Astronaut Sunita L. Williams is back on Earth after spending nine unplanned months in space. A pod of dolphins inspected Sunita’s capsule as it bobbed in the ocean, waiting to be pulled aboard a rescue ship. Sunita left Earth in June 2024 for an eight-day mission to test Boeing Starliner’s capsule. However, the capsule suffered technical issues, and NASA decided to keep her on the ISS (International Space Station) and return the Starliner to Earth empty.

Sunita Lyn ‘Suni’ Williams was born on 19 September 1965 in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Massachusetts, to be her hometown. Her father, Deepak Pandya, was an Indian-American neuroanatomist from Mehsana district, Gujarat, while her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya is a Slovene American.

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Williams received her commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy from the United States Naval Academy in May 1987 at the age of 22.  After a six-month temporary assignment at the Naval Coastal System Command, she received her designation as a Basic Diving Officer and then reported to Naval Aviation Training Command. She was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1989. She served as a Captain in the U.S. Navy and has held the rank of ISS Commander twice.

Elected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1998, she reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. Following a period of intense training and evaluation, Williams worked in Moscow with the Russian Space Agency on the Russian contribution to the space station and with the first Expedition Crew. Following the return of Expedition 1, Williams worked within the robotics branch on the station’s Robotic Arm and the follow-on Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. As a NEEMO2 crew member, she lived underwater in the Aquarius habitat for nine days. After her first flight, she served as Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office. She then supported a long-duration mission as Flight Engineer for Expedition 32 and International Space Station Commander for Expedition 33.

Expeditions

Expedition 14/15: Launched on STS-116 and returned on STS-117, spending 195 days in space and completing four spacewalks.

Expedition 32/33: Launched on Soyuz TMA-05M, served as a flight engineer and later as commander, spending 127 days in space and completing three spacewalks.

Expedition 71/72: Launched on the Boeing Crew Flight Test in June 2024, which was supposed to be an eight-day mission but extended to nine months due to technical issues with the spacecraft. She returned to Earth on 18 March 2025, as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

Williams has completed nine spacewalks, totalling 62 hours and 6 minutes, setting a record for the most spacewalk time by a woman and ranking fourth overall. She also ran the Boston Marathon on a treadmill while in space in 2007 and completed a triathlon in orbit in 2012.

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on 5 June 2024 for its first crewed flight, arriving at the space station on 6 June. Following the agency’s decision to return Starliner un-crewed, the duo became Expedition 71/72 crewmembers and returned home in March 2025, aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

She was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the World Gujarati Society, and she was the first person of Indian descent who was not an Indian citizen to be presented with the award.

Suni has been creating videos from the International Space Station educating earthlings about the various day-to-day life of an astronaut. From showing how the bathrooms work in space to having her hair stand up straight and the various mechanisms of food packets, she is never out of energy when explaining how space works. She also explains how the human body completely adjusts to the transition between space and earth. According to Williams, it takes about a week to adjust to the non-gravitational environment, and she is always eager to return to space for her next expedition. In her videos Williams has always given messages of inclusion; while crossing over to the Russian section of the space station she says, “We don’t need a passport to visit there.”

Williams is a follower of Hinduism. She has carried with her totems of the religion to space, including a Gita and a copy of the Upanishads. Sunita Williams is the second woman commander of Expedition 33, which began on 15 September 2012. Williams was also a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Society of Flight Test Engineers, and the American Helicopter Association.

Williams is an inspiration for children from all over the globe, making things achievable, what was impossible 50 years ago.

Key points:

– Father Deepak Pandya was an Indian-American neuroanatomist, and mother Ursuline Bonnie Pandya is a Slovene American.

– Commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy in May 1987, designated as a Basic Diving Officer and later as a Naval Aviator in July 1989.

– Held the rank of ISS Commander twice.

– Elected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1998, reported for training in August 1998.

– Completed nine spacewalks, totalling 62 hours and 6 minutes, setting a record for the most spacewalk time by a woman.

– First non-resident Indian to receive the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the World Gujarati Society.

– Sunita Willams, during her long 9-month space expedition, logged over 900 hours of scientific research, conducting more than 150 experiments.

Compiled by: Priyanjali Das, Mohul Bhattacharya