Most astronauts tend to be male for the simple reason that the task is as physically demanding as it is mentally challenging. However from time to time we hear of a woman who has made her mark on the system. One such woman is the new commander of the International Space Station, Sunita Williams.

The Indian-American lady already holds the record for the longest space walk timings for women, and now is heading Expedition 33 on the International Space Station. She took over from Commander Gennady Padalka Expedition 32 which ended Sunday, 16 September.

A Russian-made Soyuz capsule took Commander Padalka, Flight engineer Joe Acaba of NASA, and flight engineer Sergei Revin of the Russian Federal Space Agency back to earth on Monday, 17 September.They orbited earth 2,000 times and traveled 52,906,428 miles before finally touching down successfully in central Kazakhstan steppe region. Padalka is now fourth in rank for the most days spent in space, which includes a total of 711 days during four flights.

Commander Sunita Williams will share space with veteran Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. They will be joined in the month of October by NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and three more astronauts to bring the crew up to its full operational number. The scientific expedition is to last three months.