Astronaut Sunita Williams recounts her experience at space station

India Today

NASA astronauts returned after a nine-month stay at the International Space Station, which was originally planned to be nine days. The crew faced challenges with packaged and freeze-dried food for the extended duration.

Transcript

00:00For the first time you hear directly from Sunita Williams, what was it like in the space

00:05station, in space literally for 9 months, a journey that was supposed to be for 9 days

00:12turning into 9 months and that is when you realize the uncertainty and the difficulties

00:19one has to face, packaged and freeze dried food was eaten for 9 months, say she ate grilled

00:27cheese sandwich after landing, so the moment she landed she decided she doesn't want to

00:33have the frozen food and the first taste she wanted to have was the grilled cheese sandwich,

00:38remember this is the first time that you hear how butch Willmore, Sunita Williams were in

00:44the space, many call it stranded, many say it was also a lesson and work being done while

00:50they were on board the International Space Station, so what was the first step that she

00:54took when she landed, first hugged my husband and the dogs, butch Willmore says responsibility

01:02of the space saga is on me, so they clearly realized the responsibility on their shoulders,

01:08remember it's incredible, a 59-year-old Sunita Williams and almost 62-year-old butch Willmore

01:13and they've been on this mission together as a duo, ate packaged and freeze and frozen

01:20dried food for 9 months, the moment we landed I ate a grilled cheese hot sandwich, so of

01:27course that reminds you remember because of the toughness that one needs, not just physical

01:33stamina but the fact that you realize the kind of uncertainty but also the restrictions

01:39you have, there's only so much and you have to in many ways ration that food as well,

01:45so if you didn't hear any of this on board because they also wanted to put out an image

01:50of optimism, let's listen in to Sunita Williams.

01:53Oh well I'm back, first and foremost we were always coming back and I think people need

02:01to know that and we're back to actually you know share our story with so many people because

02:07you know it's like you all mentioned it's slightly unique and there's some lessons

02:12learned to it and part of that is just resilience and being able to take a turn that was unexpected

02:19and make the best of it and I think that is the biggest thing that I want to pass down

02:24particularly to kids who think that their life should be the straight arrow to what

02:30you want to do and you're just going to get there, well you know sometimes it takes some

02:33turns, some rights and some lefts and you just keep focused on your goal and other doors

02:37might be open for you, so I think that's the biggest message.

02:41I would have to say yes, absolutely, you know it's interesting, we go and launch,

02:45we knew it was a little bit unique obviously, first time flying on a new spacecraft so yeah

02:49that was interesting but you know then life goes on up there and I mentioned yesterday

02:54you know we pivoted and we are International Space Station crew members and we're doing

02:58what all of our other friends in the astronaut office do is go and work and train and do

03:05science, amazing science experiments up on the International Space Station, so you know

03:09I think you sort of get maybe a little bit tunnel visioned in what your job is, do your

03:14job type of thing right and so you're not really aware of what else is going on down

03:19here, I hate to say that, you know maybe the world doesn't revolve around us but we revolve

03:25around the world, something like that, but you know I think we were just really focused

03:29on what we were doing and trying to be part of the team and making sure we pulled our

03:34weight for the team.

03:36Of course we heard some things and I'll let you know obviously hand this off to Butch,

03:40heard some stuff from our friends and family that people were interested and wondering

03:43what was going on and concerned about our health and all that kind of stuff while we're

03:46up there but I mean we were just part of the team doing the job, filling in wherever we

03:51could and then knowing that there's rotational flights and we will be coming home eventually

03:55on a rotational flight so no I don't think we were aware to the degree, pretty honored

04:02and humbled by the fact of when we came home like wow there are a lot of people who are

04:07interested, very thankful, very amazed that we could hopefully be one positive element

04:12to bring people together.

04:13I get to hug my husband and hug my dogs and I'll say that in that order but maybe not,

04:19no I'm just joking, but of course food, you know something that's just like for home for

04:24me like something that is very, you know reminds you of home and I had, my father was a vegetarian

04:28so I had a good grilled cheese sandwich when I got home so that reminded me of him.

04:33So many who prepared us for our mission, the commercial crew program with NASA and Boeing

04:41as well as SpaceX really got us ready to go.

04:45All of the trainers here at Johnson Space Center, the mission control teams all over

04:50the country in Florida to California so throughout the whole country as well as what we're doing

04:56now you know our teams here are getting us ready to get you know rehab and get ready

05:01to take on new challenges so you know feeling good since we've been back almost two weeks

05:07now actually went out and ran three miles yesterday so I will give myself a little pat

05:11on the back.

05:12Our trainers are rocking it and getting us ready to get back to help out with the new

05:18astronauts as they're getting ready for their mission so the biggest thing I want to say

05:22was thank you.

05:24Alright, so that's the first time that we hear from the woman who we had been watching

05:28with regard to how her life has been in space, the first step that she took on 19th of March.

05:33Joining me, India Today's Senior Assistant Editor of Science, Sebu Kumar Tripathi.

05:37Sebu, good morning.

05:38I think this has been a logical conclusion to that journey and she jokingly says what

05:45I noticed was that I ate a grilled cheese sandwich but it also reminds us of nine months

05:51of how she ate frozen food and it reminds you of the kind of restrictions, limitations

05:57and yet the toughness one needs.

05:59Definitely, I think spending nine months in space is incredible in more ways than one.

06:07To live on a mission where you are supposed to just live for eight days and then suddenly

06:12it extends for nearly eight to nine months.

06:14It takes a lot of physical and mental toll and I think that's where food is very very

06:19important.

06:20If you had good food, I think you had a good company on the space station and NASA is known

06:24for preparing some of the most well-curated, well-processed, well-developed food for the

06:31astronauts.

06:32So in the beginning, they had all the food that they had carried with them on the stylish

06:37space craft, followed that our cargo resupply missions were conducted and then all the food

06:43was sent from NASA to the space station.

06:45But then again, at the end, these are all processed packaged foods that have been prepared

06:49well in advance.

06:50So once she lands, I think that grilled sandwich must have tasted very very nice.

06:54I'm sure and it's in many ways a metaphor as well, you know.

06:57It's a victory, it's a return.

06:59Many thought it was going to be very difficult at one point.

07:02Sebu, thank you so much and you've been tracking it since day one about this journey

07:06of Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore.

07:08Remember, over the next few days, this was the first reaction.

07:11Over the next few days, we'll have more and more about the lessons, details and how

07:15many young enthusiasts watching both of them realizing that there's no deadline,

07:20that you can be able to fulfill your dreams at any age and how.

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