American astronaut and former US Navy officer Sunita Lyn Williams returns to Earth after spending over nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Born in Euclid, Ohio, on September 19, 1965, Williams grew up in Needham, Massachusetts. Her father, Deepak Pandya, originally from Jhulasan, Gujarat, migrated to the US in 1957, while her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, is of Slovenian origin.

Williams is also known for embracing her cultural roots, having carried a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a packet of samosas, and a Lord Ganesh idol to the ISS—symbolising her deep connection to her Indian heritage.

Here’s her journey to space and back and what awaits as the astronauts once they adjust to earth’s gravity.

Video: 

Production: Renil S Varghese.

VO: Siddharth MC

Script, visuals: PTI, PTI via NASA

Published on March 19, 2025