Independence Day 2022: Hyderabad-origin astronaut Raja Chari shares photo of Indian flag at Space station

New Delhi, Aug 15: India is celebrating 75 years of Independence and to mark the occasion, messages are pouring in from astronauts across the world.

Indian American astronaut Raja Chari, who recently returned home after a six-month mission at the International Space Station (ISS), congratulated India on 75 years of Independence and said that Nasa and the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has a long cooperation and that he looks forward to working together with India.

"On Indian Independence eve I'm reminded of Indian diaspora that I could see from @Space_Station where my immigrant father's home town of Hyderabad shines bright. @nasa is just 1 place Indian Americans make a difference every day. Looking forward to @IndianEmbassyUS celebration," Chari said in his tweet.

On Indian Independence eve I’m reminded of Indian diaspora that I could see from @Space_Station where my immigrant father’s home town of Hyderabad shines bright. @nasa is just 1 place Indian Americans make a difference every day. Looking forward to @IndianEmbassyUS celebration pic.twitter.com/4eXWHd49q6

— Raja Chari (@Astro_Raja) August 14, 2022

According to Chari's biography on the NASA website, he graduated from Columbus High School in Waterloo, Iowa. From the US Air Force Academy in Colorado, he received a bachelor's degree in Astronautical Engineering. He was awarded a master's degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Chari's grandfather, a resident of Mahabubnagar in Telangana, was a Mathematics professor at Osmania University, Hyderabad. His father, Sreenivas Chari, had studied engineering at the same university and later moved to the US. The astronaut has visited Hyderabad a few times, where his relatives live.

In a special video, astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who is living and working on the International Space Station, congratulated India's journey and said that for decades international agencies have worked successfully with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on many missions.