The astronauts stuck on the ISS wished the inhabitants of the Earth a Merry Christmas in an original way. Video

NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have congratulated everyone on Earth on the great holiday of Christmas. Expedition 72 commander Sunita Williams wore reindeer antlers to record a festive video, her fellow space veteran Barry Wilmore wore a cowboy hat, and Donald Pettit and Nick Haig wore red hats.

To create a festive mood 420 kilometers away from their home planet, the astronauts scattered candy around the station, which flew around, and made a reindeer out of white garment bags. In a warm video message, the ISS astronauts also showed a small artificial Christmas tree decorated with photos of their families, which they miss while away from home, Space.com writes.

"Merry Christmas to everyone on Earth from our astronauts aboard the International Space Station," NASA wrote in a video posted on the X network.

"It's a wonderful time of year. We are celebrating Christmas with our family on the International Space Station. There are seven of us here, so we can enjoy the company together," said Sunita Williams, who was stuck in space for 10 months instead of 8 days.

"At Christmas time, during the holiday season, people spend time with friends, family and loved ones. This year, we are in orbit far away from them. We are not the only ones who are away from their families during the holidays. A huge ground team is working and supporting us. I want to thank them. We work side by side with Earth every day and on holidays to continue this mission," said astronaut Nick Haig.

Barry Wilmore, 62, who is a devout Christian, reminded in a video message from space of the religious aspect of the great holiday. "Christmas is Christ. Hallelujah, a savior has been born," he emphasized.

And Donald Pettit noted that the holidays are also a time to eat delicious food. "Christmas is synonymous with food and feasting. And we have a feast here," Don emphasized, demonstrating the food that the team from Earth had thoughtfully sent them so that even far from home the astronauts could feel the taste of Christmas.

To complement the space holiday table and further raise the Christmas mood, astronauts on the ISS decorated traditional gingerbread cookies right on board the orbiting laboratory.

It is interesting that Christmas and New Year are celebrated on board the ISS every year. And for Sunita, these are not the first holidays spent in space. In 2006, she was already on board the station during the holidays.

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