A yagna was conducted at the Dola Mata temple in Jhulasan village in Gujarat where her father Deepak Pandya hailed from for astronaut Sunita Williams's return from space.
Suni Williams and fellow astronaut Barry E 'Butch' Wilmore have been stuck aboard the International Space Station since June 6 due to technical glitches on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft on which they travelled to space.
The Boeing Starliner voyage was the first of its kind flight with people on board to see how the spacecraft performed before it was used more regularly.
As the spacecraft approached the ISS, there were leaks in the Starliner spacecraft's propulsion system and some of its thrusters shut down.
Suni and Butch's 8-day mission to space may be extended till February 2025 when a SpaceX flight could bring them home.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com