NASA astro's Bihu dance in space goes viral, sparks debate over authenticity after CM Himanta credits PM Modi

As Assam marked Rongali Bihu, a video of an American astronaut performing the traditional dance aboard the International Space Station (ISS) began circulating widely on social media, drawing both admiration and scrutiny after being shared by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Posting the clip on X, Sarma credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the global recognition of the Bihu dance, “Bihu in an International Space Station. Kudos to astronaut Mike Fincke for this special gesture to Assam’s culture. It’s wonderful to see Bihu going global, especially after the special focus given by Adarniya Shri @narendramodi ji during #BihuBinandia.”

The video shows a NASA astronaut wearing a white-and-red 'gamusa', the traditional Assamese cloth symbolising cultural identity, gently swaying in zero gravity as a Bihu song played in the background.

While the clip gained traction during the Bihu celebrations, it also triggered debate online, with several users alleging that the video was old and dismissing it as a “whatsapp forward.”

Some claimed the footage dates back to 2004. “This video is from 2004, when Chief Minister of Assam was Tarun Gogoi and the Prime Minister of India was Manmohan Singh,” one user wrote.

X’s Community Notes echoed similar claims. Responding to a query, the platform’s AI chatbot Grok said, “Yes, this is archival footage from 2004—NASA astronaut Mike Fincke's Expedition 9 mission on the ISS. He performed a zero-gravity Bihu dance wearing a gamosa to honor his Assamese-origin wife Renita's heritage. The clip (no new video) has resurfaced for this year's Rongali Bihu celebrations.”

However, DH found that the viral clip appears to differ from the 2004 footage, though its exact timeline could not be independently confirmed.

Who is the astronaut?

The individual in the video is veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, known for his spacewalks, repair missions, and leadership roles aboard the ISS. He had previously performed a similar Bihu dance in 2004.

Fincke’s connection to Assam comes through his wife, Renita Saikia Fincke, who is from the state. He reportedly met her during his astronaut training.

A comparison between the earlier video and the viral clip indicates differences in both the background and the dance movements.

The recent video was also shared on Instagram by a user named “epicenter_nyc,” who tagged the astronaut, according to PTI report.

Further investigation led to another Instagram post by creator “Amit Kumar Kilhor,” who said the clip was from 2004.

However, a comment by a user named “Pranil Kashyap Saikia” caught the attention, who suggested otherwise: “A correction. This video is new. This was shot in December 2025 when he was in NASA’s Space X Crew 11 Mission. He planned with us to release it during this Bihu season for the beautiful state of Assam and the lovely Assamese people. He landed back on Earth in January 2026. The old video (2004) is a different one.

"This is an Extraordinary moment. Extremely proud of my Jethpeha (Uncle) Astronaut Mike Fincke. He is the first and only person to perform our Assamese Bihu in Space, along with carrying our Assamese Gamusa to Space. Also proud of my Jethai (Aunt) NASA Engineer Renita Saikia Fincke. Our family is honoured,” read the comment.

DH could not independently verify the authenticity of this claim or the identity of the user. However, a visual comparison suggests the two videos are not the same.

Additionally, we found that Fincke is not currently in space. As part of NASA’s Crew-11 mission, he had been aboard the ISS since August 2025. On January 7, 2026, a day before a scheduled spacewalk, he reportedly lost the ability to speak for around 20 minutes. NASA’s flight surgeons monitored the situation from Earth and decided to bring the crew back early.

On January 15, 2026, Fincke and his Crew-11 teammates safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.