Sunita Williams: Pioneering Astronaut And Record-Setting Spacewalker

American astronaut and former U.S. Navy officer Sunita Lyn Williams returns to Earth after spending over nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Born in Euclid, Ohio, on September 19, 1965, Williams grew up in Needham, Massachusetts. Her father, Deepak Pandya, originally from Jhulasan, Gujarat, migrated to the U.S. in 1957, while her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, is of Slovenian origin. Williams is also known for embracing her cultural roots, having carried a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a packet of samosas, and a Lord Ganesh idol to the ISS symbolising her deep connection to her Indian heritage. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, she served as a Navy helicopter pilot before retiring in 2017 with 3,000+ flying hours across 30 aircraft.