Seven astronauts and cosmonauts from the International Space Station will celebrate the holidays 250 miles above their families on Earth this year.
Cosmic image: The space station has developed its own culture of decorations, traditions and free time for the holidays every year, while the crew members celebrate with each other, away from home.
What happens: Kate Rubins, Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins and Shannon Walker, along with the Japanese Soichi Noguchi and the Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will go on vacation together on the ISS.
- Crew members will share a holiday meal on Christmas Day, as other crews have done for years before them.
- The crew will also decorate their home away from home, with plans for a Christmas decoration contest with Mission Control in Houston, which will be decided on Christmas Eve, according to Rubins.
- Crew members will also have the chance to talk to their families and have some free time for the holidays.
“I will spend some time thinking about and pray for all people who do not end up at home with loved ones, “Glover said during an interview with WNYW-TV broadcast by NASA on Tuesday.” We understand that. We relate to that and we will think about them as well. “
The story behind it: In the 20 years since the space station became permanently equipped with rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts, crew members and space agencies have sent holiday decorations, such as stockings and hats left on the station.
- Those decorations have now been used by several crews, with some socks hanging and displaying a small, fake Christmas tree.
- Various crews have also decorated Christmas cookies in recent years, according to NASA.
- And it’s not just Christmas. Last year, Jessica Meir from NASA celebrated Hanukkah aboard the station with some special socks and good wishes for the holidays.