Sunita Williams: Pride of India; Here's Why?

Born in Ohio to Dr. Deepak Pandya, an Indian-American physician, Sunita Williams joined the US Navy as a pilot after her graduation.

She began her space journey when she was selected by NASA in 1998. After completing her training, she went on her first journey n December 2006 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, travelling to ISS.

She conducted research and completed three spacewalks during her four months on board the International Space Station during Expedition 32/33, her second trip. Williams demonstrated her spacewalk skills once more, recording a total of 50 hours and 40 minutes.

Williams is married to Michael J. Williams, a US Marshal, and has been married for 20 years.

Williams has been received many awards throughout her career, including a Padma Bhushan and Navy Commendation Medal and the NASA Spaceflight Medal.

After spending nine months trapped in space, Sunita and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have finally made it home on SpaceX's Dragon spaceship. After the Boeing Starliner experienced a technical malfunction, her space mission—which was originally only intended to last eight days—became a nine-month struggle within the ISS.