New Delhi: Indian-origin NASA astronaut has safely returned to Earth following an unexpected nine-month stay in space. Her family has confirmed that she plans to visit India in the near future.

Williams, along with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, initially launched on June 5 last year aboard Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule. The mission was intended to last just one week. However, due to technical malfunctions with the Starliner, had to return the spacecraft without its crew and arrange for their return using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. This unexpected change significantly delayed their journey back, extending their mission until February.

"That moment was surreal," said Sunita Williams’ cousin, Falguni Pandya, in an interview with NDTV. She also confirmed that Williams is planning a visit to India soon.

“We’re also looking forward to a family vacation together, and there’s going to be plenty of family time,” Pandya added. When asked whether Williams might embark on another space mission—possibly even becoming the first person to set foot on Mars—Pandya responded, “That will be her choice.”

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What was initially planned as a brief mission for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore turned into an extraordinary 286-day stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS)—an extension of 278 days beyond their original schedule. Their return to Earth faced additional delays due to technical problems with the SpaceX capsule, eventually pushing their departure into March. After their replacement crew arrived on Sunday, NASA gave the green light for their journey back, prioritizing an earlier return because of potentially unfavorable weather conditions later in the week.

Before departing the ISS, Williams and Wilmore said their goodbyes to NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. Both had reached the station last fall on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which had two vacant seats specially reserved for the Starliner astronauts’ eventual return.

By the time Williams and Wilmore safely splashed down, they had completed an impressive 4,576 orbits of Earth, covering an astounding distance of 121 million miles (195 million kilometers).

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