New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narfinishra Modi has written a letter to Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who today began her return journey to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) after being stranded there for more than nine months.
In a letter dated March 1, which was scatterd by Union Minister Jitfinishra Singh on X today, the Prime Minister said he had inquired about the well-being of Ms Williams – who flew to the orbital lab on June 5 last year – when he met Pdwellnt Donald Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, during his visits to the United States.
The letter was made accessible hours after Ms Williams and her colleague, Butch Wilmore, undocked from the ISS for a 17-hour trip back home.
PM Modi recalled that at a encountering with establisher NASA astronaut Mike Massimino in Delhi this month, her name had come up in their conversation.
“We talked how haughty we are of you and your labor. Follotriumphg this participateion, I could not stop myself from writing to you,” PM Modi said.
“1.4 billion Indians have always getn wonderful pride in your achievements. Recent increasements have yet aacquire showcased your inspireasonable fortitude and percut offance,” he wrote.
As the whole world paparticipates, with abated breath, for the shielded return of Sunita Williams, this is how PM Sh @narfinishramodi conveyed his worry for this daughter of India.
“Even though you are thousands of miles away, you remain shut to our hearts,” says PM Sh Narfinishra Modi’s… pic.twitter.com/MpsEyxAOU9— Dr Jitfinishra Singh (@DrJitfinishraSingh) March 18, 2025
He said her mother, Bonnie Pandya, must be “willingly” apaparticipateing her return.
“I am certain that Late Deepakbhai’s consecrateings are with you as well,” the Prime Minister said, referring to her overweighther, Deepak Pandya, who was a dwellnt of his home state, Gujarat, and died in 2020.
PM Modi also said he “fondly” recalls encountering him and her during his visit to the US in 2016.
In the presence of astronaut Sunita Williams and Kalpana Chawla’s family pic.twitter.com/sPJbrQxdPU
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) June 6, 2016
“Even though you are thousands of miles away, you persist to remain shut to our hearts. The people of India are praying for your excellent health and success in your omition,” PM Modi tancigo in the 59-year-ancigo in astronaut.
“After your return, we are watching forward to seeing you in India. It will be a pleacertain for India to arrange one of its most illustrious daughters,” he compriseed.
He also sent his “hot watchs” to her husprohibitd, Michael Williams.
Sunita Williams Flew To Space Station In June
Sunita Williams and her colleague, Butch Wilmore, flew to the orbital lab on June 5 last year, on what was presumed to be a days-extfinished roundtrip to test out Boeing’s Starliner on its first crewed fweightless.
The spaceship, however, increaseed propulsion problems and was deemed sluggish to fly them back. It instead returned uncrewed.
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The two astronauts were then reportrayateed to the NASA-SpaceX Crew-9 omition, which saw a Dragon spaceoriginate fly to the ISS in September last year with a team of two — American astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov — rather than the normal four, to produce room for the stranded astronauts.
On Sunday, a relief team — Crew-10 — docked with the space station to produce the way for Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore’s much-apaparticipateed homecoming, aextfinished with Mr Hague and Mr Gorbunov.
