Alien, bells, and lots of hugs: Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore welcome the Crew 10 aboard ISS and the internet can't stop talking about it

After months of delays, SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission has finally arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), bringing much-needed relief to the two astronauts who have been stranded in orbit far longer than expected.
The mission lifted off on Friday evening (March 14) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying four astronauts from three different nations. Their spacecraft, the Crew Dragon capsule named Endurance, docked with the ISS’s Harmony module early Sunday morning (March 16) at 12:04 a.m. EDT (0404 GMT) while orbiting 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the Atlantic Ocean.
Once the hatches between Endurance and the ISS were opened at 1:35 a.m. EDT (0535 GMT), the new arrivals – NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov – floated aboard, where they were greeted with hugs, handshakes, and a lighthearted prank. NASA astronaut Nick Hague, already aboard the ISS, donned an alien mask as he approached the new arrivals, adding a humorous touch to the serious mission.

Commander McClain described the moment as surreal, saying, “Crew-10 has had a great journey up here, and I cannot tell you the immense joy of our crew when we looked out the window and saw the space station for the first time. That is such an amazing journey. You can hardly even put it into words.”
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her crewmate Butch Wilmore, who were meant to stay on the ISS for just eight days but have been stuck in orbit for months due to Starliner’s technical issues, can now prepare for their long-awaited return home. Williams expressed her relief, telling Mission Control, “It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive.”
For the families, friends, and well-wishers of Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, the arrival of Crew-10 was a moment of immense relief. After months of uncertainty, this milestone brings them one step closer to finally returning home.
Netizens on social media were ecstatic about the development. NASA posted a video of the docking and crew welcome on its official page, which quickly went viral, racking up an impressive 7.3 million views. The comment sections were flooded with excitement, as people celebrated the mission’s success and eagerly anticipated Williams and Wilmore’s long-overdue return to Earth.

Elon Musk also shared the video on his account. Let us look at some of the reactions of netizens: One user said, “What an incredible achievement! Bringing the stranded astronauts back home is a truly heroic feat. The relief they must be experiencing is unimaginable. Well done! Now, let’s ensure they land safely back on Earth and readjust smoothly.”
Another commented, “It's incredible what they're achieving with space exploration. The @SpaceX Dragon docking at the Space Station is another amazing step forward!”
Many people also appreciated President Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to make this mission possible and for ‘saving’ the ‘stranded’ astronauts. A user wrote, “Somewhat overdue joy...Genuinely delighted for all the teams as well as all Americans who see how Trump/Musk/SpaceX won't leave anyone behind. The effort will be made. That's right and just.”