Celebrating Christmas away from loved ones is never easy, and the situation is all the more special for NASA astronauts. Especially Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. These two Americans had not planned, when they left in June, to spend Christmas and the end of year holidays in space.
However, a chain of events, starting with the failure of their ship, reduced the duration of their mission from 8 days to 8 months. Their return, initially planned for the end of June 2024, will finally take place “at the end of March 2025, at the earliest” according to the latest NASA situation report.
In the images shared by the American space agency, the astronauts in space do not seem to suffer from homesickness. They appeared with Santa hats on their heads. In their free time they even built a makeshift rein, with sleeping bags and various packaging.
Officially on vacation for a few days, the ISS astronauts are taking advantage of this moment to “communicate privately with their family.” On these personal social networks, astronaut Nick Hague, who arrived in September on the ISS, shared some private moments, to bring this unique Christmas to the whole world.
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A special Christmas meal
Like every year, NASA had planned the event for the New Year's Eve meal. The astronauts, accustomed to eating dehydrated food, were treated to exceptional dishes, prepared by the best chefs on the planet. This year the “Holiday Bulk Overwrap Bag” package contained lobster, crab and quail.
Christmas in space, nothing new
If spending Christmas in space is something that is difficult to imagine for the general public, it is actually quite common in the life of an astronaut. Since the arrival of the ISS and manned flights every six months, many astronauts have spent Christmas in space.
This is particularly the case of Thomas Pesquet. The French astronaut spent Christmas 2016 and the end-of-year holidays 2021 far from his loved ones. During his first visit to the ISS, he notably brought back beef tongue prepared by chef Thierry Marx.
He then assured that Christmas was “a celebration” even in space. It's one of the rare times of year when astronauts have free time. They can share time together and talk. The rest of the year, the astronauts' schedule is timed, from sunrise to sunset.
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