The crew-swap mission will enable NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return to Earth from the International Space Station.

NASA removed two astronauts from its Crew-9 mission to allow for Williams and Wilmore to join the cohort, and return onboard the SpaceX Dragon − which carries four people at a time. The altered Crew-9 − only Hague and Gorbunov − launched aboard the SpaceX Dragon Freedom in late September.

Four new astronauts arrived at the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon on Sunday. Their arrival finally provides a way home for two NASA astronauts who have been on the ISS since June 2024.