Seven astronauts and cosmonauts from the International Space Station will celebrate the holidays 250 miles above their families on Earth this year.
The cosmic image: The space station has developed its own culture of decorations, traditions and free time for the holidays each year, as crew members celebrate with each other, away from home.
What is happening: Kate Rubins, Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins and NASA’s Shannon Walker, along with Japanese Soichi Noguchi and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will travel together on the ISS.
- Crew members will share a holiday meal on Christmas Day, as other teams have done for years before them.
- The crew will also decorate their home away from home, with plans for a Christmas decorating contest with Mission Control in Houston to be decided on Christmas Eve, according to Rubins.
- Crew members will also have the opportunity to talk to their families and have some free time for the holidays.
“I will spend some time thinking about and praying for all the people who don’t come home with their loved ones, “Glover said during an interview with WNYW-TV broadcast by NASA on Tuesday.” We understand. We relate to it and we will also be thinking about it. “
The background story: During the twenty years since the space station continuously had rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts, crew members and space agencies have sent holiday decorations such as stockings and hats left in the station.
- These ornaments have been used by various crews, with some stockings hanging and a small fake Christmas tree.
- Several teams have also decorated Christmas cookies in recent years, according to NASA.
- And it’s not just Christmas. Last year, NASA’s Jessica Meir celebrated Hanukkah aboard the station with special socks and good wishes for the holidays.