Noted NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has arrived in Kozhikode to attend the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF), organised by DC Books. Williams reached the city on Wednesday night and is scheduled to participate in multiple sessions at the festival until January 25.
Sunita Williams to attend KLF inaugural ceremony
According to the official KLF schedule, Sunita Williams will attend the inaugural event on Thursday evening, alongside Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Other speakers at the inaugural session include Kerala Tourism Minister P A Muhammad Riyas, Tamil Nadu Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian, Kozhikode Mayor O Sadashivan, poet K Satchidanandan, actress Bhavana, actor Prakash Raj, Nirmala Lakshman, Chairperson of The Hindu Group, bureaucrat Divya S Iyer, German Consul General Achim Burkart, Dr Marla Stukenberg of the Goethe Institute, Dr Sayed Ibrahim, and A Pradeepkumar.
Festival sessions featuring Sunita Williams
Later on Thursday night, Williams will speak at a session titled “Dreams Reach Orbit: Meet the Astronaut Who Touched the Sky”, which will be moderated by Preeti Choudhry.
On Friday morning, she will participate in a special interaction under the Children’s KLF titled “Once Upon a Time in Space”, moderated by actress Rima Kallingal.
On January 25 morning, Williams will take part in a conversation titled “Astronaut’s Odyssey”, moderated by journalist Barkha Dutt.
In the evening, she will attend another session titled “When Earth Can’t Keep You Down”, moderated by writer Manu S Pillai.
Sunita Williams’ career and India visit
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has retired from the space agency, concluding a distinguished 27-year career during which she completed three missions aboard the International Space Station and set several human spaceflight records.
The 60-year-old astronaut is currently visiting India.
On Tuesday afternoon, she participated in an interactive session hosted at the American Center.
Posters at the venue for the event, titled “Eyes on the Stars, Feet on the Ground”, described her as “NASA Astronaut, Retired, and US Navy Captain, Retired.”
Williams Shares experience of being stranded in Space
During the interaction, Sunita Williams shared her experiences from a mission that was initially planned to last eight days aboard the International Space Station but turned into one of the biggest challenges of her life.
Due to technical issues with their Boeing spacecraft, the mission extended unexpectedly, leaving her stranded in space for over nine months.
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