Seven astronauts celebrate the holiday season aboard the International Space Station, but that doesn’t stop them from emitting any cheerful vacation to Earth.
Expedition 64 crew members take the day off, but NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Kate Rubins and Japanese space program astronaut Soichi Noguchi still took a while to send a message of “resilience” at home during a particularly difficult holiday season.
“Resilience” is also the name they gave to the SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule which launched four of the astronauts into the space station last month.
“We selected that name in honor of people around the world and the teams that help make our mission possible over a year that changed all of our lives,” Hopkins said. “We would also like to remember everyone we lost this year.”
“There couldn’t be a more appropriate name to describe 2020,” Glover added. “The endurance of the human spirit is something we can really celebrate in this special season.”
“As we prepare to watch the holidays away from our loved ones, we look down on our beautiful planet and it’s clear how connected we really are,” Walker said.
Hopkins, Glover, Walker and Noguchi were launched at the station in November, joining Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who will spend Christmas relaxing, calling family and friends and sharing a festive meal together.
“My family on the ground is definitely in my thoughts, in my prayers and in my socks,” Glover said. another video, pointing to her custom socks with pictures of family members. “But that also makes me think of all the people who can’t spend the holidays with their families either,” he added, thanking service members and health workers during the pandemic.
Earlier this month, a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the ISS with new supplies, including Christmas presents and repairs. Roast turkey, blueberry sauce, cornbread topping, blueberry shoemaker, au gratin potatoes, cookies and other bits for a seven-person party arrived before the holidays.
Holidays “mean the three F’s: family, friends, and food,” Walker said.
Noguchi also received a special food from a group of Japanese students at Wakasa High School: a small can of mackerel.
“We hope you can also take the opportunity to celebrate the holidays before turning the calendar into a new year, with renewed hope and a spirit of the future,” Noguchi said.
Rubins said the crew will be running a contest against the Mission Control team at the Johnson Space Center this Christmas: win whatever team decorates their workstations with the best DIY decorations they have on hand at the space and Mission Control.
“I know you threw a challenge and let me tell you, decorating the mission control? The challenge was accepted,” NASA flight director Zebulon Scoville said in a festive blazer and tie. “You may have to cut this coat to make it something new.”
According to Santa’s sleigh, he made a special stop at the ISS his year NORAD, the U.S. Aerospace Defense Command, which “tracks” Santa’s travels each year. The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday authorized Santa to fly into space, granting him a special commercial space license for a manned mission to the ISS aboard his “StarSleigh-1 space capsule,” driven by the Rudolph rocket “.
“Let’s be realistic, 2020 was a tough year and we could all use some special joys that only Santa can offer,” said Steve Dickson, FAA administrator.