Sunita Williams Retires After 27 Years, Samosas To Bhagavad Gita, She Took Indian Culture To Space

Sunita Williams is a name that hardly needs any introduction. The American astronaut of Indian descent marked a three-decade-long career with NASA and retired from her 27 years of service. The trailblazer in human spaceflight, Sunita has many records to her name. Her career was marked by long-duration missions, repeated leadership roles and record-setting spacewalks.

Sunita Williams carried her Indian culture to space

Born as Sunita Lyn Pandya in 1965, Sunita grew up in Massachusetts, USA. Her father, Deepal Pandya, was an Indian American neuroanatomist, while her mother was a Slovene American. Since her father was an Indian, Sunita always carried her Indian roots with her. There are multiple instances in which Sunita carried her Indian culture into space.

Sunita Williams savoured samosas on her space mission

During her mission aboard the Boeing Starliner, Sunita made sure to bring her favourite Indian snack. Sunita loves Indian cuisine and has often expressed her fondness for it. Since NASA allows astronauts to choose their meals before launch, Sunita made sure to bring her favourite snack, Samosa. She not just satisfied her taste buds, but also carried a piece of her culture with her to her mission.

Sunita Williams celebrated Diwali in space

During her 27 years on the International Space Station, Sunita had many memorable experiences, including celebrating Diwali. While celebrating the festival of lights, Sunita fondly remembered her father, who migrated to the US from Gujarat, India. She observed the festival of lights from 260 miles above the ground, and it truly felt like being close to home.

Sunita Williams carried the Bhagavad Gita to stay focused

Sunita Williams has often mentioned carrying religious books along with her during her space missions. And one of them is the Bhagavad Gita, which she never misses carrying along with her during every mission. Sunita had once revealed in an interaction with the NDTV that the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads are the books she never misses to carry as they give her a sense of peace and clarity, and also help her remain focused.

Sunita Williams carried Lord Ganesha’s idol for luck

Just as the sacred Indian texts, Sunita also carried Lord Ganesha’s idol with her, believing it to be her lucky charm. In the same interaction with NDTV, Sunita revealed being a little superstitious and mentioned carrying the Lord’s idol along with her. Talking about carrying a sense of spirituality with her by bringing Lord Ganesha, she said:

“He had to come with me to space.”

Sunita Williams' journey as an astronaut

Sunita Williams was a Navy test pilot and later rose to the rank of captain before retiring and joining NASA. On December 9, 2006, Sunita embarked on her first mission to space, which ended on June 22, 2007. During her time aboard, she set a world record by completing four spacewalks totalling 29 hours and 17 minutes.

Sunita Williams’ key missions aboard the International Space Station

In her almost three-decade-long career, Sunita completed nine spacewalks and spent a total of 62 hours and six minutes outside the station. She was also the first person to run a full marathon while in orbit, completing the Boston Marathon aboard the space station. Her latest space mission was in June 2024, where she launched Boeing’s Starliner for its crewed test flight. She returned to Earth in March 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew-9 spacecraft.

What do you think about Sunita Williams' love for her Indian origin?

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