Joyous celebrations erupted in Jhulasan, the native village of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, as villagers marked her safe return to Earth with traditional aarti and prayers on Wednesday. Williams had spent nearly nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) before returning safely.
The festivities commenced soon after the successful splashdown of the Dragon spacecraft, which brought back Williams along with Crew-9 members Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Prior to the landing, Williams’ cousin, Dinesh Rawal, had organised a special ‘Yagna’ in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to pray for her safe return.
Confirming the crew’s return, SpaceX announced the splashdown, while fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague shared that the crew was “grinning ear to ear” upon safely reaching Earth. “Splashdown of Dragon confirmed — welcome back to Earth, Nick, Suni, Butch, and Aleks!” SpaceX posted on X (formerly Twitter).
NASA commentator Sandra Jones described the serene landing scene, noting the “breathtaking views of a calm, glass-like ocean.” SpaceX-operated recovery ships quickly moved in to retrieve the capsule. The Dragon spacecraft was soon lifted from the water and secured onto the recovery vessel’s rig, commonly referred to as the “Dragon’s nest.”
Moments before splashdown, Crew Dragon’s parachutes deployed, slowing the capsule’s descent to under 20 miles per hour, according to CNN. After landing, the astronauts underwent initial medical checks aboard the recovery ship. They are set to receive continuous health monitoring over the coming days and weeks, followed by further evaluations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Williams’ and Wilmore’s mission had been closely followed and, at times, the subject of public speculation regarding the duration of their stay in space. Some reports suggested they were “stranded” or “abandoned.” However, both astronauts have repeatedly dismissed these claims.
“That’s been the narrative from day one: stranded, abandoned, stuck — and I get it, we both get it,” Wilmore said in an interview with CNN in February. “Help us change the narrative. Let’s change it to: prepared and committed, despite what you’ve been hearing. That’s what we prefer.”
Their return, after undocking from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET, marked a successful end to a mission that captured global attention and once again demonstrated the strength of international space collaboration.
— ANI
