NASA astronaut Mike Massimino who saw India from space calls these two Indian cities 'spectacular'

Time of India

8 hours ago

The visuals of Earth from orbit aren't just a beautiful postcard moment; it's something profoundly moving, and among those who've had that experience is former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, a man whose journey above the planet eventually brought him back down to Earth in the most unexpected way, right here, to India.
Recently, former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino shared an emotional moment from his time aboard the International Space Station (ISS), describing how the beauty of India as seen from space left such a lasting impact that he promised himself he would one day visit the country. That long-held dream finally came true.
Speaking with YouTuber and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia on a recent episode of his show, Massimino remembered how breathtaking the view of India was during his space mission.
'India is very beautiful,' he said, without hesitation, when asked if certain parts of Earth looked more stunning than others from space.
According to a clip shared by Ranveer on Instagram, the astronaut described how the lights of major Indian cities like Mumbai and Delhi stood out in the night. He called them "spectacular," talking about the glowing cityscapes under a blanket of stars. But for Massimino, the view was more than just visually stunning; it carried an emotional weight.
'He says he always wanted to visit after seeing it from above,' Ranveer wrote in the post, 'and finally made that dream come true.
The beauty he saw from space matched what he experienced on the ground.'
Who is Mike Massimino?
Mike Massimino is far from your average astronaut. Born in New York, he holds engineering degrees from Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Selected by NASA in 1996, he flew on two space shuttle missions and spent more than 571 hours in space, including 30 hours of spacewalks to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
He also made history as the first astronaut to send a tweet from space, giving the public a direct glimpse into life aboard the ISS. After retiring from NASA in 2014, Massimino returned to Columbia, this time as a professor of engineering.
His recent trip to India, inspired by a decades-old memory from space, is a beautiful example of how even the most distant views of Earth can bring us closer to one another.