In the small village of Jhulasan in Gujarat, a NASA astronaut is a household name, inspiring children and adults with her extraordinary achievements. Sunita (Suni) Williams is more than just an Indian-origin American astronaut to these people; she is a symbol of pride and aspirations.
In fact, her latest space mission has united the community in celebration, marking her return to Earth with as much enthusiasm as they would for a wedding or the festival of Diwali.
AIM spoke to Dineshbhai Bechardas Patel, the sarpanch of Jhulasan, who shared that Williams’ photo is displayed in every local school to inspire students. The community takes pride in her, referring to her as the village’s daughter.
Stories of Williams’ visits to India (in 2007 and 2013) have left a lasting impression on the locals. So much so that the village celebrated her recent return to Earth with grand processions and food, with 15 kg of just one kind of dessert.
Though the family moved to the US way back in 1957 and Williams’ house remains empty in the same colony as the sarpanch’s, he reminisces his two meetings with the astronaut quite fondly.
Patel recalled that in 2007, Williams spoke to the villagers about the different countries of the world—India, America, Pakistan, and China. “We differentiate between these countries based on their people, culture, knowledge, advancements, and maybe, to an extent, the world wars.”
But when she looks down from space, all she sees is land and the Earth—no boundaries, no wars.
Inspiration to Women in India
Sunita Williams’ impact extends far beyond Jhulasan. Her achievements have inspired countless young people to pursue careers in science and technology. She has completed three missions to the International Space Station (ISS), setting records for spacewalks and time spent in space.
Madhumita Chakravarthi, a DRDO veteran and now the R&D head at N Space Tech (Andhra Pradesh-based space tech startup), told AIM that women like Sunita Williams and Kalpana Chawla have driven a significant shift in the gender ratios in engineering classes, with more girls taking up these fields, which was not the case in the past.
“During our time, the ratio was around 30 boys to three girls, but now it’s almost 50/50, and if not, it’s at least 40/60 in all the classes,” she said.
She also mentioned that while many girls face the pressures of marriage and family after completing their engineering degrees, role models like Williams motivate them to pursue serious professions.
Divya Kothamasu, founder and director at N Space Tech, also spoke about how big of an impact such achievements have on the youth of India, not just girls. “I was very inspired. If I were stranded in space for eight or nine months, I don’t know how I would have survived. Their willpower and perseverance is definitely inspirational, especially for women in deep tech.”
Not Just Women but the Youth
The achievements of such astronauts are not just milestones, they’re powerful catalysts for inspiration.
“For young Indians, these feats transform the seemingly impossible into tangible goals, sparking a surge of interest in STEM fields and igniting a passion for space exploration. This inspiration directly fuels the growth of India’s space sector,” Ronak Kumar Samantray, founder at Hyderabad-based TakeMe2Space, said.
Those who have been in the industry for a few years now started their careers long enough to remember the impact of Kalpana Chawla’s achievements on not just India but the world. She ignited a fire amongst them to be the next generation of innovators in the aerospace industry and contribute to their country’s aspirations.
Vinit Bansal, co-founder and CTO at PierSight Space, told AIM that he had always known that he wanted to start something in space tech. “As a kid, I used to follow Kalpana Chawla since she did her graduation from my hometown in Chandigarh. I was watching her entire achievement on live TV. That’s when I knew!”
‘I am Going To My Father’s Home Country’
During a recent NASA press conference with SpaceX Crew-9, Williams lit up when asked about India, the birthplace of her father.
She spoke about gazing at it from space, calling the view of the Himalayas “just amazing”. “You can see, like I’ve described it before, this ripple happened obviously when the plates collided. And then as it flows down into India, it is many, many colours.”
The night-time view, she added, was equally breathtaking. “It was like the network of lights, from the big cities to the smaller cities. Incredible to look at night as well as during the day.”
She expressed hope to return to India and connect with its growing space community, particularly showing excitement for the upcoming Axiom mission featuring an astronaut of Indian origin. “They [India] will have a hometown hero of their own.”
“I hope I can meet up at some point and we can share our experiences with as many people in India as possible,” she said, calling India “another wonderful democracy trying to put its foot in the space countries”.
It wasn’t just about the journey, it was the lesson behind it. Williams urged young people not to be discouraged by unexpected detours. She hoped that the work they’ve done in space encourages the next generation of kids to understand how important that is and how they can become involved.
“Part of that is resilience. Sometimes it takes some turns, some rights, some lefts, and then you keep focused on the goal.”
She recalled conducting experiments up there with kids, universities, and companies, as well as trying out new guidance, navigational control, and robots flying inside the space station. As a passionate advocate for STEM, Williams sees human spaceflight as a powerful educational tool.
“That is pretty awesome that you can really touch and talk to kids on the ground while doing experiments up there. They have their finger on the pulse of science experiments, and they can understand that and think to themselves — ‘I could be part of this one day’.”
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