India is amazing from space, says Indian American astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams, who spent nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after an unexpectedly prolonged mission.
“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,” she said speaking, along with Butch Wilmore, at their first press conference since splashed down on March 18.
“Every time we went over the Himalayas, and I’ll tell you, Butch got some incredible pictures of the Himalayas. Just amazing,” 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 colors,” she said.
READ: SpaceX to send first high-speed internet satellite into space in 2019 (November 20, 2017)
“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.
Revealing the one meal she’d been craving in space Williams said that more than anything, she’d been craving a simple reminder of home; a grilled cheese sandwich, which she made as soon as she got back home after nine months aboard the ISS.
“My father was a vegetarian so I had a good grilled cheese sandwich when I got home. That reminded me of him,” said the daughter of an Indian father and a Slovak mother.
Williams’s father Deepak Pandya hailed from Gujarat and came to the U.S. in 1958 where he did his internship and residency training in Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. She was born in Ohio to Deepak and Ursuline Bonnie Pandya.
“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 ((Ax-4) coming up, pretty awesome,” she said.
When Wilmore asked Williams if she plans to take her crew members on the trip to India with her, she replied with a laugh “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.”
She said that the first thing she had wanted to do after landing was, “hug my husband and hug my dogs. And I’ll say in that order,” she added, jokingly.
The Ax-4 commercial astronaut mission to the ISS will include Lucknow, India- born Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla. He will be India’s second astronaut after former Indian Air Force officer Rakesh Sharma to go to space since 1984.
“They’ll have a hometown hero there of their own who will be able to talk about how wonderful the ISS is from his perspective,” said Williams. “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 shared her workout routine to stay fit and healthy during her nine month stay on the ISS. “Every single day you got to get on the machine and work out,” she said. “It actually is a stress relief to able to have that time up there and run a bike or life weights. It’s really great.”
“Our nutritionist are looking out for us making sure that we get back to planet Earth with gravity, we’re able to function,” Williams said. She and Wilmore initially “struggled to readjust” after landing back on Earth after nine months in space.
READ: Sunita Williams grows romaine lettuce on International Space Station (December 6, 2024)
“I’m doing well, and the team is working hard to recondition our bodies,” said Williams who has now been back on Earthfor two weeks. “The first day was challenging as we struggled to readjust, but we are recovering. We have been following strength training routines, including weightlifting and weighted squats, to regain our strength.”
Williams told Fox News ahead of today’s press conference that she’d go back to space “in a heartbeat.” She conceded that her stay in space had been marked by delays and challenges but said her experience was unforgettable.