JUAN WILLIAMS: My nephew returned from space with a message America needs

In 1 of this year’s astir fashionable movies, "Project Hail Mary," there’s nary blessed ending — the astronaut ne'er makes it backmost to Earth.

And successful 1969, conscionable days earlier Apollo 11 landed connected the moon, English singer, songwriter and histrion David Bowie released a deed opus astir "Major Tom," an astronaut who floated into heavy space, ne'er making it home.

Today I’m penning a blessed story. The NASA astronaut successful my household conscionable defied some the movie and the song.

Welcome backmost to satellite Earth, Chris Williams.

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The thrust to research caller frontiers is simply a hallmark of American history, from westward enlargement to airy bulbs, airplanes and idiosyncratic computers.

This year, the U.S. sent a mission, Artemis II, to rocket astir the satellite successful mentation for a instrumentality to the lunar aboveground for the archetypal clip since Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped connected the satellite successful July 1969.

And this year, I saw my nephew, the grandson of Panamanian immigrants, talking with his chap astronauts arsenic they sped by his station connected the International Space Station.

The thrust to research caller frontiers is simply a hallmark of American history, from westward enlargement to airy bulbs, airplanes and idiosyncratic computers.

A fewer weeks later, Chris’ dad, my brother, Roger, got a Father’s Day greeting arsenic Chris streamed into Trinity Episcopal Church successful Washington, D.C. Even much affectional for maine was proceeding Roger praise his lad for going to abstraction and for increasing "beyond each expectation."

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As his uncle, I’ve known Chris since helium was a child, wearing a onesie adorned with astronauts and planets. It is hard to get my caput astir the thought that helium conscionable spent 8 months connected the International Space Station, completing 3,856 orbits astir the Earth astatine 17,000 miles an hour.

He did spacewalks, floating successful abstraction with the American emblem connected his pressurized spacesuit.

Chris, the highly funny boy, is present a antheral who successfully returned to Earth connected Sunday, July 26.

Christopher Williams speaks to the Houston Chronicle astir his acquisition of becoming an astronaut pursuing NASA's Astronaut Group XXIII graduation ceremonial connected Tuesday, March 5, 2024, astatine Johnson Space Center successful Houston. 

In a clip of nationalist anxiousness implicit war, ostentation and polarized politics, Chris is simply a flesh-and-blood reminder that abstraction question has the powerfulness to animate awe and renew the American tone of adventure.

His red, achromatic and bluish abstraction escapade is besides a almighty retort to the 59% of Americans who told Pew successful a May survey up of the nation’s 250th day that the country’s champion days are down us.

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Despite each the governmental controversies orbiting astir billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, America’s starring moguls investing successful abstraction exploration, past tells america to absorption connected achievement. Henry Ford was politically polarizing, but helium besides revolutionized manufacturing and transportation.

President John F. Kennedy got it close successful the 1960s erstwhile helium said the U.S. ngo to onshore connected the satellite was an due nationalist extremity due to the fact that it "served to signifier and measurement the champion of our energies and skill."

That is the optimistic connection I got arsenic I watched Chris during his clip connected the abstraction station, including his 2 spacewalks.

How tin I picture watching NASA TV and seeing the eye-popping show of the lad of my member and his wife, Roger and Ginger, flying done outer abstraction portion hanging by a tether from the abstraction station?

He was extracurricular the abstraction presumption connected his past locomotion for astir 8 hours, moving with chap NASA astronaut Jessica Meir to repair robotic arms.

And successful January, a chap American astronaut connected the abstraction presumption mislaid his quality to talk and was evacuated with different unit members. Chris was near behind. For a month, helium was the lone American connected the abstraction station.

Part of Chris’s ngo was to fig retired however to support astronauts steadfast connected lengthy abstraction trips arsenic the U.S. works to instrumentality to the satellite and adjacent nonstop astronauts to Mars.

As his uncle, I’ve known Chris since helium was a child, wearing a onesie adorned with astronauts and planets. It is hard to get my caput astir the thought that helium conscionable spent 8 months connected the International Space Station.

NASA scientists, including Chris, studied however zero gravity affects the encephalon and adjacent changes equilibrium and the consciousness of direction. Chris made himself a taxable of survey to way however semipermanent abstraction question changes quality eyes and bony density.

Family alarms went disconnected erstwhile NASA ordered Chris and different astronauts to evacuate the abstraction presumption due to the fact that of a imaginable aerial leak. He took structure successful a tiny spacecraft.

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This was nary movie script. It was genuinely a clip of precocious anxiousness for his woman and children successful Houston, arsenic good arsenic the full family, during the 2 hours earlier NASA gave the connection for him to spell backmost inside.

While successful space, Chris’ occupation was besides to animate young Americans to survey mathematics and subject and go aboriginal abstraction explorers. Chris handled the occupation with ease. He turned the abstraction presumption into a amusive amusement for students. They marveled astatine his quality to crook horizontal and interval done the abstraction presumption similar Superman. They wanted to cognize what helium had to devour and however helium slept.

Young radical successful Florida wanted to cognize the quality betwixt doing technological probe connected Earth and successful space.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams, left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, center, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Mikaev are seen wrong the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft aft they landed connected July 26, 2026, successful a distant country adjacent the municipality of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. The trio returned to Earth aft logging 241 days successful abstraction arsenic members of Expeditions 73 and 74 aboard the International Space Station. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

The reply could person been intimidating coming from Chris. He has a physics grade from Stanford and a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). And helium completed grooming successful aesculapian physics astatine Harvard Medical School.

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But helium turned the reply into awe-inspiring fun. He called attraction to the Velcro strips connected his jumpsuit and connected the walls. In zero gravity, helium explained, each instrument, each tool, each vial, each illustration volition conscionable interval distant if not attached.

One of his teaching tricks was to merchandise a bubble of h2o and ticker it interval astir earlier helium pretended to beryllium Pac-Man and gobbled it retired of the air.

He besides attracted viral attraction with his photography.

The net started asking astir aliens erstwhile helium posted photos of the West Coast of India showing green, neon lights piercing a acheronian sky. They turned retired to beryllium LED lights utilized by sportfishing fleets to pull squid.

His photos of fireworks exploding during Lunar New Year successful February, arsenic the abstraction presumption passed implicit China, were praised by different astronauts for their astounding beauty.

To me, Chris’ uniquely American beingness communicative is besides inspiring.

He is the grandson of Black immigrants from Panama, my parents.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams, (far near holding child), with his sister Ashley and 2 of his cousins, Antonio and Regan. (Williams household photo)

In 1958, his grandma near Colón, Panama, with 3 children aboard a freighter carrying bananas to Brooklyn, New York. My begetter besides saw opportunities disappearing for Black Panamanians nether the racist dictatorship of Arnulfo Arias. It was besides clip for my older sister to statesman precocious school.

In New York, Chris’ grandma worked for minimum wage successful a Manhattan formal mill — a sweatshop, arsenic they were commonly called — portion my begetter sent what small wealth helium could from Panama.

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A procreation later, our household has been blessed beyond measure. We person celebrated children who became lawyers, physicians, concern leaders and palmy professionals.

On Father’s Day, Chris took clip to beam unrecorded from abstraction and observe his dada and ma successful beforehand of the congregation astatine Washington, D.C.’s Trinity Episcopal Church.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams (far right, successful greenish sweater holding child) with his uncle, Fox News Senior Political Analyst Juan Williams (second enactment successful reddish sweater) astatine a household gathering astatine Christmas successful 2024.

My tears flowed erstwhile his dada praised Chris arsenic a lad who grew "beyond each expectation." Roger asked that the powers of the beingness "bring you location safely." The congregation wished him good "until we spot you again."

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On Sunday, July 26, Chris landed successful Kazakhstan with 2 Russian cosmonauts. A NASA betterment squad was determination and returned him to the Johnson Space Center successful Houston.

Welcome home, Chris. What an inspiring ride!

Editor's note: This sentiment nonfiction is adapted from a file that archetypal appeared successful The Hill.

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