The space station will receive seven crew members during the holiday season.
The international crew includes Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Vande Hei, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer.
“We will work but look forward to having a great meal together,” Barron said. “We’re going to invite fellow astronauts to join us, so it’s a very international Thanksgiving.”
The astronauts shared a tradition they usually share with their families. Chari said he and his family often go around the table and ask each person to say something they are grateful for, so he will call in “and do it remotely” this year.
Astronauts often call home to talk to friends, family and loved ones on vacations away from home.
Chari also said that while Thanksgiving-themed runs take place on Earth, he brings along specially colored headbands for him and the crew to wear as they run their break meal on their treadmills. Space Station.
This year, the astronauts’ Thanksgiving menu includes crab crackers, roast turkey, potato au gratin, marshmallows, and a cherry blueberry cobbler.
“I just want my family to know how much I appreciate their love and support. Even though I’m going so far and so fast, my heart is definitely with them,” Vande Hei said.
Holidays far from Earth
Astronauts have marked a tradition of celebrating the holidays in space since the days of the Apollo mission, when the Apollo 8 crew famously shared their Christmas Eve message in a TV show directly in 1968 by taking turns reading from the Bible’s Book of Genesis.
The next incident did not occur until November 28, 1985, when seven members of the STS-61B crew: Brewster H. Shaw, Bryan D. O’Connor, Jerry L. Ross, Mary L. Cleave, Sherwood C. “Woody” Spring, Charles D. Walker and Rodolfo Neri Vela enjoy a special meal aboard the space shuttle Atlantis.
In addition to shrimp cocktail, irradiated turkey and cranberry sauce, Neri Vela also famously brought cornbread to space. Unlike bread that crumbles easily, tortillas are a perfect addition to a space menu, and they’re a favorite among astronauts to this day. More recently, tortillas have been the perfect vehicle for space-based banh tet made using the first chili peppers grown in space.
The first Thanksgiving aboard the space station took place on November 23, 2000, just three weeks after NASA’s William M. Shepherd astronaut trio and Russian cosmonauts Yuri P. Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev arrived. The opening carnival meal for a celebration has taken place on the station in November every year since.
The space station hosted the largest and most diverse Thanksgiving to date in 2009. The six crewmembers, including Jeffrey N. Williams, Maksim V. Suraev, Nicole P. Stott, Roman Y. Romanenko, Frank L. DeWinne and Robert B. Thirsk, were on board. They then welcomed six members of the crew of the shuttle STS-129, bringing in Charles O. Hobaugh, Barry E. Wilmore, Michael J. Foreman, Robert L. Satcher, Randolph J. Bresnik and Leland D. Melvin go on the boat.
The 12 crew members represent the United States, Russia, Belgium and Canada, and they got together to celebrate two days early since the shuttle left the space station on Thanksgiving itself.
How to Host a Thanksgiving Dinner in Space
NASA astronaut, Dr. Andrew Morgan, told CNN in 2020.
Morgan spent the entire holiday season on the space station in 2019 with crew members Jessica Meir, Christina Koch, Alexander Skvortsov, Oleg Skripochka and Luca Parmitano.
Turkey, stuffed potatoes and mashed potatoes are on the standard menu for NASA astronauts in space, but they also save specials like smoked salmon and cranberry sauce to share with each other. . In space, the cranberry sauce retains the shape of the can it gives off. Meir and Koch also made their own turkey to decorate their table.
In 2020, the menu includes cornbread sauce, smoked turkey, chickpeas, and mashed potatoes. Astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aeronautical Exploration Agency brought along some Japanese “party food” to share, including curry rice, red bean rice, and some special seafood that one student learned. Japanese high school students on Earth prepared for the crew.
For NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, it was his second Thanksgiving in space after spending a vacation on the station in 2013.
“For me, Thanksgiving is all about family,” says Hopkins. “This year, I dedicate it to my international family. We all feel very fortunate to be here and we are so grateful for everything we have.”
