Independence Day 2022: Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari shares Indian flag photo taken at space station

Chari, who works for NASA, recently returned from a six-month mission at the ISS. He and three other astronauts were aboard a SpaceX spacecraft.

Chari, who was selected to become an astronaut in 2017, was born in Wisconsin, US and grew up in Iowa. He is married to Holly Schaffter Chari, a native of Cedar Falls in Iowa, and they share three children.

According to NASA's official website, Chari graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in Astronautical Engineering and Engineering Science.

He also holds a master's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in aeronautics and astronautics. Chari also graduated from the US Naval Test Pilot School. He was the commander of NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the ISS, which was launched on November 10 last year, NASA's website stated. The international crew spent 177 days in orbit and returned to Earth on May 6.

Chari's grandfather, a resident of Telangana, was a professor of Mathematics at Osmania University in Hyderabad. His father Sreenivas studied engineering at Osmania University and later moved to the US.