PM Modi welcomes Sunita Williams, NASA colleagues after safe return: 'Earth missed you'

Image posted by PM Modi on X

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday extended a warm welcome to Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams as she returned to earth in a SpaceX's Dragon capsule after an extended stay of 9 months in space.

"Welcome back, Crew9! The Earth missed you," PM Modi said on X.

Praising the grit, courage and boundless human spirit of the NASA astronauts, PM Modi said that Sunita Williams and the Crew9 astronauts have once again shown us what perseverance truly means.

Welcome back, #Crew9! The Earth missed you.Theirs has been a test of grit, courage and the boundless human spirit. Sunita Williams and the #Crew9 astronauts have once again shown us what perseverance truly means. Their unwavering determination in the face of the vast unknown pic.twitter.com/FkgagekJ7C
Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 19, 2025

"Their unwavering determination in the face of the vast unknown will forever inspire millions," he said.

The Prime Minister added that space exploration is about pushing the limits of human potential, daring to dream, and having the courage to turn those dreams into reality.

"Sunita Williams, a trailblazer and an icon, has exemplified this spirit throughout her career. We are incredibly proud of all those who worked tirelessly to ensure their safe return. They have demonstrated what happens when precision meets passion and technology meets tenacity," he said.

The post comes hours after Sunita, along with Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov made a splash down off Florida's coast around 3.27am IST.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth on Tuesday after nine months' stay in the space station. Their eight-day journey in the space stretched to nine months due to glitch in their Boeing space craft.

A former US Navy captain, Williams, 59, was born to a Gujarati father, Deepak Pandya, hailing from Jhulasan in Mehsana district, and Slovenian mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, on September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio.