American astronauts Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore have initiated their journey back to Earth after spending nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The departure from the ISS was broadcast live by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), showing the moment they left the space facility aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

The astronauts are expected to land in the ocean off the coast of Florida around 6 PM local time (22:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

They are accompanied on this journey by astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gerst.

Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS in early June as part of the first crewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

Originally, their mission was set to last one week; however, several technical issues with the spacecraft extended their stay significantly, allowing them to contribute to various scientific experiments and international collaborations in space throughout their extended duration.