Initially appeared on E! On-line
The stranded NASA astronauts are feeling festive this Christmas, regardless of being a whole bunch of miles away from earth.
Sunita “Suni” Williams — who has been stranded in area alongside associate Barry “Butch” Wilmore since June — not too long ago obtained into the vacation spirit with some fellow area explorers aboard the Worldwide Area Station.
“Another day, another sleigh,” NASA captioned a brand new Instagram snapshot of Williams and American astronaut Don Pettit flashing smiles whereas carrying purple Santa hats. “Don Pettit and Suni Williams, Expedition 72 flight engineer and commander, pose for a fun holiday season portrait while speaking on a ham radio inside the International Space Station’s Columbus laboratory module.”
Although the area vacationers appear to be stuffed with cheer within the Dec. 16 pic, the holly jolly photograph raised one main query amongst these following Williams and Wilmore’s journey house: How had been they capable of get their arms on Christmas garments after being in orbit for over half a yr?
As one consumer commented, “Where did the Santa hats come from if they’ve been stuck up there for months and only planned a short trip? Seems an odd unnecessary to have on hand…”
READ: Here is what NASA’s stranded astronauts ate for Thanksgiving aboard the Worldwide Area Station
One other questioned, “8 day mission, happened to have Santa hats.”
It nonetheless wasn’t clear the place the Santa hats got here from, however this may not be the primary time the pair has spent an unplanned vacation in area — final month they celebrated Thanksgiving on the ISS. And though Williams and Wilmore weren’t capable of be with their family members for Turkey Day, they nonetheless celebrated with a menu that included all the right fixings — in dehydrated area pouch kind, in fact.
Pettit, American Nick Hague, in addition to three different Russian astronauts additionally partook within the Thanksgiving meal.
Williams and Wilmore first grew to become stranded in area again in June as a result of a malfunction with their Starliner craft. Though the colleagues had supposed the mission to solely final eight days after departing from Earth this summer season, a leak of their Boeing plane — associated to its propulsion — has left them stranded.
And whereas they had been speculated to be coming house in February 2025, it was revealed earlier this month that they are going to truly be stranded slightly bit longer.
NASA confirmed that the 2 aren’t anticipated to return till March or April due to a delay in launching their replacements on the ISS.
“We’re feeling good, working out, eating right,” Williams instructed involved followers earlier this yr. “We have a lot of fun up here, too. So, you know, people are worried about us. Really, don’t worry about us.”
NASA introduced Thursday that the subsequent Artemis mission, which can ship 4 astronauts on a flight across the moon, will probably be delayed till 2026.
