They may not be home for Christmas, but astronauts in space are finding their own way to make the season bright. They’ve even hung their space stockings by the airlock with care.
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The space stockings are hung by the airlock with care in this photo from the Expedition 74 astronauts on the International Space Station. A small Christmas tree sits atop the Kibo module airlock, too. (Image credit: NASA TV)
While Fincke and his crewmates miss their loved ones on Earth, they are finding joy in a different kind of family.
“It’s also a little bit sad because we’re not with our families at the time, but actually we are,” Fincke said. “We’re with our space family, so we’re okay. And we’re looking forward to spending the holidays together.“
The astronauts will celebrate in orbit alongside their Mission Control support teams all across Earth, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to centers in Japan, Europe and Russia, he added.
Expedition 74 flight engineer Chris Williams, one of the newest arrivals to the ISS, said the astronauts are finding ways to put a zero-gravity spin on Christmas traditions. After all, he arrived at the station on another holiday: Thanksgiving.
“So as you can see, we’ve got a little bit of decoration here,” Williams said in the video as he showed off a display adorning the small airlock hatch inside the space station’s Japanese Kibo laboratory. “We’ve got a little tree, and we’ve also hung some boots by the airlock with cheer.”
Astronauts on the International Space Station have been spending Christmas in space for 25 years (the first crew took up residence in November 2000), and the first Christmas off Earth was in 1968 during NASA’s epic Apollo 8 mission to orbit the moon. But being away from home is not a new experience for astronauts, even before they joined NASA.
Four members of the Expedition 74 crew on the International Space Station wave during a Christmas video. From left are: Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Chris Williams and Zena Cardman. (Image credit: NASA TV)
Cardman, a geobiologist by training who conducted research in Antarctica and on sea expeditions, said this year is hardly the first time she and her crewmates have spent the holidays away from home.
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“It’s so special for us to share the holidays with each other here in orbit, and with all of the teams taking care of us on the ground,” she added. “So we also want to say a great thank you to the families who are lending these crew members to us, and a thank you to those in Mission Control who will spend their holidays taking care of us, and to their families at home as well.”
Still, it may be hard for a certain jolly old elf to reach the ISS.
“I think we may be orbiting a little higher than Santa is flying, though,” Cardman said.
JAXA astronaut Yui said the support from friends, family and Mission Control are a boon for him and his crewmates during the holidays. He’s looking forward to sharing a taste of Japanese Christmas with his crewmates this year.
“Probably, I’ll provide a lot of Japanese food for you guys to celebrate the holiday season,” Yui said.
Fincke, Cardman, Williams and Yui are four of seven astronauts currently living aboard the ISS. Cosmonauts Oleg Platanov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev, all flight engineers with Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, round out the crew but did not appear in the video Christmas card.
“So from all of us aboard the International Space Station to all of you, we would like to wish you the happiest of holiday seasons, the happiest of Christmas,” Fincke said. “Merry Christmas, and a happy, happy New Year.”