Check Stunning Mahakumbh Picture Clicked By Sunita Williams from ISS Before Her Historic Return to Earth

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has started her journey back to Earth after spending over nine months at the International Space Station (ISS). As Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague lead the voyage, Butch Wilmore and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are also inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. 

As the world is waiting with bated breath for the much-awaited splashdown off the coast of Florida, cousin of Sunita Williams has shared how her family is counting the moments and excited to welcome her back home. "Family is very much excited. Thank you so much for showing so much love to Suni...we are very happy she is coming back," Falguni Pandya told Republic.

The cousin of Sunita Williams has also shared a moment of glory captured by the NASA astronaut from during her stay in the ISS. As the International Space Station (ISS) flew over India, Sunita Williams had captured the world's largest religious gathering Maha Kumbh Mela from the space. 

The picture clicked by Sunita Williams showed the illuminated banks of the River Ganga and a stunningly bright ariel view of Prayagraj.

"She (Sunita Williams also specifically took a picture of Kumbh Mela for me. She sent that picture before I visited Kumbh. She was very excited about my visit to the holy city," Falguni said.

Here's the picture of Kumbh Mela clicked by Sunita Williams from the space

SpaceX Crew-9 splashdown

As the SpaceX dragon undocked from the ISS, now it is a 17-hour journey for the astronauts to return to Earth. The splashdown is expected to happen at 3:27 AM IST. The Mission Control and Dragon have confirmed that the Dragon Freedom has now exited the Approach Ellipsoid or AE. NASA is using the cameras and satellites at the ISS to track the weather conditions on Earth, this will help to understand if there is a tornado or strong winds or any other weather conditions so that the Dragon can lead to a safe splashdown.