“Swagatam Sunita”: Anand Mahindra pens heartfelt message following her 286-day space mission

Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the Mahindra Group, posted a warm message on social media following NASA astronaut Sunita Williams's successful return to Earth. He acknowledged huge relief along with respect for her bravery, terming the experience a highlight of his day. Mahindra pointed out Williams's exceptional courage, terming her a symbol of resilience. He also pondered a touching moment he had with her during a 2023 event, reiterating their common experience. In his post, Mahindra did not only glorify Williams's achievements but also the solidarity of global leaders and astronauts, commending the significance of this landmark event.

Mahindra's statements were filled with praise for Sunita Williams, citing that her safe return from space was a gigantic relief. He underlined the courage she had exhibited throughout her mission, terming her the very symbol of courage. He tweeted on X (formerly Twitter), "It was a huge relief to witness her and her colleagues' safe splashdown on earth a few hours ago. She is bravery personified and it's great to have her back among us. Swagatam, Sunita." The word "Swagatam" is a Hindi welcome that means "welcome," expressing his excitement and warmth in welcoming her back home.

Mahindra also shared in his post a brief nostalgic moment from an encounter with Sunita Williams at a 2023 function. He posted an ancient selfie of himself, Williams, Mukesh Ambani, and Vrinda Kapoor, snapped at the India-US Hi-Tech Handshake meet in Washington. This was his personal linkage to the landmark moment of Williams' return. Mahindra said, "When the SpaceX rescue mission was initiated, I remembered this random meeting nearly two years ago with @Astro_Suni in Washington."


Mahindra also remembered the viral "Washington moment" in June 2023, where he, Ambani, and Kapoor were in Washington following a tech handshake session. The team had missed the shuttle bus to the next event and was attempting to order an Uber when they chanced upon Sunita Williams. The encounter was a light-hearted and coincidental meeting, and it resulted in a viral selfie. Mahindra jokingly said, "We were trying to hail an Uber when we bumped into NASA astronaut Sunita Williams. Time for a selfie & we also asked if we could catch an Uber ride on her space shuttle instead of an Uber."

Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore had been marooned at the International Space Station (ISS) for much longer than initially anticipated. They were originally meant to be in space for around a week but remained in space a total of 286 days, which was far more than the time they had originally been missioned for. Their mission finished in a very dramatic splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida. They had completed nearly 4,600 orbits around Earth and had travelled 121 million miles (195 million kilometres).
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