Astronaut Sunita Williams and her fellow crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) sent warm holiday greetings to Earth in a video released by NASA. While celebrating Christmas in space, they reflect on the joys of the season and share their festive moments with loved ones and fans around the world.
In the video greeting, Williams, who is temporarily stationed aboard the ISS, warmly welcomed people on Earth, describing the holiday atmosphere aboard the space station. “Welcome to the International Space Station as we prepare for the Christmas holidays. It’s a great time up here; we are able to spend it all with all of our ‘family’ on the International Space Station.” There are seven of us up here, and we’re going to have a good time together,” Williams said with a positive tone.
To everyone on Earth, Merry Christmas from our @NASA_Astronauts aboard the International @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/GoOZjXJYLP
— NASA (@NASA) December 23, 2024
Christmas on the ISS was unique for the astronauts. For a moment, the farthest people from families would still find themselves brought together by the spirit. “I think the essence of the holiday is the preparations,” said Williams. “That’s what I love about Christmas. The anticipation of getting everybody together and just getting ready for the holiday.”
Sending Christmas Cheer To Earth
For the festive celebrations, the crew members wore holiday-themed attires, complete with Santa hats, to bring festive cheer to their viewers back on Earth. “Christmas time, the holiday season, is all about spending time with family and friends. This year, though, we would be far away from both. Therefore, we just wanted to send out Merry Christmas and hope you all have a great holiday, one of the crew members said while pointing out to the very spirit of the oneness that cuts through distance even in space.
In preparation for Christmas, NASA also prepared the astronauts for the occasion. Holiday meals were sent to the ISS. The food delivery ensured that the crew enjoyed a traditional holiday meal floating in space, thereby adding a home feel to the celebration.
Extended Mission For Williams And Wilmore
Williams, who accompanied astronaut Barry Wilmore, had initially flown on an eight-day mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Recently, though, NASA revealed that it extended its mission and was to stay on board till March 2025, having to postpone her exit since SpaceX’s Crew-10 launch had initially intended for her to go in February 2025. With the delay of those flights, Williams gets the opportunity to spend additional days to help scientists make sense of the experiments happening, and keep operations of the ISS going.
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