(CNN) NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan have watched the coronavirus pandemic unfold just like the rest of us, but from a very different vantage point aboard the International Space Station.

And when they return to Earth on April 17 after being gone for seven and nine months, respectively, they will find it a very different place than when they left.

On Friday, Morgan, Meir and Christopher Cassidy, who just arrived on the space station Thursday, held a press conference from the space station on Friday. Coronavirus dominated the questions they received.

NASA astronauts (left to right) Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir and Christopher Cassidy are currently on the International Space Station together.

"It's quite surreal to see it unfolding on Earth below," Meir said. "From here, Earth looks just as stunning as usual, so it's hard to believe all of the changes that have taken place since we left."

Astronauts on long-term spaceflight missions to the space station always expect that Earth will change, Morgan said.

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