Sunita Williams’ space journey: Who is Indian-American astronaut, what did she eat in space? All you need to know

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s space saga came to a dramatic end on March 19 when they landed back on Earth on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. They were “rescued” by another astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

The four-member Crew-9 left the International Space Station (ISS) on March 18, and after completing over a 15-hour journey, they splashed down off the Florida coast around 3:30 am on March 19.

The world keenly watched Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s homecoming. In the last two days, the online search for Sunita Williams, as per Google trends, touched 2 million. As this intriguing space journey came to an end, here’s a detailed recap about Sunita Williams and her Starliner, SpaceX missions.

Who is Sunita Williams?

Sunita Williams is a well-known NASA Astronaut and US Navy Captain (Ret). She was born on September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio to Dr. Deepak and Bonnie Pandya. She considers Needham, Massachusetts to be her hometown.

Sunita Williams studied in Needham High School, Needham, Massachusetts, 1983. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Science from US Naval Academy, 1987. She also completed her Master of Science in Engineering Management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.

Sunita Williams’ age and family

Sunita Williams is 59 years old. Suni and her husband Michael enjoy hanging out with their dogs, working out, working on houses, working on cars, working on airplanes, hiking and camping, her profile on NASA read.

Is Sunita Williams Indian?

Sunita Williams has roots in India. She was the second American astronaut of Indian heritage to go into space, after Kalpana Chawla.

Her father Deepak Pandya was a neuroanatomist and was born in the Jhulasan village in Gujarat, India. Sunita Williams’ cousin recently told News 18 in an interview, “Sunita is a proud daughter of Gujarat, and her village, Jhulasan, is celebrating her return.”

ALSO READ: Sunita Williams’ cousin highlights NASA astronaut’s Indian roots: ‘Proud daughter of Gujarat

Sunita Williams’s space experience

Sunita Williams was the Starliner Crew Flight Test Pilot. She is the veteran of three space missions (Expeditions 14/15, 32/33 and 71/72). She was the ISS commander for Expedition 33.

Why was Sunita Williams ‘stuck’ in space?

First, NASA has maintained that she was not “stuck” or “stranded” in space. The space agency had a lifeboat ready at all the times to rescue the two Starliner astronauts (Sunita and Bucth). The agency was just waiting for the right time to bring them back, an official said on Wednesday.

Coming to the mission, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, for its first crewed flight, arriving at the International Space Station on June 6.

Initially expected to last just around a week, their Starliner mission was extended to more than nine months due to issues with their Boeing Starliner capsule, which delayed their return.

Following NASA’s decision to return Starliner uncrewed, 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.

ALSO READ: Who are Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, rescuers of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore?

Will Sunita Williams’ body struggle on Earth after spending nine months in space?

A NASA official said the astronauts may undergo “vascular and cardio reconditioning” and may feel “dizzy” as their bodies readjust to Earth’s gravity. NASA’s Steve Stich told the media that the body of astronauts “is used to being in microgravity now, the vestibular response is such that you feel disoriented and dizzy and have trouble getting up.”

ALSO READ: Sunita Williams may feel ‘dizzy, have trouble getting up’; NASA tells how astronaut’s body will struggle on Earth

What was Sunita Williams’ fitness routine in space?

Dana Weigel, manager of the International Space Station, had last year said that the routines of the two astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, were “adjusted” as they shifted from a short-term mission to a longer-term mission.

“Exercise is optional for the very shortest duration missions, something like an eight-day mission. When we do long-duration, we switch them over to a standard long-duration mission. So, as they have been on board the ISS, we have adjusted their routines and so on,” Weigel said.

The NASA official had said they are following normal exercise regiments that include a high degree of cardio-vascular work as well as resistance training. “So they are doing the standard amount that we have all the crew members do at this point,” she added.

What did Sunita Williams eat in space?

According to The New York Post, her diet included pre-packaged comfort foods like pizza, roast chicken, and shrimp cocktails, along with freeze-dried fruits and vegetables.

A source familiar with the Boeing Starliner mission issues was quoted as saying that the crew’s intake of fresh produce was restricted to maintaining a nutritious diet.

Celebrating Thanksgiving last year, Sunita Williams told NBC news that the astronauts will be treated with “some smoked turkey, some cranberry, apple cobbler, green beans and mushrooms and mashed potatoes.”

NASA had also shared a video message from the astronauts stationed at the ISS earlier. The astronauts in the video shared that they had been provided with food items like butternut squash, apples, sardines, and smoked turkey for the occasion.

Sunita Williams’ achievements in Space

Sunita Williams has completed 62 hours and 6 minutes of total spacewalk time over the course of her career, the most of any woman astronaut, and fourth on NASA’s all-time list, NASA said.

Williams has now logged the second-most time in space by a US astronaut, with 608 days total over her three flights.

During her latest mission (Starliner and SpaceX), she spent 286 days in space, more than the average of six months.

Sunita Williams have been accorded with these awards:

1. DSSM (2), Legion of Merit

2. Navy Commendation Medal (2)

3. Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal

4. Humanitarian Service Medal and various other service awards.