The Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year vacations are cheerful occasions generally invested with friends and family. Astronauts and cosmonauts who discover themselves in area throughout the vacations have actually discovered their own special method to commemorate the celebrations. In the early years of the area program, vacations invested in area took place occasionally, most especially the flight of Apollo 8 around the Moon throughout Christmas 1968, making them more remarkable. As objectives ended up being longer and more regular, vacations in area ended up being more typical events. For the previous 23 years, vacations invested aboard the International Space Station have actually ended up being yearly, if not completely regular, occasions.
Left: The popular Earthrise photo, taken by the Apollo 8 team in lunar orbit. : Video of the Apollo 8 team of Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders checking out from The Book of Genesis.
As the very first team to invest Christmas in area, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders, commemorated the vacation while circling around the Moon in December 1968, the very first people to leave Earth orbit. They celebrated the occasion on Christmas Eve by taking turns checking out the opening verses from the Bible’s Book of Genesis as they relay scenes of the Moon moving by listed below. An approximated one billion individuals in 64 nations tuned in to their Christmas Eve broadcast. As they left lunar orbit, Lovell radioed back to Earth, where Christmas Eve had actually currently turned to Christmas Day, “Please be notified there is a Santa Claus!”
Left: Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald P. Carr, left, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue cut their homemade Christmas tree in December 1973. : Carr, Gibson, and Pogue hung their stockings aboard Skylab.
Throughout their 84-day record-setting objective aboard the Skylab spaceport station in 1973 and 1974, Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald P. Carr, William R. Pogue, and Edward G. Gibson commemorated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s in area– the very first team to invest Thanksgiving and New Year’s in orbit. They constructed a homemade Christmas tree from remaining food containers, utilized colored decals as decors, and topped it with a cardboard cutout in the shape of a comet. Carr and Pogue invested 7 hours on a Christmas Day spacewalk to alter out movie containers and observe the passing Comet Kohoutek. When back inside the station, they delighted in a Christmas supper total with fruitcake, spoke with their households, and opened presents. They even had orbital visitors of sorts, as Soviet cosmonauts Pyotr I. Klimuk and Valentin V. Lebedev orbited the world aboard Soyuz 13 in between Dec. 18 and 26, marking the very first time that astronauts and cosmonauts remained in area at the exact same time. Various orbits prevented any direct contact in between the 2 teams.
Aboard Salyut-6, Georgi M. Grechko, left, and Yuri V. Romanenko, toast to commemorate the brand-new year in area, the very first Russian cosmonauts to do so. Image credits: Courtesy of Roscosmos.
In the more nonreligious Soviet age, the New Year’s vacation had more significance than the Jan. 7 observance of Orthodox Christmas. The very first cosmonauts to call in a brand-new year in orbit were Yuri V. Romanenko and Georgi M. Grechko, throughout their record-setting 96-day objective in 1977 and 1978, aboard the Salyut-6 spaceport station. They toasted the brand-new year throughout a television broadcast with the ground. The specific nature of the drink taken in for the event has actually not been given to posterity.
Left: STS-61 objective expert Jeffrey A. Hoffman with a dreidel throughout Hanukkah in December 1993. : Video of Hoffman explaining how he commemorated Hanukkah aboard area shuttle bus Endeavour.
The eight-day Jewish vacation of Hanukkah, likewise called the Festival of Lights, commemorates the regain of Jerusalem and rededication of the Second Temple in 164 B.C.E. It happens in the month of Kislev in the Hebrew lunar calendar, which can fall in between late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. NASA astronaut Jeffrey A. Hoffman commemorated the very first Hanukkah in area throughout the STS-61 Hubble Space Telescope Servicing objective in 1993. Hanukkah that year started on the night of Dec. 9, after Hoffman finished his 3rd spacewalk of the objective. He commemorated with a taking a trip menorah, unlit obviously, and by spinning a dreidel.
The STS-103 team flaunt their Santa hats on the flight deck of area shuttle bus Discovery in 1999.
The team of another Hubble Space Telescope repair work objective, STS-103, commemorated the very first area shuttle bus Christmas in 1999 aboard Discovery. For Christmas supper, Curtis L. Brown, Scott J. Kelly, Steven L. Smith, Jean-François A. Clervoy of the European Space Agency (ESA), John M. Grunsfeld, C. Michael Foale, and Claude Nicollier of ESA took pleasure in duck foie gras on Mexican tortillas, cassoulet, and salted pork with lentils. Smith and Grunsfeld finished repair work on the telescope throughout a Christmas Eve spacewalk.
Left: Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mir Expedition 17 flight engineer Elena V. Kondakova with a bottle of champagne to commemorate New Year’s Eve 1994. : Video of Kondakova showing the habits of champagne in weightlessness aboard Mir. Image credits: Courtesy of Roscosmos.
In between 1987 and 1998, 12 Mir exploration teams invested their vacations aboard the ever-expanding orbital station. 2 of the teams consisted of NASA astronauts, John E. Blaha and David A. Wolf, aboard the Russian spaceport station as part of the Shuttle-Mir Program.
Left: Video of Mir Expedition 22 flight engineer and NASA astronaut John E. Blaha’s 1996 Christmas message from Mir. : Mir Expedition 24 flight engineer and NASA astronaut David A. Wolf with his menorah and dreidel to commemorate Hanukkah in 1997.
The last 2 New Year’s Eve messages from Mir. Left: Mir 24 team of Pavel V. Vinogradov, left, NASA astronaut David A. Wolf, and Anatoli Y. Solovyev in 1997. : Mir 26 team of Sergei V. Avdeyev, left, and Gennadi I. Padalka in 1998. It was the 3rd time Avdeyev sounded in the brand-new year in area. Image credits: Courtesy of Roscosmos.
The arrival of Expedition 1 team members William M. Shepherd of NASA and Yuri P. Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev of Roscosmos aboard the International Space Station on Nov. 2, 2000, marked the start of an irreversible human existence in area. The very first to commemorate Christmas and ring in the brand-new year aboard the recently established orbiting lab, they started a custom of checking out a goodwill message to individuals back in the world. Shepherd honored a marine custom of composing a poem as the very first entry of the brand-new year in the ship’s log.
Left: Video of Expedition 1 team members Yuri P. Gidzenko of Roscosmos, left, NASA astronaut William M. Shepherd, and Sergei K. Krikalev of Roscosmos reading their Christmas message in December 2000– this significant Krikalev’s 3rd holiday invested in orbit, the very first 2 invested aboard Mir in 1988 and 1991. : The area station as it appeared in December 2000.
Exploration 1 leader NASA astronaut William M. Shepherd’s poem, composed for the New Year’s Day 2001 entry in the spaceport station’s log, in keeping with marine custom.
Left: A short video choice of how some exploration teams commemorated Christmas aboard the spaceport station. : From 2019, the Christmas message from the Expedition 61 team members.
Delight in the following choice of pictures and videos of global teams as they commemorated Hanukkah and Christmas, and called in the brand-new year over the previous 22 years aboard the spaceport station.
Left: The Expedition 4 team of Daniel W. Bursch of NASA, left, Yuri I. Onufriyenko of Roscosmos, and Carl E. Walz of NASA positions for its Christmas image in 2001. Middle: NASA astronaut C. Michael Foale, left, and Aleksandr Y. Kaleri of Roscosmos of Expedition 8 commemorate Christmas in 2003. : The Expedition 10 team of Salizhan S. Sharipov of Roscosmos, left, and NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao festooned for New Year’s Eve 2004.
Left: Valeri I. Tokarev of Roscosmos, left, and NASA astronaut William S. McArthur of Expedition 12 posture with Christmas stockings in 2005. Middle: The Expedition 14 team of Mikhail V. Tyurin of Roscosmos, left, and NASA astronauts Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and Sunita L. Williams position using Santa hats for Christmas 2006. : The Expedition 16 team of Yuri I. Malenchenko of Roscosmos, left, and NASA astronauts Peggy A. Whitson and Daniel M. Tani, with Christmas stockings and provides in 2007.
Left: The Expedition 18 team of E. Michael Fincke, left, and Sandra H. Magnus of NASA, and Yuri V. Lonchakov of Roscosmos enjoys its Christmas supper in 2008. Middle: The five-member Expedition 22 team of Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, left, Maksim V. Surayev and Oleg V. Kotov of Roscosmos, and Timothy J. Creamer and Jeffrey N. Williams of NASA around the Christmas table in 2009. : The Expedition 26 team of Oleg I. Skripochka of Roscosmos, left, Paolo A. Nespoli of the European Space Agency, Dmitri Y. Kondratyev of Roscosmos, Catherine G. “Cady” Coleman of NASA, Aleksandr Y. Kaleri of Roscosmos, and NASA’s Scott J. Kelly commemorates New Year’s Eve 2010. This significant Kaleri’s 3rd holiday invested in area.
Left: The Expedition 30 team of NASA astronaut Donald R. Pettit, left, Anatoli A. Ivanishin and Oleg D. Kononenko of Roscosmos, André Kuipers of the European Space Agency, NASA’s Daniel C. Burbank, and Anton N. Shkaplerov of Roscosmos present for their Christmas image in 2011. Middle: Christmas 2012 picture of Expedition 34 team members of NASA astronaut Thomas H. Marshburn, left, Roman Y. Romanenko, Oleg V. Novitski, and Yevgeni I. Tarelkin of Roscosmos, Kevin A. Ford of NASA, and Chris A. Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency. : For Christmas in 2013, the Expedition 42 team left milk and cookies for Santa and hung their stockings utilizing the Joint Airlock as a makeshift chimney.
Left: Expedition 50 team members Sergei N. Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, left, R. Shane Kimbrough of NASA, Andrei I. Borisenko and Oleg V. Novitski of Roscosmos, Peggy A. Whitson of NASA, and Thomas G. Pesquet of the European Space Agency commemorate New Year’s Eve in design in 2016. Middle: Expedition 54 team member Mark T. Vande Hei of NASA strikes a posture as an Elf on the Shelf for Christmas 2017. : The Expedition 58 team of David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, left, Anne C. McClain of NASA, and Oleg D. Kononenko of Roscosmos check their Christmas stockings for presents in 2018.
3 scenes from the 2019 holiday aboard the spaceport station. Left: Expedition 61 flight engineer Jessica U. Meir of NASA flaunts her Hanukkah-themed socks in the Cupola. Middle: Expedition 61 team members Andrew R. Morgan, left, and Christina H. Koch of NASA, Luca S. Parmitano of the European Space Agency, and Meir share their Christmas messages. : Expedition 61 team members Koch, left, Morgan, Oleg I. Skripochka of Roscosmos, Meir, Aleksandr A. Skvortsov of Roscosmos, and Parmitano ring in the brand-new year with harmonicas.
3 scenes from the 2020 holiday aboard the spaceport station. Left: Expedition 64 NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, left, Michael S. Hopkins, Kathleen H. Rubins, and Victor J. Glover and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) record Christmas greetings. Middle: Walker, left, Hopkins, Rubins, Glover, and Noguchi utilize an inflatable Earth world as an alternative for the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball “drop” aboard the spaceport station. : Expedition 64 team members Sergei V. Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, left, Hopkins, Walker, Sergei N. Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, Glover, Rubins, and Noguchi welcome in 2021 aboard the area station.
Left: During Expedition 66 in 2021, NASA astronauts Mark T. Vande Hei, left, Raja J. Chari, Kayla S. Barron, and Thomas H. Marshburn, and Matthias J. Maurer of the European Space Agency in a still from a video in which they share their ideas about the holiday: Barron revealing off the presents she covered for her 6 crewmates.
“It is a benefit to have the point of view of seeing a lot of nations,” stated Expedition 66 Commander NASA astronaut Thomas H. Marshburn in a video sharing his ideas aboutinvesting the New Year in area“We can go from one side [of Earth] to another in simply a couple of minutes and it really offers us a sensation of marriage for all people worldwide.” “We get to see the daybreak lot of times a day, so thinking of the truth that individuals are getting up to a New Year each time we see that dawn is quite cool,” included NASA astronaut Raja J. Chari. In a social networks postESA astronaut Matthias J. Maurer discussed their New Year’s Eve supper, and consisted of a time lapse video of the joyful meal.
Left: Expedition 68 team members Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, left, and NASA astronauts Francisco C. “Frank” Rubio, Josh A. Cassada, and Nicole A. Mann tape-record a vacation welcoming from the spaceport station. : Expedition 68 team members use vacation attire.
In 2022, Expedition 68 team members NASA astronauts Nicole A. Mann, Josh A. Cassada, and Francisco C. “Frank” Rubio, and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata tape-recorded a vacation message for everybody on the ground. They shared a few of their individual customs for the vacations and offered a glance of how they invest the vacations aboard the spaceport station.
Exploration 70 NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli’s felt menorah and dreidel that she utilized to commemorate Hanukkah.
Exploration 70 flight engineer NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli’s other half and 2 little ladies made a felt menorah for her to commemorate Hanukkah throughout her objective. Considering that astronauts can’t light genuine candle lights aboard the spaceport station, Moghbeli pinned felt “lights” for each night of the eight-day vacation. A dreidel spun in weightlessness will continue spinning till it can be found in contact with another item, however can’t arrive at any of its 4 faces.
Left: To commemorate New Year’s Day 2022, Shenzhou 13 astronauts Ye Guangfu, left, Zhai Zhigang, and Wang Yaping aboard the China Space Station Tiangong hold a live video call. : Wang, left, Zhai, and Ye commemorate the Chinese New Year of the Tiger aboard Tiangong.
On Jan. 1, 2022, for the very first time Chinese astronauts commemorated a New Year in area. The Shenzhou 13 team of Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu got here aboard the China Space Station Tiangong on Oct. 15, 2021, for a six-month objective. On New Year’s Day 2022, they hosted a live video call and connected with university student at locations in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Macao. For the Feb. 1 start of the Chinese New Year of the Tiger, they embellished the spaceport station and sent out finest desires to individuals on the ground for a pleased and flourishing brand-new year.
In January 2023, Shenzhou 15 astronauts Fei Junlong, left, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu send out New Year’s greetings to Earth from the Tiangong China Space Station.
We hope you delighted in these stories, photos, and videos from vacation events in area. This year, a record-tying 10 individuals from 5 countries will commemorate the vacations and ring in the brand-new year while serving aboard 2 spaceport station– the International Space Station and the Tiangong China Space Station. We want them all and everybody here in the world the best throughout the holiday and hope that 2024 will undoubtedly be a Happy New Year!