One small step for Man, One Giant Leap For WomanKind.

September 21, 2007 5:37 AM

Astronaut Sunita Williams (more links to pictures on the bottom right hand corner) returns to her ancestral hometown of Ahmedabad, India, after breaking multiple records in Space, where she stayed for a duration of 194 days, ran the Boston Marathon, and Space Walked for 22 hours and 27 minutes.
posted by hadjiboy (24 comments total)

wow. She's awesome and inspiring. And 41 years old.

This is the first time I've seen an Indian, male or female, who talked about the importance of exercise (other than yoga). She says she is doing it to motivate children to be fit. "I encourage kids to start making physical fitness part of their daily lives," Williams said. "I think a big goal like a marathon will help get this message out there."

Is the new generation of Indian computer brainiacs not getting enough exercise?

Cool post hadjiboy!
posted by nickyskye at 6:36 AM on September 21, 2007

I've been a fan ever since I saw a photo of her in a Red Sox cap.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:41 AM on September 21, 2007

I could run the Boston Marathon too if I were in orbit ~340 miles above the earth traveling at 17,240 mph. In fact I would run it multiple times just using fart power in order to serve as inspiration for all the middle aged gasbags still stuck on the planet surface.
posted by srboisvert at 6:49 AM on September 21, 2007

To be fair, to run a marathon in space all you have to do is get a good push off in the right direction.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:59 AM on September 21, 2007

"Williams qualified for the Boston Marathon by finishing among the top 100 women in the Houston Marathon in January 2006."

"Williams runs at least four times a week in space, including two longer runs and two shorter ones, according to NASA. The ISS also has a stationary bicycle and a device that simulates weight training so astronauts can try to stem the loss of muscle mass and bone density due to microgravity."

In order to run in space there must be some way she is kept on the treadmill. I wonder how.
posted by nickyskye at 7:10 AM on September 21, 2007

ah, I see it now "Bungee cords keep her from floating away". That's funny. Boing boing boing.
posted by nickyskye at 7:12 AM on September 21, 2007

See, this is what happens when I comment without enough coffee in the morning. Smacks self in forehead. Now I see. She's strapped into that harness thing and the bungee cords provide real resistance, not just boing boing resistance but as if she were running in Earth's gravity resistance.
posted by nickyskye at 7:16 AM on September 21, 2007

Minor note: According to NASA her spacewalk time was 29 hours, 17 minutes (7th paragraph down).
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:27 AM on September 21, 2007

Nice round up. Thanks for posting!
posted by jquinby at 7:46 AM on September 21, 2007

All that running, with no fresh air, and no gravity must make for a pretty stinky space vehicle.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:10 AM on September 21, 2007

Minor note: According to NASA her spacewalk time was 29 hours, 17 minutes (7th paragraph down).

Even more minor note for non-readers of the article: That is total space walk time and not one stupidly long spacewalk.
posted by srboisvert at 8:24 AM on September 21, 2007

I've been a fan ever since I saw a photo of her in a Red Sox cap.

Suni Williams joined NewsCenter 5's Natalie Jacobson, as she threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park earlier this week.
posted by ericb at 8:34 AM on September 21, 2007

But women don't sweat. We perspire.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:36 AM on September 21, 2007

Super minor note: That was total spacewalk time over 4 spacewalks.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:38 AM on September 21, 2007

While she was in space Suni Williams's pet Jack Russell Terrier, "Flat Gorby" became a mascot for NASA NEEMO 12 and a phenomenon for school kids around the world.
posted by ericb at 8:39 AM on September 21, 2007

Even more minor note for non-readers of the article: That is total space walk time and not one stupidly long spacewalk.

Well, duh -- since they haven't been using umbiliicals for oxygen, power and comms, I couldn't imagine how an EVA suit could support its wearer for that long, let alone why in hell NASA would require or permit such a lengthy EVA. Off the top of my head, I don't remember an EVA going much more than about four and a half hours or so, and that's a mightly long time when you're wearing and carrying your entire environment.
posted by pax digita at 9:24 AM on September 21, 2007

But women don't sweat. We perspire.

I've been told "glisten" is the preferred terminology.
posted by BaxterG4 at 10:08 AM on September 21, 2007

When Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth were poolside on a hot day at a swanky hotel, the waiter offered to get her a towel since "she's sweating." Welles, archly: "Horses sweat. People perspire. Miss Hayworth glows."
posted by pax digita at 11:18 AM on September 21, 2007

I'm pretty sure we argued this last time, but seriously, you can't run the Boston Marathon if you aren't in Boston. That's like me saying I biked across South Dakota, because I kept track of miles logged at a gym.
posted by graventy at 11:57 AM on September 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

graventy, she could have entered the Boston Marathon elevation profile into the treadmill to approximate the actual course. However, to really make it authentic she might need to have one of her fellow astronauts scream in a Southie accent and throw beer at her.
posted by ooga_booga at 12:30 PM on September 21, 2007

But women don't sweat. We perspire.

I've been told "glisten" is the preferred terminology.

Actually, we simply glow.
posted by h00py at 12:49 AM on September 22, 2007

nickyskye: Yup, even non-brainiac Indians are getting overweight. _{(Luckily, some of them have Metafilter for all their exercise-planning needs!)}

Seriously though, gyms are, of course, the new in-thing in urban India, which, methinks, is becoming very very self-conscious in these matters.
posted by the cydonian at 1:46 AM on September 22, 2007

It can be quite intimidating for someone to come from the First World to the Third World and be exposed to the kind of atmosphere we have over here (especially in India), where the sheer mass of people can be overwhelming, but what I saw on the news of Sunita’s homecoming was very heartwarming. She was patient with the people, accommodating, and tried her best to please everyone. For someone who spent over six months in Space, she sure has her feet planted firmly on the ground.

Good on ya Suni!
posted by hadjiboy at 4:05 AM on September 22, 2007

Agree, Suni handled her visit to India with grace and style...with no outward appearance of culture shock!
posted by RoadTripPlanner at 3:19 AM on September 25, 2007