Christmas on the International Space Station facts for kids
Christmas is a special time, even for astronauts orbiting Earth on the International Space Station (ISS). Every year, the crew, their families, and the teams on the ground celebrate Christmas together. Astronauts get time off to enjoy the holiday, respecting their different cultures and beliefs.
Because people from many countries work on the ISS, Christmas can be celebrated more than once! Some celebrate on December 25th, following the Gregorian calendar. Others, like those from the Russian Orthodox Church, celebrate on January 6th, 7th, or 19th, using the Julian calendar. This means the crew might enjoy Christmas festivities multiple times during their mission!
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First Christmas in Space
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied by astronauts since November 2000. This means that every single Christmas since then has been celebrated by a crew living far above Earth.
The very first crew, known as Expedition 1, arrived at the ISS on November 2, 2000. They were the first to experience Christmas in orbit, making history. Since then, celebrating Christmas has become a fun tradition for all astronauts on the station.
Holiday Traditions on the ISS
One of the most popular traditions for astronauts on the ISS is having a special Christmas dinner. Even in space, they try to make the holiday feel like home.
Expedition 30's Christmas Photo
On December 25, 2011, the crew of Expedition 30 took a break from their duties to take a group photo. This crew included astronauts Dan Burbank, Oleg Kononenko, Don Pettit, Anatoly Ivanishin, Andre Kuipers, and Anton Shkaplerov. It was a festive moment, showing their holiday spirit in space.
A Christmas Eve Spacewalk
On December 24, 2013, astronauts made a rare spacewalk on Christmas Eve. They had to go outside the station to fix a broken part of the cooling system. This system helps keep the station at the right temperature.
The cooling system had stopped working earlier that month, which meant many science experiments had to pause. During the spacewalk, the astronauts faced a "mini blizzard" of ammonia, a substance used in the cooling system. It was a challenging but important task. This was only the second time in NASA's history that a spacewalk happened on Christmas Eve.
Christmas 2016 Celebrations
On December 25, 2016, the crew celebrated Christmas by floating around in micro-gravity. They opened Christmas presents that had recently arrived on a Japanese cargo spacecraft.
One astronaut even wore a Santa hat while orbiting Earth! The French astronaut Thomas Pesquet shared special French food with his fellow crew members. Pesquet also made a special Christmas video for the European Space Agency (ESA), sharing their unique holiday experience with people on Earth.
