The holidays are all about the people you spend them with—not so much about where you are. This perfectly applies to the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, who celebrated Christmas and New Year’s Eve in orbit. Hoping to share their experience, as well as send some seasonal cheer down to Earth, the crew got together to wish everybody a happy holiday season in a joyful video.
“It’s a great time of year up here,” says Expedition 72 commander Sunita “Suni” Williams. She is joined in the video by astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore, Don Pettit, and Nick Hague, and a snowman made out of stowage bags. “We get to spend it with all of our family up on the International Space Station. There’s seven of us up here, and so we’re going to get to enjoy company together,” the astronaut shares, referring to the three Roscosmos cosmonauts, Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov, aboard the ISS.
To get in the holiday spirit, Williams donned reindeer antlers and a red pullover, while Hague, Pettit, and Wilmore wore Santa caps, with Wilmore placing his over a cowboy hat. To round the festive scene, the team posed next to a small artificial Christmas tree before releasing some candy canes and ornaments featuring pictures of their loved ones onto zero gravity.
“In Christmas time, the holiday season, it’s about spending time with friends and family and loved ones. This year, we’re going to be in orbit away from them,” says Hague, who is expected to return to Earth in March after some delays in the spacecraft set to retrieve him and Williams.
The astronaut then acknowledged the hard work of the ground teams, which work around the clock to keep everything running smoothly. “We’re not the only ones that are going to spend time away from our families over the holidays. There’s a huge team on the ground that’s going to support us in mission controls around the globe,” Hague added. “I want to thank them for the sacrifices that they’re making. Together, we work hand-in-hand with the ground every day, and over the holidays we keep this mission going,” he said.
The team later marked the New Year in a way only astronauts aboard the ISS can. “The Expediton 72 crew orbited into 2025 experiencing 16 sunrises and sunsets over 250 miles above the Earth,” the ISS notes on Instagram. Hague also reflected on the year with his own post. “Looking back on the year, it’s been pretty spectacular!” he writes. “We have accomplished much as the @iss continues conducting scientific exploration for all humanity as we look ahead to a future full of promise and possibility. Happy 2025!”
The astronauts aboard the International Space Station wished everybody a happy holiday season in a joyful video.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
The team later marked the New Year in a way only astronauts aboard the ISS can—by experiencing 16 sunrises and sunsets over 250 miles above Earth.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Astronaut Nick Hague also reflected on the year with his own post. “Looking back on the year, it’s been pretty spectacular!” he writes.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Source: Space Station Astronauts Deliver a Christmas Message for 2024
Related Articles:
NASA Astronauts Stuck in Space Share Festive Photo That’s Out of this World
Stunning Images of Comet A3 Captured by Astronauts Aboard the ISS
Watch Two SpaceX Polaris Dawn Astronauts Take the First Ever Private Spacewalk
Watch How Astronauts Sleep in the International Space Station