NASA

The two American astronauts who've been stranded since last spring on the International Space Station are finally coming back to Earth.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams left the ISS on Tuesday and are now traveling in a SpaceX spacecraft alongside two other astronauts. NASA says the four-person crew is scheduled to touch down on Earth later this evening, with the trip expected to take around 19 hours.

A relief crew arrived at the ISS on Sunday, allowing Butch and Suni to head home. NASA moved up their return by a day to avoid some unfavorable weather later in the week.

Donald Trump's plans for his 2nd term are out of this world ... with the returning commander-in-chief announcing a new Mars mission during his inaugural address.

Check it out ... while addressing the nation inside the U.S. Capitol Building Monday, Trump declares his goal to plant a U.S. flag on the 4th planet from the Sun ... in order to be seen as "a growing nation" again.

He adds ... "We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars."

Elon Musk treated Donald Trump to quite the show Tuesday ... as SpaceX's Starship megarocket blasted off into space in an attempt to make a perfect landing back on the launchpad ... though they both had to settle for saltwater splash-downs.

The biggest rocket ever made launched from the company's Starbase launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas for Starship Flight 6 ... in a test to see if both stages of the spacecraft -- the Super Heavy booster and the Starship capsule -- would return safely back to Earth ... and Trump had a front-row seat.

After blasting off and travelling into space, the Super Heavy booster essentially flew in reverse back to Earth -- it was supposed to be "grabbed" by the launch and catch tower's "chopstick" arms, but it instead landed in the Gulf of Mexico. A couple minutes into the mission, SpaceX had announced a "no go" for the attempted booster catch. The booster was meant to be reusable, but won't be since it landed in saltwater, which it's not designed to withstand.

9:44 AM PT -- SpaceX's Dragon is up and away ... having just detached from the rocket. Crew-9 is expected to reach the International Space Station tomorrow -- and, should return with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams early next year. Good luck!

A SpaceX mission is set to blast off Saturday with a crucial mission ... to help retrieve 2 American astronauts stranded for months on the International Space Station ... but it's still going to be a while before they're back on Earth.

The launch of SpaceX’s Dragon -- piloted by NASA's Crew-9 is scheduled for 1:17 PM ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida ... but weather delays might be a snag given the deadly Hurricane Helene just battered a portion of the state.

People who hate on mail-in ballots are going to be howling at the moon after this one ... 'cause a couple astronauts are casting their votes from the International Space Station.

Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams -- the 2 astronauts who went up to space on the Boeing Starliner, and who are now stuck after safety concerns with their craft arose -- spoke with reporters Friday ... and, they say they still plan on voting.

Wilmore says he sent his request for a ballot down to Earth Friday ... adding that NASA helps all its astronauts secure ballots. Both astronauts touched on how they feel it's their civic duty to cast their votes come the first Tuesday in November.

9:02 AM PT -- NASA released a statement on its findings regarding the strange sound heard by astronaut Butch Willmore, stating, "A pulsing sound from a speaker in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft heard by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station has stopped. The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner."

The statement continued, "The space station audio system is complex, allowing multiple spacecraft and modules to be interconnected, and it is common to experience noise and feedback. The crew is asked to contact mission control when they hear sounds originating in the comm system. The speaker feedback Wilmore reported has no technical impact to the crew, Starliner, or station operations, including Starliner’s uncrewed undocking from the station no earlier than Friday, Sept. 6."

As if being stranded in space for the foreseeable future wasn't enough ... one of the astronauts stuck aboard the ISS just sent NASA audio of an ominous noise coming from their faulty Boeing Starliner aircraft.

In audio first reported by Ars Technica, astronaut Butch Wilmore can be heard communicating with Johnson Space Center in Houston ... telling mission control, "I've got a question about Starliner. There's a strange noise coming through the speaker ... I don't know what's making it."

Mission control configured a way for Butch to play the sound through the phone ... and after one failed attempt at hearing it, mission control confirmed, "Butch, that one came through. It was kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping."

LeVar Burton is defending space exploration, Angelina Jolie is not dating anyone, and Kyren Williams is previewing the upcoming NFL season ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Babcock break down LeVar's position on space ... now that we're dealing with an astronaut emergency up there.

"Star Trek" star LeVar Burton is shutting down speculation there were not enough safety precautions in place for the mission that left astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore stuck in space ... clarifying these pros knew the risks.

We caught up with the "Reading Rainbow" host in Los Angeles Thursday, and LeVar explained space exploration is inherently risky ... and every potential problem can't be anticipated, and things often don't go according to plan.

The astronauts are now stuck on the International Space Station until 2025 after technical issues shut down their return flight.

The mother of Sunita Williams, one of the astronauts stuck in space until 2025, has a surprisingly chill outlook on her daughter's predicament.

We caught up with Bonnie Pandya on "TMZ Live" Monday, where the astronaut's mom explained the situation -- which has left her daughter stranded on the International Space Station. Mom says it's just another day at work for the seasoned astronaut.

As Bonnie put it ... she's doing just fine in the face of this harrowing update, since her daughter has been training for situations like this throughout her 20-year career.

The Boeing Starliner astronauts stranded in space for nearly three months are going to have to be there a little longer ... 'cause they're not going to be earthbound until next year.

During a newsconference Saturday, NASA administrator Bill Nelson explained Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are expected to return in February 2025 ... while the Boeing Starliner will be returned unmanned out of concern for their safety.

That's six more months for the pair in space ... a far cry from the nine days their mission was originally scheduled for.

Two astronauts currently stuck in space are facing a potential wardrobe malfunction -- their spacesuits won't fit on a potential rescue craft.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are still orbiting Earth 'cause of problems on the Boeing spacecraft they went up in ... and they may need a rescue mission from Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring them back down to Earth.

The problem is, the pair's spacesuits were made for the interior of the Boeing Starliner -- and literally won't plug into systems on the SpaceX Dragon due to different porting designs.

Two astronauts stranded in space for more than 60 days may have to keep orbiting the Earth until early 2025 ... because their Boeing spacecraft appears unable to bring them home.

NASA is now saying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may need to be rescued from the International Space Station by a spacecraft from a rival company ... Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The pair took a Boeing Starline spacecraft to the ISS in June but the maiden voyage has been a disaster ... with helium leaks and thruster failures preventing them from taking the spaceship home.

Arguably the biggest accomplishment in United States history is now the subject of a popular conspiracy ... with lotsa folks convinced NASA never really went to the moon.

TMZ Studios' new series, "Strange & Suspicious," examines weird and unexplained stories ... and here we're taking a look at the possibility the 1969 moon landing footage was shot in a movie studio as opposed to the actual lunar surface.

Conspiracy theorists love to point to the famous photo of Buzz Aldrin standing next to the U.S.A. flag after planting it on the moon ... the flag is crinkled and looks to be waving, and folks say there's just no wind in space.

NASA freaked people out after accidentally broadcasting a simulation of astronauts being in an emergency situation out in space -- but turns out ... it was just a false alarm.

The federal agency's YouTube channel went live this week with audio of a female guiding crew members on what to do in an emergency -- with lines like "get the commander back in his suit," "check his pulse, give him oxygen," etc.

Other remarks that were aired hinted at this would-be astronaut's health being tenuous -- specifically, going through decompression sickness on the International Space Station.

The third time was the charm for Boeing's long-delayed Starliner crewed mission ... which finally blasted off into orbit for its first piloted test flight to the International Space Station.

The United Launch Alliance's Atlas V powered up into the skies Wednesday from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station -- with veteran U.S. astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and copilot Sunita "Suni" Williams on board ... streaming live on NASA's website.

Butch and Suni's cosmic commute will see them spend just over 24 hours traveling to the space station. After docking Thursday, they'll settle into their new home for the next 8 days ... joining the 7 astronauts and cosmonauts already on board the orbiting lab.