Talking about numerous opportunities in space, retired NASA astronaut Sunita Williams said young people should pursue a career, explore more, and take part in the sector
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who retired from the space agency and is visiting India, has expressed her desire to go to the moon but said she would pass that opportunity onto the new generation.
Williams, 60, said she is hopeful that India and the United States will collaborate in space. Talking about numerous opportunities in space, she said young people should pursue a career, explore more, and take part in the sector.
“I hope the US and India will work together in space…I would love to go to the moon, but pass this onto the new generation. So many opportunities for young people in space…they should explore more and participate more,” Williams told News18 in an exclusive interview.
She said it feels good to be back in India and she had made plans to go on a vacation once she returned to Earth from space.
“It’s good to be back in India. We went through a longer routine to get back in form after we returned to Earth. We needed a mental break as we knew we would be longer in space than anticipated; we loved being in space and had plans when we returned to India…to go on a vacation. We were relieved when we were returning to Earth. My whole family was very supportive,” she said.
The astronaut said her experience in space was unique and she wanted to share it with everyone as it had been “great” to be a NASA astronaut.
“I took food to the spacecraft, which represented my culture. It was great to be a NASA astronaut,” she added.
Williams had got stuck in space when an eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) had turned out to be a challenge of a lifetime as problems cropped up on their Boeing space flight that stretched her stay in orbit to over nine months. She had a stellar 27-year career during which she completed three missions aboard the ISS and set various human spaceflight records,
“After 27 years of service, NASA astronaut Suni Williams retired from the agency, effective Dec. 27, 2025. Williams completed three missions aboard the International Space Station, setting numerous human spaceflight records throughout her career,” NASA said in a statement issued on January 20.
Excerpts from the interview:
How does it feel to be back in India?
It’s great to be back in India. I have been looking forward to coming to see people here for a long time but was a little bit occupied with a couple of things going on both on the planet and off the planet.
How is Kerala?
Kerala is one of the places my father had talked a lot about. So, I was excited to come and see it for myself and experience the wonderful food and people. I haven’t experienced everything yet but I had a little taste of it when I was in Sharjah for a literary fest.
What is your favourite food from Kerala?
I like those little peppers that are in the yogurt; I had those for the first time today…they are hot but they are pretty awesome. I know there is a lot to try and I just landed here last night. By the end of the week, I will have a favourite.
A mission planned for eight days but was extended for nine months. How was the situation? How did you cope with it mentally and physically?
Butch Wilmore and I, we both like to work out. We had planned from the very beginning. I am really glad that we did that. It set us up for a longer routine just to make sure we are physically okay up there for nine months and that was one of the best parts of the day…when you can get on the treadmill, lift weights every day to maintain your bone density and muscle mass. Also, it’s a good time to take a mental break. Obviously, we needed a break. We knew we were going to be longer up there, more than eight days. It was fun at first because obviously I love space…the decision making process is very intricate. We all had places to come back to, go on vacation. You know, Butch’s kids, my mom who is getting older. So, all of that started weighing on us. I was relieved when the decision was made. When I made the call, my family and friends were very supportive. ‘Okay, we are not going to come back for another six months’. They were like, ‘Okay have a good time, come back in a safe spacecraft and keep us informed’.
Did you feel helpless at any point of time?
Not necessarily helpless; there were hundreds if not thousands of people working on a solution. This programme is much bigger than us. We just happened to be on the spacecraft at that time. We knew we were not alone in this ride and will be fine.
You mentioned that the first thing you did upon reaching the ISS was to locate your “home” – India and Slovenia, from where your parents are. How did seeing Earth from space shape your connection to your roots and family?
Well, the best thing to do is to share that this is a planet and we only occupy about 28 percent. Having the experience, picturing all the people I know down there and globally thinking about the rest of the population on the planet, my experience was very unique and I would like to share it with people. Everyone could sit back and think, just for a second, about their role and how we should get along together.
India is preparing for the Gaganyaan mission. How do you see India’s space missions?
Everything is up and coming for the things that happened recently. Capt (Shubhanshu) Shukla is the pilot on that mission, so it is awesome. Our partnership with the Indian space agency for sensors and spacecraft, getting ready to go back to the moon is awesome. I think the Indian space programme, imagination is the limit. I will be cheering them along.
With India expanding its presence in space, how do you see international collaboration particularly between ISRO and NASA shaping the future of space exploration?
Partnership with other agencies is just incredible because we can do things that we couldn’t do on our own. We have five major agencies, which contributed to the international space agency. We had people from other counties being part of the space agencies. So, I think this is an opening door for many other nations to be part of this joint cooperation and exploration. I think it’s very important, and it all goes back to that concept that we spoke of earlier. This is one planet, we all come from here.
Do you have plans to visit the moon?
I would love to go to the moon, but I think I am passing that onto the next generation of astronauts. I have hopefully been able to give them some good ideas, not too many bad ideas. I am excited for them to do that.
We have heard that you are a lover of samosas and even carried a Ganesha while on your space mission. What does it mean to you?
These little artefacts from India, including food and even food from Slovenia, have gone with me to space. It’s just sort of a representation of where I come from, what defines me, my parents and their culture. You can’t get away from that and I don’t want to. Because I think it enriches the whole experience and to share the space station, space explorations with those cultures was really meaningful and important to me.
What are your post-retirement plans? Will we see you more in India?
That would be great. I hope so, now time is on my schedule, a little bit more. It was great being a NASA astronaut, doing projects I was assigned; I loved it and now I have a little bit more free time to spend with family and friends, and that means coming to places like India and Slovenia.
Any plans to collaborate with the space programmes here?
Not yet, we’ll see what happens. We’ll see.
You are inspiration to many students and young scientists. Any words of advice for them, especially girls?
There are so many opportunities out there, don’t hesitate, go for it, just do it. I am here at the literary festival in Kerala. Reading and understanding different concepts from different people is all put together in doing research.
Of the nine spacewalks you did, which is the most memorable?
Probably the first is most memorable. My second to last one was pretty intense because my head was too close to doing an operation next to a spacecraft that was bringing us help. During my last spacewalk, I kept talking about space exploration and spacecraft…we had to take a box on a platform and we used a couple of crowbars, so sometimes a simple instrument is a tool you need.
‘TRAILBLAZER IN HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT’
Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams was born to a Gujarati father, Deepak Pandya, hailing from Jhulasan in Mehsana district and a Slovenian mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, on September 19, 1965, in Euclid, Ohio, in the US.
“Suni Williams has been a trailblazer in human spaceflight, shaping the future of exploration through her leadership aboard the space station and paving the way for commercial missions to low Earth orbit,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman was quoted as saying in the statement. “Her work advancing science and technology has laid the foundation for Artemis missions to the Moon and advancing toward Mars, and her extraordinary achievements will continue to inspire generations to dream big and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement, and thank you for your service to NASA and our nation.”
Williams logged 608 days in space – second on the list of cumulative time in space by a NASA astronaut. She ranks sixth on the list of longest single spaceflight by an American, tied with NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, both logging 286 days during NASA’s Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew-9 missions, it said.
She also completed nine spacewalks, totalling 62 hours and six minutes, ranking as the most spacewalk time by a woman and fourth-most on the all-time cumulative spacewalk duration list. She was the first person to run a marathon in space, NASA said.
