The unplanned welcome crew!
Crew-9 had some surprise visitors after splashing down this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/yuOxtTsSLV
— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) March 18, 2025
If you heard a loud boom and an astronaut suddenly landed in your backyard, you'd probably go out and take a look, right? When a SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts splashed down off the coast of Florida, a pod of dolphins quickly surrounded the spacecraft to take a look.
The astronauts returning to Earth— including Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who had been stuck at the International Space Station for 9 months—were certainly greeted in one the most unique ways. The scene was captured by the NASA livestream of the splashdown, even taking the broadcasters by surprise. Since the manned crew was safely stationed three nautical miles away from where the capsule splashed down, it took them about half an hour to reach the area. With their arrival, what looked like a curious lone dolphin quickly grew to a whole group of sea critters jumping around the craft.
The pod’s excitement even earned each dolphin recognition as an “honorary part of the recovery team” by the NASA broadcast team as the recovery crew on fast boats worked to release the astronauts. The crystal clear weather conditions allowed cameras to capture the dolphins who “want to come and play with Dragon,” as described by the casters, from a distance. The scene was so adorable that the NASA drone camera zoomed in on them a couple of times, turning into a “dolphin cam” for a few moments.
Given the location, just off the coast of Tallahassee, it's very likely these were bottlenose dolphins. While many species call the Sunshine State home, bottlenose dolphins are the most common around Florida. You can watch their whole interaction in the video below starting at the 1:33:56 mark.
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When a SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts splashed down off the coast of Florida, a pod of dolphins quickly surrounded the spacecraft to take a look.
Sources: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Re-Entry and Splashdown; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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