As astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams acclimatize to Earth, the effects of being stranded in space for nine months, and their recovery, will give scientists a chance to improve preparations for long distance flights.

NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are greeted after their return capsule was retrieved. The two astronauts spent more than nine months aboard the International Space Station after their weeklong mission was extended due to issues with their original spacecraft.