Sunita Williams will see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets in the new year, know how?
The new year has begun. The whole world is celebrating the new year. The new year is also being celebrated in space. Astronaut Sunita Williams is currently in space. In the new year, Sunita Williams and her team will see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets.
This will happen because she is currently on the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS keeps rotating continuously. The space station revolves around the Earth every 90 minutes. This is the reason why this will be possible. On this station, Sunita and her fellow astronauts can see the sunrise and sunset many times. This information has been given by the space station.
ISS gave information on social media
Along with Sunita Williams, Alexey Ovchinin, Butch Wilmore, Evan Wagner, Don Pettit, Alexander Gorbunov and Nick Hague are also stranded in space. However, Sunita Williams keeps talking to people on Earth.
As 2024 comes to a close today, the Exp 72 crew will see 16 sunrises and sunsets while soaring into the New Year. Seen here are several sunsets pictured over the years from the orbital outpost. pic.twitter.com/DdlvSCoKo1
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) December 31, 2024
The ISS wrote in a post on X that as 2024 ends today, the 72 crew members will witness 16 sunrises and sunsets, marking the start of the new year.
Sunita may return in March
Sunita Williams flew to the space station in June with astronaut Barry Wilmore on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. Initially, she was supposed to return after a week. However, she has not been able to return yet. She has celebrated most of the festivals of the year 2024 while staying in space.
Williams and Wilmore are now expected to return in March. They were scheduled to return in February 2025, but this was also postponed due to delays in the SpaceX Crew-10 mission.
Two Crew-9 astronauts arrived at the space station in late September, leaving a space for Williams and Wilmore. The four were scheduled to return in February 2025.