Heartwarming detail you missed in the astronauts return home

There was an amazing scenes to welcome NASA’s stranded astronauts back to Earth.

It was a blink and you’ll miss it moment as NASA’s stranded astronauts returned to Earth after a staggering 286-day space day.

Veteran astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams splashed down off the coast of Florida at 5.57pm ET (8.57am AEDT Wednesday) after a 17-hour-journey from the International Space Station (ISS).

Astronauts Butch, Aleksandr, Nick, and Suni wait to exit the capsule after splashing down. Picture: SpaceX via AP

The pair arrived at the ISS on June 6 last year, ready to embark on a mission that was meant to take 10 days at most.

But a series of technical issues and safety fears led NASA to send the capsule back to Earth empty in September, and extend the pair’s stay in space.

It appears that a pod of dolphins got the memo as footage captured them surrounding the Space X Dragon “Freedom” in an extraordinary welcome home.

Astronauts are greeted by dolphins as they arrive on Earth. Picture: NASA

As they continued to greet the crew, NASA commentators joked that they’re an “honorary part of the recovery team”.

“Even the dolphins are excited to see Butch and Suni”, one viewer commented.

Astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov beams as he lands on Earth. Picture: AFP/NASA

After a no-doubt gruelling and at-times challenging expedition, there truly was no better way to be greeted back to Earth.

Originally published as Heartwarming detail you missed in the astronauts return home