A SpaceX rocket carrying a new crew has docked at the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a plan to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home. The pair were due to be on the ISS for only eight days,

Reaching orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the newest crew includes NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, both military pilots; and Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov, both former airline pilots. They will spend the next six months at the space station, considered the normal stint, after springing Wilmore and Williams free.

The two astronauts who crewed the Boeing Starliner have greeted their replacements, who arrived Saturday night at the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Barry Wilmore, and Donald Pettit unbox Thanksgiving meals, from the International Space Station (ISS), in this screen grab taken from a handout video, released on November 26,

The four newcomers — representing the U.S., Japan and Russia — will spend the next few days learning the station's ins and outs.

SpaceX delivered a four-person crew to the International Space Station early Sunday, setting the stage for Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams to depart.