swab the orbiting lab for evidence of microorganisms.

A spokesperson with NASA, which oversees SpaceX’s flights to the ISS, said “NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions.”

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is already scheduled to return the astronauts under a plan announced by NASA in August.

SpaceX and NASA reinforce mission assurance, ensuring safe ISS crew retrieval as Boeing’s Starliner faces setbacks. Learn about their critical partnership

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said President Trump has asked the company to bring home the two NASA astronauts from Boeing’s Starliner mission on board the ISS “as soon as possible.”

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams embarked on a mission to the International Space Station in 2024 with a timeline that has been anything but straightforward.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station to swab the orbiting lab for evidence of microorganisms.

NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX are racing to bring back astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded on the ISS due to Boeing Starliner delays.

NASA's two stuck astronauts are taking their first spacewalk together, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore floated out Thursday to perform maintenance work and wipe down the station's exterior.

The president has claimed the previous administration abandoned the astronauts and has called on Elon Musk for aid.