Sunita Williams - Astronaut

Sunita Williams, the renowned NASA astronaut, has retired after an illustrious 27-year career, effective December 27, 2025. With 608 days in space, she's the second-highest cumulative time in space by a NASA astronaut. Williams completed three missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS), setting multiple records, including nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours and 6 minutes, the most by a woman. Her recent mission, part of Boeing's Starliner test flight, was initially planned for eight days but extended to nine months due to technical issues. Williams returned to Earth in March 2025 aboard SpaceX's Crew-9 mission. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised Williams as "a trailblazer in human spaceflight," saying her work has laid the foundation for future missions to the Moon and Mars. Sunita Williams was born on September 19, 1965, in Euclid, Ohio, USA, to Deepak Pandya, a neuroanatomist from Gujarat, India, and Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, of Slovene origin. She grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, with her brother Jay Thomas and sister Dina Annad. *Education:* - Graduated from Needham High School in 1983 - Earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Science from the United States Naval Academy in 1987 - Completed a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1995 *Family:* - Married to Michael J. Williams, a federal marshal in Texas, for over 20 years - No children - Practices Hinduism and has taken a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and an Om symbol to space