Fact Check: Video shows Sunita Williams safe return to Earth? No, it is from 2024
A video showing Sunita dancing in a zero-gravity environment has gone viral on social media. Many claim that it shows her return to Earth.
By Newsmeter Network
Claim:The viral video shows astronaut Sunita Williams returning to Earth on March 19, 2025.
Fact:This video is from June 2024. It shows the moment when Sunita and her crew entered the ISS.
After nine months at the International Space Station, NASA astronaut of Indian origin, Sunita Williams, returned to Earth. Along with Sunita, her crewmates Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Alexander Gorbunov also returned aboard SpaceXās Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Crew Dragon capsule safely landed in the ocean off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 3:27 AM IST on March 18.
Meanwhile, a video showing Sunita dancing in a zero-gravity environment has gone viral on social media. Many claim that it shows her return to Earth.
An X user shared the video, with the inlaid text stating, āSunita Williams dances in joy as the rescue team arrives to bring her back to Earth.ā However, the post's caption, written in Hindi, claims, "#SunitaWilliams Happiness of returning to Earth... thanks @realDonaldTrump and @elonmusk.ā
A similar post can be found here.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. In reality, this video is from June 2024. It shows the moment when Sunita and her crewmate Wilmore entered the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Boeing Starliner
A reverse image search of the videoās keyframes led us to the official Boeing Space X (formerly Twitter) handle, which uploaded a high-resolution version of the same viral on June 7, 2024.
The video is captioned: āHugs all around! The Expedition 71 crew greets Butch Wilmore and @Astro_Suni aboard @Space_Station after #Starliner docked at 1:34 p.m. ET on June 6.ā
This confirms that the video shows Sunitaās arrival at the International Space Station, not her return to Earth.
We also found the same viral video uploaded on NDTV Profitās YouTube channel On June 7, 2024. The video was titled: āNASA Astronaut Sunita Williamsā Victory Dance After Reaching the ISS.ā
ANI also shared the same viral video in a report published on June 7, 2024.
According to the report, Indian-origin Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore entered the International Space Station (ISS) on June 7, 2024 morning. NASA footage from June 6, 2024, at 3:46 PM ET (June 7 morning IST) captured the moment when the two astronauts stepped through the ISS hatch. The Expedition 71 crew, consisting of seven astronauts already aboard the ISS, warmly welcomed Sunita and Butch, who became the first astronauts to fly aboard Boeingās new capsule.
Therefore, We conclude that the video is from June 2024 and shows Sunita Williams and her colleague entering the International Space Station.
