<p>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The astronauts flying SpaceX back to Earth this week urged boaters to stay safe by staying away from their capsule’s splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>NASA and SpaceX are promising more Coast Guard patrols and fewer pleasure boaters for Wednesday afternoon’s planned splashdown off the Florida panhandle coast near Tallahassee — the company’s second return of a crew.</p>
<p>Last August, pleasure boaters swarmed the two-man Dragon capsule. NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, the Dragon’s commander, said everyone is putting “a lot of emphasis” on keeping the area clear this time.</p>
<p>“I don’t think any of us are too worried in terms of landing on a boat,” he said during a news conference Monday from the International Space Station.</p>
<p>Leaking fuel from the capsule’s thrusters could endanger people outside the capsule. A crowd could also hamper SpaceX’s recovery effort.</p>
<p>Hopkins is winding up a six-month mission, along with U.S. crewmates Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi. Their replacements arrived Saturday on their own SpaceX capsule. </p>
<p>When Hopkins and his crew launched last November, they hoped to return to a world where COVID-19 held less of a grip than it does. They will go into semi-quarantine for a while, Walker said, to give their space-weakened immune systems time to bounce back.</p>
<p>They’ll roll up their sleeves for their first vaccine shot seven to 10 days after splashdown.</p>
<p>“We definitely have enjoyed not wearing masks up here,” Walker said. “And having to go back and wear masks — well, it’s what we will do because that is the right thing to do.”</p>
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<p>The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.</p>
