After 268 days without fresh air or a proper shower, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams made their final journey back to Earth.

After an unexpected nine-month stay in space, a pair of NASA astronauts finally returned to Earth on Tuesday, concluding a mission that captured global attention and became a political flashpoint.

The cost to bring home a pair of stranded astronauts that have spent most of a year in space aboard the International Space Station could be as much as $150 million. Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch ...