Indian-Origin Astronaut Sunita Williams Clicks ‘Ultimate Selfie’, Scripts History During 9th Spacewalk | Instagram/NASA
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who is aboard the International Space Station (ISS), clicked the “ultimate selfie” last month. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shared Williams’ selfie on its official Instagram handle on Wednesday. The selfie was captured by the Indian-origin astronaut during her ninth spacewalk when the ISS orbited 423 km above the Pacific Ocean.
The picture shared by NASA shows the reflection of Williams’ arms and hands, and the camera she’s holding in her visor. A part of the ISS and the darkness of space are also visible in the picture. The Pacific Ocean and the Earth’s curvature can be seen on the left in the selfie.
“Image description: Astronaut Suni Williams’ arms and hands, and the camera she’s holding, are reflected in the shiny visor of her spacesuit’s helmet. You can also see part of the International Space Station and the darkness of space, as well as the Pacific Ocean on our left. Looking around Williams’ helmet, we can see other parts of her spacesuit, and a little bit of space on the right,” NASA wrote.
NASA’s Instagram Post:
Williams along with her fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore conducted a spacewalk. The duo remained out for almost 5.5 hours. They removed hardware from the outside of the station and collected samples of surface material from sites near life support system vents.
“NASA astronaut Suni Williams took this selfie on Jan. 30, 2025, as the @ISS orbited 263 miles (423 km) above the Pacific Ocean. This irresistible photo op happened during Williams’ ninth spacewalk; she and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore removed hardware from the outside of the station and collected samples of surface material from sites near life support system vents — the Destiny laboratory and the Quest airlock — for analysis,” the space agency wrote.
“Studying these samples will tell us whether the space station releases microorganisms, how many, and how far they may travel. In addition, we could learn whether these microorganisms survive and reproduce in the harsh space environment and how they may perform in places like the Moon and Mars,” NASA added.
With this spacewalk, Williams made history as she surpassed former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson’s record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut. Williams now has 62 hours, 6 minutes of total spacewalk time, fourth on NASA’s all-time list.
Notably, Williams and her fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have been stuck on the ISS since June 2024 due to technical glitches with Boeing’s Starliner. Initially, the mission was only for eight days.
