Currently visiting India, Sunita Williams, a renowned NASA astronaut, often reflects on her roots and her deep connection to her father, Deepak Pandya, who hails from Gujarat. Williams, who recently retired from NASA, has left an indelible mark on space exploration through her numerous missions and achievements.
Williams’s career reached a significant milestone in 2024 when she traveled aboard Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule. What was initially planned as a week-long mission unexpectedly extended to over nine months due to technical issues with the spacecraft. Her dedication and resilience continue to inspire many.
During her visit to India, Williams spoke fondly about her upbringing and her father’s influence. She shared how thinking of her father’s hometown and his work provided her comfort while in space. But who was Deepak Pandya, the man behind her inspiration?
Who Was Deepak Pandya?
Born and raised in Jhulasan, Gujarat, Deepak Pandya completed his Intermediate Science at Gujarat University in 1953, followed by earning an MD in 1957. He later moved to the United States to pursue advanced medical training. In 1964, Pandya joined the Department of Anatomy at Case Western Reserve University as a postdoctoral fellow and worked at several prestigious institutions across the US. During his early years in America, he married Ursuline Bonnie Zalokar, a Slovenian-American.
Williams recalls her childhood, saying, “I was the third child, so I was a little bit smarter,” she joked. “All of us had the opportunity to visit my father’s laboratory on weekends. My father did neuroscience research, and we even had drawings of brains on our dining table because he was always hand-drawing the brain and mapping neurons. It made you wonder, what is this all about? My father was a neuroscientist and a doctor, and we understood that with hard work, we could grasp what he was doing.”
Sunita Williams’s Space Journey and Legacy
In a NASA press release, Williams expressed her passion for space, saying, “Space is my absolute favorite place to be. It’s been an incredible 27-year career at NASA, serving in the Astronaut Office and flying in space three times.” She highlighted the importance of her colleagues, the engineering marvels of the International Space Station, and the scientific discoveries that have paved the way for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Williams’s space career includes three missions to the International Space Station, totaling 608 days in space—second only to the highest for any NASA astronaut. She conducted nine spacewalks, spending over 62 hours outside the spacecraft, and even made history by running a full marathon in space.
Her first spaceflight was in 2006 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. She later served as commander of the ISS during Expedition 33. Her most recent mission, in 2024-2025, involved leading Expedition 72 aboard Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX Crew 9.
As Williams continues to inspire with her extraordinary journey, her story remains a testament to the power of roots, resilience, and relentless pursuit of exploration.