SOLUTIONS

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EXERCISES

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A. Answer the questions:

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Q1. Why is Sunita Williams regarded as a woman of many parts?

Ans: Sunita Williams is a woman of many parts as she was a naval aviator, helicopter pilot, test pilot, naval diver, swimmer and marathon runner and an astronaut.

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Q2. Who is an astronaut?
Ans: An astronaut is a person who is trained to travel in a spacecraft.

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Q3. What is a Space walking?
Ans: Space-walking means walking in space.

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Q4. What does ‘sojourn in space’ mean?
Ans: ‘Sojourn in space’ means to stay or reside temporarily in space.

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Q5. What are the new world records set by Sunita?
Ans: She sets a world record of space walking by women through seven space walks totalling 50 hours and 40 minutes during 322 days in space.

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Q6. What is the name of the High School where Sunita studied from the tenth to the twelfth grade?
Ans: Needham High School at Boston.

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Q7. After High school which college did she join?
Ans: After High school she joined Wellesley College.

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Q8. After college where did Sunita study?
Ans: Sunita studied at US Naval Academy (USNA) after college.

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Q9. What does NASA mean?
Ans: NASA means National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Q10. How many members were there in the crew of the space shuttle?
Ans: A crew of seven members were in the crew of the space shuttle.

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Q11. What is ISS?
Ans: ISS means International Space Station.

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Q12. What kind of person was Kalpana Chawla?
Ans: Kalpana Chawla was a gracious and unassuming woman.

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Q13. What did Sunita carry to the space station?
Ans: Sunita carried a copy of Bhagwad Gita, a small statue of Lord Ganesh and a letter written by her father.

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Q14. Why is exercise necessary on the ISS?
Ans: Exercise is necessary to maintain bone and muscle health in a condition ofweightlessness.

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Q15. How many days did Sunita spend in space?
Ans: Sunita Spent 322 days in space.

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Q16. What is the duration of Sunita’s space walks?
Ans: The duration of Sunita’s space walks is 50 hours and 40 minutes.

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Q17. When did Sunita return to the Earth in her second expedition?
Ans: She returned to the Earth on 17th November, 2012.

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B. Answer the following questions:

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Q1. Describe the family of Sunita Williams and the role it played in promoting her career.
Ans: Sunita is the youngest of the three children of Dr. Deepak N. Pandya and Bonnie Zalokar Pandya. Her father is an Indian from Gujarat and her mother, is a Slovenian from Europe. They live now in the USA as naturalized Americans. The root of her aspiration had been planted deep by her parents and siblings, who gave her the wings to fly. She was brought up in a loving family that nurtured her inherent talents and supported her while she worked hard to compete and excel.

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Q2. What are the heritage and values colouring Sunita’s blood?
Ans: Sunita’s blood has been coloured with the Indian Heritage of her father, the European heritage of her mother and the values of the land, that is America, where she was born and brought up in.

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Q3. How was Sunita trained at NASA for the space station Project?
Ans: The work was tough and taxing. She had to be prepared and ready for space, on the basis of experience and anticipation. Sunita had to be ready for the mission anticipating situation based on the physical environment and the ground realities. The training also includes physical task and endurance programme along with a thorough study of technical and engineering details.

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Q4. How did Sunita become an astronaut?
Ans:The trainings at the US Naval Academy and NASA gradually led her to become an astronaut. She has logged more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft types. She was selected in 1998 by NASA for the astronaut program. She began her Astronaut Candidate training at the Johnson Space Center in August 1998.

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Q.5. How was she trained at the US Naval Academy?
Ans: She got training as a navy diver and navy aviator. For the naval aviation she was trained first as a helicopter pilot. After that Sunita was selected for training as a naval test pilot.

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Q6. What was Sunita Willams’s relation to Kalpana Chawla?
Ans: Sunita was quite close to Kalpana and learnt many things from her like the love of Indian classical music. For Indians, Sunita has become the living embodiment of Kalpana and her dreams.

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Q7. What were the factors leading to Sunita’s extraordinary achievement?
Ans: The factors were her hard work, sense of discipline, persistence, courage and willingness to push herself to the limit and the unstinting support and encouragement of her parents, siblings and friends.