Sunita Williams safe return has sparked pride across India and the world, with leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, celebrating her achievement
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, of Indian descent, is in the news this week. Her team has returned safely to Earth after spending nine months in space. They initially planned to be in space for eight days, but technical problems extended their mission. The spacecraft returned without them in September. This week, they landed in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule alongside Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov.
After landing near Tallahassee, they were taken on stretchers for health checks. Her return is a moment of immense pride for leaders in India and across the globe, marking a significant leap in space exploration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote an emotional letter to the “illustrious daughter of India,” inviting her to visit India after her return.
Notable figures who praised her include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, among
others. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her joy: “Our daughter of India returns to us, and we are deeply, deeply happy and elated. We are profoundly happy for Butch Wilmore as well. Hail their courage, hail their return, hail human glory!” Mamata also called for a Bharat Ratna for Sunita in a post on X.
Sunita Williams, 59, is a former US Navy captain. She was born in Ohio to a Gujarati father, Deepak Pandya, from Jhulasan in Gujarat, and a Slovenian mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya. Sunita practices Hinduism and took a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and a Ganesh idol to space. She feels proud of her Indian heritage and said, “Everywhere I have lived, I have had Ganesha with me, so he had to come with me to space. The last time, I brought a small copy of the Upanishads.”
The NASA astronauts will now undergo standard protocols to mitigate the physical challenges posed by prolonged weightlessness in space. They have been sent to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will undergo recovery and return to normal life after some time.
According to Newsweek, Sunita has spent 322 days in space across several missions. She previously held the record for the most spacewalks by a female astronaut, with nine spacewalks, until Peggy Whitson broke the record in 2017. Sunita joined NASA in 1998 and has helped test new space technologies and conduct research on the International Space Station (ISS). She has been married to former police officer Michael J Williams for over 20 years.
What began as an eight-day mission became a remarkable testament to the astronauts’ resilience.
Their extended stay included over 4,500 orbits and a staggering journey of more than 121 Million statute miles.
Experts worry that spending a long time in microgravity can cause health problems for astronauts when they return to Earth’s gravity. NASA maintains that transitioning from one gravity field to another is more challenging than it sounds.
“It affects spatial orientation, head-eye and hand-eye coordination, balance, and locomotion, with some crew members experiencing space motion sickness,” the US agency stated.
The rehabilitation program includes daily two-hour sessions to help improve
mobility, build muscle strength, and increase endurance. Life on the ISS follows a set routine, focusing on dealing with weightlessness, fluid shifts in the body, and the loss of bone density. Their extended stay has provided valuable scientific insights into space exploration. Their endurance in the face of balance issues, dizziness, and muscle weakness-common due to the legs and back not supporting body weight-is commendable.
Although both astronauts have completed their mission, adjusting to life on Earth will take time.
Former US President Donald Trump has turned the issue of the stranded astronauts into a political matter. He blamed former President Joe Biden for not helping them. The White House’s official X account stated, “PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump promised to rescue the stranded astronauts while criticising Joe Biden.”
Trump mentioned Sunita, referring to her as “the woman with wild hair” in his comments.
Trump explained why he has not yet invited the NASA astronauts to the White House. “They have to get better. You have no pull in your muscles and gravity when you are up there (in space). You can lift a thousand pounds like this,” the former US President told Fox News.
Sunita and her crew’s return is a key success in space exploration. This mission will provide valuable data for future space travel and help improve spacecraft technology. The mission was critical in understanding the effects of prolonged space travel, aiding NASA and other space agencies in planning future missions, including sending humans to Mars.
Conclusion
Sunita Williams’ safe return from her extended mission in space marks a significant milestone in human space exploration. Despite the unforeseen technical setbacks that prolonged their stay, the mission has contributed valuable scientific data that will aid future space endeavors, particularly in understanding the long-term effects of space travel on the human body. Leaders and citizens alike have celebrated her achievements, with calls for national recognition reinforcing her status as a symbol of perseverance and excellence. As Sunita and her fellow astronauts undergo rehabilitation, their experiences will continue to shape the future of space travel. With missions to Mars and beyond on the horizon, their insights into endurance, adaptation, and survival in microgravity will be invaluable. This mission underscores the evolving challenges and triumphs of human spaceflight, reminding us of the limitless possibilities that lie ahead in the quest for exploration beyond Earth.
(The writer is a popular columnist. Views expressed are personal)
