New Delhi, India

Sunita Williams, the Indian-American NASA astronaut, has once again taken her rich cultural heritage into the cosmos aboard the Boeing Starliner. 

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Williams, along with fellow astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore, embarked on her third space journey on Wednesday (June 5) morning.

She went to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Boeing Starliner capsule's inaugural crewed mission.

Also read | Boeing Starliner suffered helium leaks before historic space station docking

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Sunita Williams and her Indian roots

As per reports, Williams is known for integrating her Indian roots with her space endeavours.

The 58-year-old astronaut has often shared how she carries elements of her culture into orbit. In previous missions, she had brought sacred Hindu texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, as well as iconic Indian snacks like samosas. 

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"I really appreciate my Indian heritage and was glad I could bring part of it with me to space," Williams said during a 2013 news conference in Delhi.

She also carries a figurine of Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god, with her.

"Ganesh has always been in my house. Everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve had Ganesh, and so he had to come with me to space, of course. And Indian food — you can never get enough of Indian food … so I had to make sure I had some samosas in space with me. Other types of Indian food we definitely had up there as well."

Sunita Williams, whose mother is a Slovene-American, has also taken the Slovenian flag, and Carniolan sausage to space in celebration of her Slovenian heritage. 

Also read | Russian Cosmonaut makes world history by spending 1,000 days in space

In addition to her cultural tributes, Williams has also actively participated in Indian festivities from space. During her time on Expedition 32/33 in 2012, she sent greetings during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, adding a special touch from the space station.

Sunita Williams dances in space

The spaceship dubbed "Calypso" rendezvoused with the orbital lab at 1:34 pm ET (1734 GMT) over the southern Indian Ocean, allowing Wilmore and Williams to enter a while later. 

A video of Williams performing a little dance to celebrate the arrival, her third stay aboard the ISS, is going viral. Watch it here:

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