Seven astronauts celebrate the holidays on board the International Space Station, but that hasn’t stopped them from beaming some revelry to Earth.
Expedition 64 crew members are taking a day off, but NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Kate Rubins, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi needed some more time to send a message of “resilience” at home during a particularly difficult holiday season.
“Resilience” is also the name they give to the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule which launched four of the astronauts to the space station last month.
“We chose that name in tribute to people around the world and to the teams that made our mission possible during a year that changed our whole lives,” Hopkins said. “We would also like to remember everyone we lost this year.”
“There couldn’t be a better name to describe 2020,” added Glover. “The resilience of the human spirit is something we can really celebrate in this special season.”
“As we prepare to celebrate the holidays far away from our loved ones, we look down on our precious planet, and it becomes clear how connected we really are,” said Walker.
Hopkins, Glover, Walker and Noguchi left for the station in November to join Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, all of whom spend Christmas relaxing, calling family and friends, and sharing a festive meal together.
“My family on the ground is definitely in my thoughts and in my prayers and in my socks,” Glover said inside another video, noting his custom socks with images of family members. “But that also makes me think about all the people who are also unable to spend the holidays with their families,” he added, thanking service and health workers during the pandemic.
Earlier this month, a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the ISS with new supplies – including Christmas gifts and fixings. Roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, cornbread dressing, cherry blueberry cobbler, potato au gratin, biscuits and other appetizers for a seven-person holiday party all arrived for the holidays.
The holidays “mean the three F’s – family, friends, and food,” Walker said.
Noguchi also received a special food item 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 we change the calendar to a new year, with renewed hope and a spirit for the future,” said Noguchi.
Rubins said the crew is staging a competition this Christmas against the Mission Control team at the Johnson Space Center – whichever team decorates their workstations with the best DIY decor from what they have on hand in space and Mission Control wins. .
“I know you’ve issued a challenge and let me just say, decorate Mission Control? Challenge accepted,” said NASA flight director Zebulon Scoville, wearing a festive blazer and tie. “Maybe I should cut this coat to make something new out of it.”
Santa’s sleigh made a special stop at the ISS for the first time his year, he said NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which “follows” Santa’s travels every year. The Federal Aviation Administration cleared Santa for the flight into space on Wednesday, granting him a special commercial space permit for a manned mission to the ISS aboard his “StarSleigh-1 space capsule, powered by the Rudolph Rocket.” “
“Let’s face it, 2020 was a tough year and we could all use some special holiday cheer that only Santa can give,” said FAA administrator Steve Dickson.