Mom of Starliner astronaut says daughter 'honored' to be on ISS
It's been nearly 300 days since NASA astronaut Suni Williams arrived at the International Space Station for a mission that was originally meant to be just 10 days long, but her mother says it's a fantastic experience.
Williams, along with Butch Wilmore, was testing the Boeing Starliner, but it was deemed unsafe for them to return on the vessel.
Both President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have claimed that the two weren't brought back quickly for political reasons and have moved up the expected return date.
But both Williams and Wilmore have pushed back on the idea that they were stranded and have said getting to stay in space for so long is an honor.
Bonnie Pandya, Williams' mother, joined NewsNation to talk about what it's like to have her daughter gone for so long, noting she is used to Williams being in outer space.
Pandya said she speaks to her daughter regularly, and the astronaut is excited to see her family and her husband but is keeping busy on the ISS, working on experiments, exercising to combat the effects of living without gravity and making calls to speak to students.
As for the idea of Williams being stuck, Pandya said it's not a political issue.
"I don't think it should be political," she told NewsNation. "It's what they do. They like doing this, and they're honored to be able to go up on a long mission like this."
Pandya said that while she misses her daughter, she's also doing okay because she knows Williams is doing what she loves.
"So how could I feel sad about it or anything?" she said. "I'm happy for her."
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