Astronauts beam home Christmas wishes from International Space Station: 'I think we may be orbiting a little higher than Santa' (video)
They won't be home for Christmas, but astronauts in space are finding their own way to make the season bright.
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.
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.
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"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)