Sunita Williams Return LIVE: Amid PM Modi's Letter, Exploring Her Past India Visits

Sunita Williams' name is resounding not just in the U.S. but also in India. The NASA astronaut, who is making her return to Earth after spending 9 months at the ISS, will be given a hero's welcome as NASA has revealed plans to have enthusiasts watch her touchdown live. She and Butch Wilmore dedicated the past few months to doing their jobs alone as multiple reports claimed that they were left to struggle in space.

However, Elon Musk's SpaceX stepped up, and it has launched a mission to bring the astronauts back to earth. The mission is almost successful as the undocking mechanism was completed, and NASA will stream the event live from 04:45 PM ET. With both their families waiting, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been receiving messages from important people across the globe.

PM Modi's Heartfelt letter to NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams

One such person to have sent a message to the Indian-origin astronaut is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While sending his best wishes, Modi reveals that he is awaiting a visit from Sunita to India. The Prime Minister's message reads, "Even though you are thousands of miles away, you remain close to our hearts. It will be a pleasure for India to host one of its most illustrious daughters."

PM Modi wrote this heartfelt letter and gave it to Mike Massimmino at an event a few days ago.

Sunita Williams Previous India Visits:

Sunita Williams has her origins in India. Sunita's father, Deepak Pandya, was a neuroanatomist from the Mehasana district, Gujarat, while her mother was a Slovene-American. Her name is Ursuline Bonnie Pandya. Even though both her parents lived in Massachusetts, Sunita has had a special love and affection for India.

Williams practices Hinduism. Before her first space exploration, Sunita Williams carried the Bhagavad Gita with her and even carried the "Om" symbol. She was conferred with the Padma Bhushan, but owing to her work commitments, she couldn't come to New Delhi to receive the award.

But Sunita visited her ancestral village, Jhulasana, and also made a stop at the Sabarmati Ashram during her trip to Gujarat back in 2007. Not just this, Sunita Williams managed to visit India another time in 2013, where she spent a brief time of just 3 hours for a lecture and an interactive session in Kolkata. The NASA astronaut's lecture was at the Science City, one of the largest and finest science museums in the world.

Even though Sunita managed to visit India only twice; she met PM Narendra Modi during his visit to the US back in 2016.