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Sunita Williams talks to school children

February 24, 2007 22:43 IST
A packet of samosas she carried with her to space having already made news, astronaut Sunita Williams on Saturday said she would like to have more Indian food aboard the International Space Station.

Interacting with students of a Delhi school in a 'tele-bridge talk', Williams, who is half-Indian, said she was having Indian dishes like Sag Paneer and Halwa.

"But I would like to have more Indian food in space," she said responding to a question from a student on what kind of food was available at the space station.

Williams, who had carried a packet of samosas with her when she shot into space on December 11, 2006, said she would like to have more of the spicy snacks.

Among the students who interacted with the 37-year-old flight engineer were the niece and nephew of late Indian astronaut Kalpana Chawla -- Akanksha and Uday.

While Akanksha asked Williams what was the most memorable part of her space sojourn, Uday asked her why only some planets have rings.

"The first time I went out the door, I saw the whole world. You could see the earth's curvature. The second time, it was at night, and you could still see a lot of lights," Williams said in response to Akanksha's query.

Scheduled to spend six months at the space station, Williams was asked a question on the effect of lack of gravity on the body, to which she said the astronauts minimised the effects of zero-gravity by exercising and their nutrition was carefully devised.

The interaction with the students of Vasant Valley School lasted ten minutes.

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