New Delhi, March 18: American astronaut of Indian origin Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore left for Earth early on Tuesday after spending more than nine months on the International Space Center (ISS). The SpaceX spacecraft has left for the destination from the International Space Station carrying the astronauts. In such a situation, the whole world including India is praying for their safe return to Earth.
A letter written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is going viral on social media. In this, he has written that the people of India are praying for the good health of Sunita Williams and the success of the mission. Not only this, he invited Sunita to come to India and said that he himself is eager to meet Sunita.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday shared a letter written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to NASA astronaut Sunita Williams on the social media platform X. The Prime Minister wrote this emotional letter on March 1.
In the letter, Prime Minister Modi expressed pride in Sunita’s achievements and expressed the best wishes of 1.4 billion Indians for her return. He wrote, “Recent events have once again demonstrated your inspiring perseverance and resolve. Even though you are thousands of miles away, you are close to our hearts. The people of India are praying for your good health and the success of the mission.” Modi also told that he had inquired about Sunita’s well-being during his meetings with US President Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Apart from this, he mentioned his recent meeting with former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino in Delhi, where Sunita’s name came up in discussion. After this meeting, he got the inspiration to write a letter to Sunita. In the letter, Modi also invited Sunita to visit India, writing, “After your return, we look forward to seeing you in India. It will be a pleasure for India to host one of its most distinguished daughters.”
He also wished Sunita’s mother Bonnie Pandya and her husband Michael Williams, and remembered her late father Deepak Pandya, whom he met during his visit to the US in 2016.
It is noteworthy that Sunita and her colleague Butch Wilmore left the ISS for Earth at 11:05 am on Tuesday after staying on the ISS for more than 9 months. Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore are returning on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Their landing is expected on the Florida coast at 3:27 am on March 19. This landing is dependent on weather and technical preparations.
Famous American astronaut of Indian origin Sunita Lynn Williams is an experienced astronaut of NASA. She was born on 19 September 1965 in Euclid, Ohio, USA. Her father Deepak Pandya was from Gujarat in India, while her mother Bonnie Pandya is of Slovenian origin.
Sunita started her career as an officer in the US Navy and later joined NASA in 1998. She is known as the female astronaut who has spent the most time in space. She holds several records, such as the most spacewalks by a woman (7 times) and the most spacewalk time (50 hours, 40 minutes).
Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore’s efforts to return to the International Space Station have been plagued by several technical and logistical challenges. The two departed for the ISS on June 5, 2024 on the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner, which was originally an 8-day mission. However, their return was repeatedly delayed due to problems such as thruster malfunctions and helium leaks in the Starliner.
NASA initially planned to return with Starliner, considering it safe, but after thorough investigation, it was decided in August 2024 that Starliner would return to Earth without a crew, which happened in September 2024. After this, Williams and Wilmore were planned to be brought back by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Their return was initially scheduled for February 2025, but delays in the launch of the SpaceX Crew-10 mission – preparation of the new Dragon spacecraft and weather-related problems postponed it to March 2025.
The Crew-10 mission launched on March 14, 2025 and docked with the ISS on March 16. After this, the process of returning the members of Crew-9 (along with Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov), including Williams and Wilmore, began.
In these efforts, the NASA and SpaceX teams are constantly prioritizing safety, due to which precautions were taken at every step. This incident underlines the complexity and unpredictable challenges of space travel.
