For people from the Boston area, you really find out how much you like them apples when you're stuck in space for apple-picking season.
That's the situation that NASA astronaut Sunita Williams finds herself in. The Needham, Massachusetts, native rocketed up to the International Space Station in June for what was supposed to be a week's stay, but an issue with the Boeing Starliner capsule that flew her and Butch Wilmore has led their mission to be extended into next year.
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They addressed the situation during a news conference in space on Friday, but Williams also made light of it, throwing in a request for an apple from back home.
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"I know that there are some really nice, crispy apples right now that are getting picked off the tree. I was just talking to my family about that," she said, adding, "It would be nice if someone could put a New England apple in a spacecraft that was coming up here."
The astronaut called New England "the prettiest place on Earth, with the fall coming up," and said she and her colleagues will try and get some good pictures.
She also gave a "Go Pats" — it's football season! — and made another cheeky nod to her hometown: "We'll find a better place to pahk the cah next time."
Back in June, students at the Sunita L. Williams Elementary School in Needham cheered and jumped up in the air as they watched on a TV in their classroom as their school's namesake took off. Williams attended Needham Public Schools and has a close relationship with the teachers and students at the elementary school named after her.
