‘India's very beautiful': NASA astronaut recalls nighttime view of Mumbai and Delhi from space

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Ranveer Allahbadia's latest podcast guest offered a rare perspective on India's beauty, one only a handful of people on Earth could access. Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino described how breathtaking the country looks from space. Mike Massimino discussed the view of India from space while appearing on Ranveer Allahbadia's podcast. (Instagram/@ranveerallahbadia)
Allahbadia shared a snippet of his interview with Massimino on Instagram, in which the former astronaut shared his striking observations about how India looks from space.
'Do some parts of the Earth look more beautiful or it's all just gorgeous to look at as one piece,' the YouTuber asks Massimino. The astronaut responds, 'India's very beautiful. It's all interesting.'
The NASA astronaut then explains how Earth looks at night from space. 'Nighttime, it gets really cool and magical. You can see the stars very clearly. But looking down on the Earth, you see city lights. So you see some of the big cities like Mumbai or New Delhi or New York City…'
The snippet shows Massimino talking about his visit to India and how he feels he has a connection with the country.
"NASA astronaut Mike Massimino shares how stunning India looks from space. He says he always wanted to visit after seeing it from above, and finally made that dream come true. The beauty he saw from space matched what he experienced on the ground,' Allahbadia wrote along with the footage.
Who is Mike Massimino?
Mike Massimino is a former NASA astronaut born in Franklin Square, New York. After completing a bachelor's degree from Columbia University, he acquired four more degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), including a PhD.
He was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1996. He had his first spaceflight in 2002. He again went to space in 2009. He has a total of 571 hours and 47 minutes in space. His cumulative total of spacewalking, which includes four spacewalks, is 30 hours and 4 minutes. He retired in 2014.
Massimino also started the trend of sharing social media content from space. He was the first astronaut to tweet from space, while aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
'From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!' he wrote on X, then known as Twitter.