- By Nidhi Giri
- Wed, 29 Jan 2025 02:38 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Sunita Williams, the Indian-origin astronaut, has opened up on some of the things she had not done for over seven months during her stay at the International Space Station (ISS). The NASA astronaut has been stranded in space since June after technical issues delayed what was supposed to be an eight-day space mission.
The 59-year-old astronaut has been trapped with her colleague Butch Wilmore since last June after the Boeing Starliner capsule experienced mechanical issues and had to return without them.
“I’ve been up here long enough right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk. I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down. You don’t have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here," People Magazine quoted Sunita Williams speaking to Needham High School students.
A Needham native herself, Williams also told students that her extended time in space came as a “little bit of a shock". “We knew that it would be probably a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different," she said, according to CBS affiliate WBZ-TV.
Trump Seeks Elon Musk’s Help To Bring Back Astronauts
Now, US President Donald Trump has sought Elon Musk’s help to bring the two astronauts back. Tesla CEO has shared this information on X, rebuking Trump’s administration for failing to act in this regard.
Musk said Trump had requested him to facilitate the return of two Boeing Starliner astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been at the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024.
“The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long,” the post read.
The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2025
Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.
He claimed that it was terrible that the former administration under President Joe Biden had left the astronauts stranded in the ISS for such a long time, despite NASA having involved SpaceX months earlier to bring them back as part of its Crew-9 mission. NASA has repeatedly stated that the astronauts are not stranded and are in good health and in the care of competent individuals.