Stranded astronauts ‘greeted by alien’ as rescue arrives at International Space Station

Close encounters of the friendly kind.

The pair were supposed to only spend eight days at the Space Station, but due to safety concerns with the Boeing Starliner that had brought them there, they had to stay put.

Early Sunday morning, a Dragon capsule from Elon Musk's SpaceX arrived to rescue the astronauts.

The capsule was also delivering four new astronauts, from the US, Japan and Russia, to the ISS.

Williams and Wilmore also received a space-themed surprise when they were rescued.

With Williams holding a camera as Wilmore opened the hatch, fellow astronaut Nick Hague could be spotted floating around wearing an alien mask.

Speaking to Mission Control at NASA’s Kennedy Space Station after their arrival, Williams said: "It was a wonderful day.

"Great to see our friends arrive."

Their return journey was moved forward two weeks by NASA, after Donald Trump ordered Musk to "go get."

Writing on his Truth Social platform last month, Trump said: "I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to 'go get' the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned by the Biden administration.

"Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!"