IANS
 
Ahmedabad, Sep 20: After her record-breaking space journey, Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams is making another trip - this time to India to meet her relatives.

Williams will begin her week-long visit from Thursday, spending most of the time in Gujarat, her father Deepak Pandya's native state.

"Sunita loves Gujarat," her uncle Vitthal Pandya said, adding that the family was looking forward to have her here and she was visiting after a decade.

However, given the hectic schedule of public functions she would have to attend, Williams may not find time to savour the street food of the walled city that she relished during her last visit.

Williams is expected to visit the Sabarmati Ashram here and also garland a statue of her cousin Haren Pandya, the former Gujarat home minister who was murdered in 2003.

She will go to Jhulasan, a north Gujarat town about 120 km from here that is her father's native town. During her stay here, she will also interact with students.

Williams will be felicitated by the Gujarat government, the Gujarat Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Vishwa Gujarati Parishad for her record-breaking 195-day stay in space this year.

On September 24, she will go to Hyderabad to attend the 58th International Astronautical Congress where she will also interact Indian scientists and share her experience of space journey and space walks.

Williams' visit is organized by the National Federation of Indian-American Associations (NFIAA), a Washington-based organization.