In news that makes one wonder if Santa and his reindeer deliver to low-earth orbit, a record number of astronauts will be spending Christmas in space this year.
In total, ten people — from four nations — will be celebrating the season tomorrow from the International Space Station (ISS) and China’s Tiangong Space Station.
Christmas Days spent in space were rare in the early years of space exploration — but have become customary since the ISS became continuously occupied in 2000.
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In total, ten people — from four nations — will be celebrating the season tomorrow from the International Space Station (ISS) and China’s Tiangong Space Station. Pictured: Kayla Barron, a US astronaut shows off her presents for six of her crewmates on the ISS
Pictured: Christmas aboard the Skylab space station in 1973. Astronauts Gerald Carr (left) and Edward Gibson (right) were snapped here by William Pogue decking a makeshift tree composed of leftover food containers with used decal decorations and a cardboard ‘star’ made to look like a comet. The trio spent seven hours on Christmas Day on spacewalk during which they observed the passing of comet Kohoutek
Pictured: an artist’s impression of China’s Tiangong Space Station. This Christmas it will be occupied by three astronauts — Ye Guangfu, Wang Yaping and Zhai Zhigang
The first humans to spend Christmas in space — American astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders — were also the first to leave Earth’s orbit.
In 1968, Apollo 8 was used to celebrate the event. They transmitted footage from Apollo 8 on Christmas Eve.
According to reports, Lovell radioed Earth to inform them that there was a Santa Claus as the spacecraft left lunar orbit.
It is estimated that some one billion people across 64 countries tuned in live to the broadcast — the equivalent of one-in-every-four individuals alive at the time.
Following the Vietnam War, it was felt that a message of global peace was not appropriate.
Not everyone seemed to appreciated the choice of reading, however — with American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray O’Hair suing the United States government, unsuccessfully, for alleged violations of the First Amendment.
The Russian space station, Mir, saw 12 expedition crews spent the Christmas period on board the orbiting laboratory between 1987 and 1998 — two of which included the American astronauts John Blaha and David Wolf.
The first Christmas celebrated within the confines of a space shuttle — specifically the Discovery — took place in 1999.
Five NASA astronauts (Curtis Brown, Scott Kelly, John Grunsfeld, Michael Foale and Steven Smith) and two members of the European Space Agency (Jean-François Clervoy and Claude Nicollier) made up the STS-103 Hubble Telescope repair mission.
The intrepid team enjoyed a festive meal of duck foie gras on Mexican tortillas, cassoulet and salted pork with lentils — and Dr Grunsfeld and Mr Smith undertook a Christmas Eve spacewalk to complete the repairs to the space observatory.
The observances of Russian Orthodox Christmas, January 7, was more important than the Soviet-era’s largely secular Soviet society. Cosmonauts were the first to ring in the New Year. The first cosmonauts to celebrate the new year in orbit were Georgi Grechko and Yuri Romanenko, who — as part of their record-setting 96-day mission — greeted 1978 about the Salyut-6 space station with a toast (pictured), which was broadcast on live television
Pictured: The penultimate Christmas message received from Mir by the crew, Pavel Vinogradov (left), NASA Astronaut David Wolf (centre) and Anatoli Slovyev(right), all in 1997
A permanent human presence in space — which, in consequence, ensures that some people always experience December 25 from orbit — began on November 2, 2000.
The International Space Station Expedition 1 crew of William Shepherd (NASA) and Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Kraaled of (Roscosmos) became the first to celebrate Christmas and ring in the new year aboard the fledgling facility.
The trio began a tradition of reading a Christmas message of goodwill for those people back down on Earth — while Mr Shepherd, as per naval tradition, wrote a poem into the station’s log as the first entry of the new year.
Pictured: In 2013, the Expedition 42 crew onboard the International Space Station left milk and cookies for Santa and hung their stockings at the Joint Airlock
International Space Station Expedition 1 Crew of William Shepherd (NASA), Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Kraaled (Roscosmos), were the first crew to celebrate Christmas aboard the facility’s fledgling facilities. The trio began a tradition of reading a Christmas message of goodwill for those people back down on Earth — which carries on today (pictured)
Space has seen Christmas, but it isn’t the only celebration of winter. NASA’s Jeffrey Hoffman observed Hanukkah beginning on Endeavour, the 8-day-long Jewish Festival of Lights in 1993.
That year, Hanukkah — which commemorates the recapture of Jerusalem and the subsequent rededication of the Second Temple by the Maccabean Jews in 164 BCE — began on the evening of December 9.
After his third spacewalk on the STS61 Hubble Space Telescope repair mission was completed, Dr Hoffman had a celebratory hour of spinning a dreidel. The astronaut had also brought with him a Hanukkah menorah and a Mezuzah for the occasion.
In the largely secular Soviet era, meanwhile, ringing in the new year was given more significance by cosmonauts that the observance of the Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7.
The first cosmonauts to celebrate the new year in orbit were Georgi Grechko and Yuri Romanenko, who — as part of their record-setting 96-day mission — greeted 1978 about the Salyut-6 space station with a toast, broadcast on live television.
However, Christmas is not only a winter festival that has been observed in space. NASA’s Jeffrey Hoffman witnessed the beginning of Hanukkah in space in 1993. He was aboard the Endeavour shuttle. Pictured: NASA’s Jessica Meir, wearing Hanukkah socks at the International Space Station Cupola isn’t alone in celebrating Hanukkah.
EXPLAINED. THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONALSPACE STATION IS SET 250 MILES ABOVE EARTH
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
Since November 2000, it has been permanently manned by rotating teams of astronauts and cosmos.
Although crews have mostly come from Russia and the United States, the Japanese space agency JAXA as well as the European space agency ESA also send astronauts.
Over 20 years, the International Space Station has been continuously used. Numerous new modules and system upgrades have been made to it.
Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.
ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.
The US space agency, NASA, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, with the remaining funding coming from international partners, including Europe, Russia and Japan.
So far 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, and among them eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million for their visit.
A debate continues about what will happen to the station after 2025. Some of its original structures may eventually die.
Russia, which is an important partner for the station’s construction, will launch its orbital platform in that same period. Axiom Space (a private firm) plans to also launch modules designed to be used commercially to the station.
NASA, ESA and JAXA, as well as Canada’s Space Agency (CSA), are working in tandem to create a space station orbiting the moon. Russia and China also have similar projects, which would include a base at the surface.