Astronauts' prolonged stay on ISS may finally be nearing end

After an unplanned eight-month stay at the International Space Station, the US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams's space odyssey looks as if it is finally coming to an end.

- Hannah Devlin

A NASA-SpaceX mission was postponed on Wednesday, but the American space agency now hopes the launch will take place today, meaning the pair could be back on Earth next week.

Wilmore and Williams' mission, initially due to last eight days, stretched into months because of safety concerns around the Boeing Starliner that was supposed to bring them home. The pair were integrated into the ISS crew in a mission that became politically charged, with Donald Trump suggesting they had been "abandoned in space".

Experts say, however, that it would be wrong to assume they have not relished their unexpected residency at the ISS. "Astronauts, if they are in space, they can never be stranded as long as there is some hope to come back," said Jan Wörner, a former director general of the European Space Agency. "It's more an issue if they are on the ground and they would like to fly and there is no opportunity."