Washington:

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who has been in space for almost five months, extended her warmest wishes for Diwali to those celebrating the festival in the United States and around the world.

In a video message shared from the International Space Station (ISS), the Indian-origin astronaut said she had the unique opportunity to observe Diwali this year from 420 kilometers above Earth and reminisced about her father’s efforts to keep their cultural roots alive by teaching her and her family about Diwali and other Indian festivals.

“Greetings from the ISS,” Williams said. “I would like to extend my warmest wishes for a happy Diwali to everyone celebrating today at the White House and around the world.”

“This year, I have the unique opportunity to celebrate Diwali from 420 kilometers above Earth in the ISS… My father preserved and shared his cultural roots by teaching us about Diwali and other Indian festivals,” she further said.

#WATCH | Washington DC | Diwali Celebrations at the White House | NASA astronaut Sunita Williams shares a video message on Diwali from the International Space Station.

She says, “Greetings from the ISS. I would like to extend my warmest wishes for a Happy Diwali to everyone celebrating… pic.twitter.com/YEv3wNAxW9

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2024

Highlighting the festival’s message of hope and renewal, she said Diwali is a time of joy when goodness prevails in the world.

Williams also expressed his gratitude to US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for participating in the Diwali festivities and recognizing the community’s contributions.

“Diwali is a time of joy because goodness prevails in the world… Thank you to the President and Vice President for celebrating Diwali today with our community and for recognizing the many contributions of our community,” said them.

The message was particularly poignant because it came during a special Diwali celebration at the White House.

It is striking that Sunita Williams has been on the ISS together with her fellow astronaut Butch Willmore since June. The pair had launched on June 5 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for its first crewed flight and arrived at the space station on June 6.

The decision was made to return Starliner to Earth without a crew, and the spacecraft successfully returned on September 6 after NASA said in August that it was “too risky” to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth.

Wilmore and Williams will formally continue their work as part of the expedition and will return in February next year. This means what would have been a one-week test flight extended to about 8 months.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)