Sunita Williams Describes India’s Beauty from Space, Wants to Visit ISRO

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who recently landed on Earth from a 286-day mission on the ISS, talked about the beauty of India from space and her eagerness to visit and work with ISRO.

April 1, 2025 – Almost four decades after Rakesh Sharma uttered those words to tell the world that India is “Saare Jahaan Se Accha” from space, Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has presented her own stunning view of the nation from space. Back from a 286-day stay on the International Space Station (ISS), Williams talked about the beautiful vistas that she had seen, particularly the towering Himalayas.

At a press conference on Monday, asked to describe how India appeared from space, Williams didn’t blink. “India is incredible, just incredible,” she said with enthusiasm. “Each time we flew over the Himalayas, we took fantastic photographs. It rolled like a ripple and flowed down into India.”

Williams described the breathtaking sight of the country from space. I have explained it previously like this ripple that occurred obviously when the plates bumped into each other, and then as it goes down into India, it is lots of lots of colors. I believe when you enter from the East into Gujarat and Mumbai, and you observe the fishing armada that is along the coastline there, it gives you a small kind of beacon—here we come.”. All across India, I believe the impression that I had was this string of lights from the larger cities to the smaller cities. It was just amazing to see at night as well as in the day, set of course against the Himalayas, which is just an amazing leading edge coming into India.

A Visit to India on the Horizon?

When queried regarding a possible trip to India and whether she would like to work on the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) space program, Williams was very eager to cooperate. “I hope we can get together sometime and exchange our stories with as many Indians as we can. It is a wonderful nation and another fine democracy struggling to insert its foot among spacefaring nations.”. I would love to be along with that and assist them as well,” she said.

Situated beside Williams, fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore jokingly asked if she was going to bring her crew members along. Williams smiled and said, “Absolutely.”

Returning to Earth After 286 Days in Space

NASA Crew-9 astronauts Williams, Nick Hague, Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov returned safely to Earth on March 18, after SpaceX’s Dragon capsule splashed down at 5:57 PM EDT.

Since returning, Williams and Wilmore have been receiving physical therapy at the Johnson Space Center to assist their bodies in readapting to Earth’s gravity a routine post-mission procedure for astronauts. Though they spent more than nine months in microgravity, both astronauts were in good spirits and excellent physical shape during the press conference. Williams even shared that she had already started running again, having jogged three miles on Sunday.

While India continues to make inroads in space exploration with its Gaganyaan mission and other ambitious ventures, the words of Williams are an inspiration for Indian aspirant astronauts. Whether through a visit in the future or, perhaps, teaming up with ISRO,