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Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams shared her insights on how India looked from space during her nine-month long stay on the International Space Station (ISS), with a special mention of Himalayas, fishing fleet along the coast of Mumbai and Gujarat.
Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams shared her insights on how India looked from space during her nine-month long stay on the International Space Station (ISS), with a special mention of Himalayas, fishing fleet along the coast of Mumbai and Gujarat.
India is amazing from space, Sunita Williams said and voiced optimism that she will visit her “father's home country” and shared experiences about space exploration with people there.
During a press conference on Monday, Williams reflected on her view of India from the International Space Station (ISS) and spoke about potential collaborations with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
"India is amazing. Every time we went over the Himalayas, and I'll tell you, Butch got some incredible pictures of the Himalayas. Just amazing," she remarked, referring to her fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, with whom she shared the extraordinary journey.
The 59-year-old astronaut and Wilmore were addressing the media in their first joint appearance after returning to Earth from a prolonged mission aboard the ISS as part of SpaceX’s Crew-9. They had been stranded in space for over nine months due to technical failures.
Describing the mesmerizing view of India from orbit, Williams said, "And you can see, like I've described it before, just like this ripple that happened, obviously when the plates collided, and then as it flows down into India. It's many, many colours."
"I think, when you come from the east, going into like Gujarat and Mumbai, the fishing fleet that's off the coast there gives you a little bit of a beacon that here we come, and then all throughout India, I think the impression I had was it was just like this network of lights from the bigger cities going down through the smaller cities. Just incredible to look at at night as well as during the day, highlighted, of course, by the Himalayas, which is just incredible as a forefront going down into India."
"India is amazing." More from Suni in this clip: pic.twitter.com/M2ajvyAen9
— NASA (@NASA)Williams, who has deep-rooted Indian heritage through her father, Dr. Deepak Pandya, expressed keen interest in reconnecting with the country. "I hope, and I think for sure, I'm gonna be going back to my father's home country and visiting with people and getting excited about the first, or not the first, but the Indian national who's going up on the Axiom Mission coming up, pretty awesome," she said.
Her reference was to the upcoming Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), which will include Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla. Born in Lucknow, Shukla will be India’s second astronaut to venture into space since Rakesh Sharma’s historic mission in 1984.
"They'll have a hometown hero there of their own that will be able to talk about how wonderful the International Space Station is from his perspective. But I hope I can meet up at some point in time, and we can share our experiences with as many people in India as possible, because it's a great country, another wonderful democracy that's trying to put its foot in the space countries, and we'd love to be part of that and help them along," Williams added.
Sunita Williams was born in Ohio to her Indian father and her American mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya. Her father, a physician, had moved to the US in 1958, where he completed his medical training.
During the press conference, Wilmore jokingly asked whether Williams planned to bring her fellow astronauts along on her trip to India. With a laugh, she responded, "Absolutely. You might stick out a little bit but that's okay. We'll get you all primed with some spicy food, will be good."
The enduring spirit and resilience of Williams and her Crew-9 colleagues have earned global admiration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended a warm welcome to the returning astronauts, acknowledging their grit and perseverance in a post on X (formerly Twitter): "Welcome back, Crew-9! The Earth missed you."
The Crew-9 team, which included NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, successfully returned to Earth on March 18 aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Their mission concluded with a splashdown off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.
Originally intended to last just eight days, Williams and Wilmore’s mission turned into an endurance test as their Boeing Starliner capsule suffered repeated technical failures, including helium leaks and thruster malfunctions. The troubled spacecraft was deemed unsafe for their return, forcing them to remain in space for over nine months until their eventual rescue.
Prime Minister Modi hailed their courage and resilience, emphasizing that their journey epitomized the unbreakable human spirit. "Theirs has been a test of grit, courage and the boundless human spirit. Sunita Williams and the #Crew9 astronauts have once again shown us what perseverance truly means. Their unwavering determination in the face of the vast unknown will forever inspire millions," he stated.
He further underscored the significance of space exploration as a testament to human ambition and achievement. "Space exploration is about pushing the limits of human potential, daring to dream, and having the courage to turn those dreams into reality," Modi noted.
"Sunita Williams, a trailblazer and an icon, has exemplified this spirit throughout her career. We are incredibly proud of all those who worked tirelessly to ensure their safe return. They have demonstrated what happens when precision meets passion and technology meets tenacity," he concluded.
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