Sharjah: American astronaut and US Navy officer Sunita Williams said the UAE is a country that proved everything is possible and the country achieved unique heights in many fields, especially in the field of space. She was interacting with the audience (‘Star in Space’) as a special guest in the ballroom of the 42nd Sharjah International Book Fair along with UAE astronaut Hassah Al Mansoori. “I am Very happy to be in the United Arab Emirates. Feel proud of it. I am delighted to get the opportunity to join with my friend Mr. Hassa’’.
Sunita started her speech by saying, “It makes me happy to see so many children in this audience.” She said, now she and Hassa are here to explain the mission NASA accomplished. She explained NASA has many international partners and recently the UAE has joined it and NASA brings those who are interested in space travel there.
“We have big plans for the human community. Some of those plans are to go beyond living on Earth, and to try to reach its closest places. Mars mission is like that. However, it is a bit difficult. Space crafts are used for space travel. NASA’s International Space Station was built with Russian partners. Space shuttle programs are underway there. We work with Canada, Japan and Europe. We invite people like Hassa to join the ISS,” said Sunita.
Sunita’s opening speech was with a show of diagrams of the Earth, Mars and the Moon projected on the screen. In addition to Earth, they suggested that we should travel extensively to the Moon and Mars, and hoped that a trip to Mars would help the world understand more.
Revealing that Namath will be performed by a few spacecraft, Sunita said that one of them is Boeing StarLiner and the other is SpaceX Dragon. There is also the UAE’s space craft. People are expected to travel on the Boeing Star Liner as early as this year. She is lucky to be part of the first mission. NASA has plans to build a space station near the moon. Thus, more flights to the moon can be made. Dragon is ready for testing. The final test of the parachute will take place in January. It is scheduled for April 2024.
Sunita said that many countries and commercial companies have shown interest in going to space and explained how she came to NASA and other things. Sunita said that her husband and family were very supportive of her NASA tenure and that her parents are the reason why she is today and her father Deepak Pandya was a genius. They said that within ten or fifteen years the time would come when humans would be able to live on the moon. This is due to the fact that technology has advanced so much. In the last 3 decades, there has been a tremendous leap in the field of space. When she joined NASA 20 years ago, doubted that she would be able to do so much. But today it can be seen that it was a great success. Space travel costs $103 billion. When the presenter asked why so much money was being spent, she replied that space travel helps human development in many ways and the amount of money spent on it is not important. When asked what he wanted to say to the new generation of aspiring astronauts, the response was ‘Everything is possible’. At the same time, she stated that research is very important. Once you get a foothold somewhere, you need proper research to take it to the next level.
She reiterated that nothing is impossible for those doing research. To the same question, UAE astronaut Hassa Al Mansoori answered ‘Goes around, comes around’. When asked about her favorite book, Sunita’s answer was ‘Life of Pi’. Calling it a great piece of work, she added that she is an animal lover and one of her favorite movies is ‘Apollo 8′. In response to a question from the audience on whether extra-terrestrial life really exists, Sunita stated that she strongly believes that the sun is one of the many stars and that if we can live in a system called the Earth centered around the sun, there are many other systems and there are chemical forms centered around them. Mansoori said that space travel is not easy and the difficulties experienced due to the absence of gravity are indescribable. Mansoori recounted her experience that at first even sitting was painful and extremely difficult as the intense pressure came from below and later she adjusted.
Sunita also said that normal life in space was very difficult at first. It affects every part of the body. The first time back on Earth after the mission will be difficult. Sunita also said that she feels like she is going to fall while walking. Sunita said that the UAE is her favorite country and applauds the rulers for the progress the country is making in science. Many children rose from the audience with questions. It is worth mentioning that the audience was very interested in interacting with Sunita and Hassa. A girl of tearful eyes with delight told the astronauts that her dream was to be an astronaut and that she was extremely proud of the achievements of two great personalities, Sunita and Hassa.
Another child’s question about whether it is possible to pray in space, Hassa answered with practical experience. When Ms Vidya asked how far away the ISS is from earth, Sunita Williams replied that it is 400 km above us. The audience witnessed the debate with emotion. The event, which took longer than planned, was extremely rewarding. Sunita Lynn Williams, 58, is the former record holder for the most spacewalks performed. Nicknamed ‘Suni’ in America and ‘Sončka’ in Slovenia, Sunita was assigned to the International Space Station (ISS) as a member of ‘Expedition 14’ and ‘Expedition 15’. In 2012, she served as flight engineer on ‘Expedition 32’ and later as commander of ‘Expedition 33’.
Sunita Williams is also one of the longest-serving astronauts (322 days). A native of Needham, Massachusetts, Sunita was born in Euclid, Ohio, as the youngest of three children to Deepak Pandya, an Indian-American Neuro Anatomist, and Ursuline Bonnie (Salokar) Pandya, a Slovenian-American living in Falmouth, Massachusetts. She was the youngest of three children. Her brother Jay Thomas is four years older and her sister Dina Annad is three years older. Williams’ paternal family is from Jhulasan in the Mehsana district in Gujarat, India, whereas her maternal family is of Slovene descent. Sunita has taken the Slovenian flag, a samosa and Carniolan sausage to space in celebration of her Indian and Slovenian heritage. Sunita Williams graduated from Needham High School in 1983. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Science from the United Naval Academy in 1987, and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.
Her husband is Michael J. Williams, a federal police officer in Texas. In September 2007, she visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat and her ancestral village of Jhulasan. She received the World Gujarati Society’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award. Sunita Williams is also the first non-Indian citizen to receive this award. On October 4, 2007, Sunita gave a lecture at the American Embassy.
