For NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, the journey back to Earth after spending more than 6 months on the International Space Station (ISS) has come full circle. They stepped down on Earth about two weeks ago, and now they have shared an emotional video of reuniting with their dogs at their home.
Sunita Williams shared her homecoming experience on X. She wrote, “Best homecoming ever!” and posted a video along with it. In this video, Sunita is seen opening the door, and her two Labrador dogs, Gorby and Gunner, enthusiastically welcome her in her front yard. Both the dogs run around Sunita, wagging their tails and jumping with joy. The scene was truly heartwarming, where Sunita was equally happy and hugging her beloved pets.
In the video, Sunita is seen talking to the dogs. When Gunner ran with a stick, Sunita laughs and says, “What are you doing? Are you pretending, boys?” She then jokes about Gorby and says, “You are a copycat too?” When Gunner is reluctant to return to his place, she again says, “Gunner, are you ignoring me?” The scene was very cute and caused laughter among the audience.
Video’s virality and Elon Musk’s reaction
After posting this video, it went viral rapidly. NASA and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reacted to this video with a heart emoji. Apart from this, many social media users expressed their happiness and wrote in the comments how cute and heartwarming this moment was. One user wrote, “What a cute video! Wishing you a long life and good health.” While another joked, “Technically this space is a happy place for dogs – an infinite land, filled with little balls of light.”
Plans to visit India and meet ISRO
Sunita Williams also talked about her next plan after her space mission. She said that now she is planning to visit India and meet the ISRO team. She also said that whenever her spacecraft passed near the Himalayas, she always found India “amazing”. Sunita also expressed her excitement about her next mission and said that she is very excited about the Indian astronaut going on the upcoming Axiom mission.
Sunita Williams’ Indian roots
Sunita Williams’ mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, is of Slovenian-American origin, while her father Deepak Pandya is from Gujarat. Her Indian roots and love for Indian culture have always been an important part of her personality. Her visit was not only a personal victory but also a source of inspiration for her, being of Indian origin.
Sunita Williams’ heart-touching reunion with her dogs became a memorable moment not only for her but also for her fans and everyone. His space journey and then return home proved that no matter how far man goes into space, the importance of home and family never changes.
