Days after returning from space, Sunita Williams shared a heartwarming video of her long-awaited reunion with her dogs- Gunner and Gorby.
Tails wiggling, body shaking with happiness and eyes filled with warmth- this is how Sunita Williams was welcomed by her two dogs. While the entire world was manifesting ‘Suni’s’ safe return from space, her two Labradors were most eager to see her after months. A ‘true homecoming ‘video shared by NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams shows her heartwarming reunion with her Labrador retrievers — Gunner and Gorby, who welcomed her with sheer excitement and long hugs.
Williams returned to Earth on March 18 after a long nine-month hiatus. What was originally planned as a brief eight-day mission turned into a long nine-month wait as she remained stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical snags in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
Sunita Williams reunite with her dogs | Video
During her time in space, Sunita used to express her eagerness to reunite with her husband and dogs. She said she used to miss walking with her dogs. The video shared by Williams on X shows both dogs excitedly rushing towards her as she steps out of the house, while she pets one of them, the other runs away.
Elon Musk reacts
The video went viral and received thousands of reactions, Elon Musk also reacted to the video with a heart emoji. Musk’s SpaceX, in collaboration with NASA, brought Williams and Wilmore back to Earth.
Wilmore and Williams ended up spending 286 days in space — 278 days longer than anticipated when they launched. They circled Earth 4,576 times and traveled 121 million miles (195 million kilometers) by the time of splashdown.
Sunita Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and she underwent training at the Johnson Space Center. She also worked in Moscow with the Russian Space Agency on the Russian contribution to the International Space Station. She launched on her first mission on December 9, 2006 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery to join ISS Expeditions 14 and 15 for a 195-day stint in orbit.