Christmas in space? NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore certainly didn’t think they’d be on the International Space Station for Christmas when they left Earth in June. In fact, they initially planned to stay only for eight days. And now, what was planned as a February return has been moved to late March.

But the two stranded astronauts, including fellow astronauts Nick Hague and Don Pettit, recently sent Christmas greetings to Earth with photos and videos on social media showing the travelers in space wearing Christmas headgear.

deer Instagram image shows Pettit and Williams wearing Santa hats. And in a videoWilliams, Wilmore, Pettit and Hague can be seen posing with a snowman figure and a small decorated tree, while the three men wear Santa hats and Williams wears reindeer antlers.

Everyone took turns talking about their holiday in orbit, floating candy canes around them, showing off the canned food they would enjoy, and also using weightlessness in microgravity to float the microphone to the next speaker.

“It’s a great time of year here,” Williams said. “We will spend it with all our ‘family’ on the International Space Station, there are seven of us here, and so we will be together.”

Christmas conspiracy theory?

Many people who watch the video or see the images wonder why the ISS has Christmas decorations.

“8 day mission that turns into months long and they have Christmas hats?” asked one commenter.

Other commentators have pointed out that the ISS simply did not exist in June, when Williams and Wilmore arrived. Incidentally, Williams also spent Christmas 2006 in space.

NASA confirmed to the New York Post that the Santa hats, along with Christmas decorations, food and gifts for the crew, were delivered in late November by SpaceX spacecraft. The ISS supplies are regularly replenished by such deliveries.

The return to February is now March

Recently, NASA pushed back Williams and Wilmore’s return to Earth from February to late March.

“NASA and SpaceX are exploring various options for handling the next crew delivery, including using another Dragon spacecraft and demonstrating modifications,” according to a NASA press release issued on December 17. “After careful consideration, the team determined that launching Crew-10 in late March, following the completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best option for meeting NASA’s requirements and achieving ot the goals of the space station for 2025.

The delay is so that the NASA and SpaceX teams can complete work on the new Dragon spacecraft on the mission. The new craft will launch four crew members to the ISS — commander Anne McClain, commander, pilot Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Once the new crew is settled, Williams, Wilmore, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to Earth.

But Williams and Wilmore aren’t complaining about their extended stay.

“I love everything about being here,” Williams said in early December. “Living in space is a lot of fun.”

The astronauts keep busy, with Williams and Wilmore helping other ISS residents with space botanical studies and other research, according to NASA’s ISS blog. They helped with more than 60 scientific studies during their nearly six-month ride, the Washington Post reported.

Here’s what you need to know about what the two astronauts are up to.

Who are the astronauts?

Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are veteran astronauts and both naval officers and former test pilots. Williams has been a NASA astronaut since 1998, and Wilmore since 2000. Both have extensive experience in space.

Williams is the former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time by a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007, she ran the first marathon of any man in space.

In 2009, Wilmore piloted the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its mission to the ISS, and in 2014, he was part of the ISS crew that used a 3D printer to create a tool — a ratchet wrench — to space, the first time people. created something out of this world.

What was their original mission in space?

Wilmore, as commander, and Williams, as pilot, traveled to the ISS in a 15-foot-wide, Boeing-made capsule called the Starliner. They launched on June 5 and docked with the ISS on June 6. NASA hopes the Starliner will give the organization a new way to get crews to and from the ISS, and the fact that it’s made by Boeing is another sign that NASA is beginning to lean on the private sector for its human spaceflight options, The New York Times reported.

Wilmore and Williams’ mission to the ISS will last just eight days, during which they will test aspects of the Starliner and see how it would handle a human crew in space. But due to complications with the Starliner, the two astronauts are still there.

What do astronauts eat?

Food on the ISS is a major focus, as fresh produce must be replenished every three months with deliveries from Earth. That Nov. 23, the unpiloted Progress 90 resupply spacecraft successfully landed on the ISS. But the latest food delivery has an unpleasant smell.

“After opening the hatch of the Progress spacecraft, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed an unexpected smell and observed small droplets, prompting the crew to close the Poisk hatch to the rest in Russia,” a NASA representative said in a statement posted on social media.

“The space station’s air scrubbers and contaminant sensors have been monitoring the station’s atmosphere since the observation, and on Sunday, flight controllers determined that the air quality inside the space station was within normal range. level,” said NASA. “There were no concerns for the crew, and as of Sunday afternoon, the crew was working to open the hatch between Poisk and Progress while all other space station operations continued as planned.”

NASA revealed that their menu includes cereal with powdered milk, pizza, shrimp cocktails, roast chicken and tuna.

The odor associated with the spacecraft is not the only food-related concern of late, with some publications questioning the thin appearance of the astronauts based on the new photos.

Dr. J.D. Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, issued an official statement saying Williams and Wilmore are doing well. “NASA and our partners have safely conducted long-duration missions aboard the orbital laboratory for decades, studying the effects of space on the human body as we prepare for exploration beyond the solar system. ,” Polk said. “The health of the crew is constantly monitored by dedicated flight surgeons on Earth, and they have an individual diet and health regime to ensure they stay healthy during their expeditions.”

Williams said he weighed the same when he arrived at the space station, at a video interview conducted Nov. 12 on the ISS.

What did the astronauts say?

The astronauts were positive about their experience. In a live news conference in September, Williams said that despite knowing their mission was scheduled to last only eight days, the two had “trained for years” for it. They are now qualified to stay in space for a long time, and to help pilot the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that will bring them home next year.

“It’s very peaceful here,” Williams said on September 13, though he added that they miss their families back on Earth.

Astronauts work on research, maintenance and data analysis during their long stays.

“We’re having a great time here on the ISS,” Williams said at a news conference made from orbit in July. “I’m not complaining. Butch isn’t complaining that we’re up here for a few extra weeks.”

How did they get stuck in space in the first place?

the The Starliner was delayed in May due to a problem with the rocket valve. Then the engineers had to fix a helium leak. That’s all bad news for Boeing. it competing with SpaceXwhich has been done bringing astronauts to the ISS since 2020, has made more than 20 successful trips to the space station.

The Starliner finally launched, atop an Atlas V rocket, on June 5, but some problems accompanied it. NASA announced it three helium leaks identified, one of which was known before flying, and two new ones. In addition to the leaks, the crew had to troubleshoot the failed control thrusters, although the craft was able to successfully dock with the ISS.

SpaceX has had setbacks too. A The Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launchpad in 2016. In July of this year, a Falcon 9 rocket experienced a liquid oxygen leak and deployed its satellites into the wrong orbit, The New York Times reported. And a Falcon 9 rocket in late August lost a first-stage booster when it fell into the Atlantic Ocean and burnt.

But that said, SpaceX has more than 300 successful ones Falcon 9 flight to his credit.

Trapped in space: A timeline

• May: The Starliner launch is delayed by a problem with a rocket valve, and then a helium leak.
• June 5: Starliner launches with Williams and Wilmore on board.
• June 6: The Starliner docks with the ISS despite dealing with three helium leaks and failed control thrusters.
• Sept. 6: Starliner leaves the ISS and lands in New Mexico, leaving Williams and Wilmore behind.
• September 28: SpaceX Crew-9 mission launches with Hague and Gorbunov in a Dragon spacecraft.
• September 29: The SpaceX Dragon lands on the ISS.
• December 17: NASA announces that the launch of four crew members to the ISS will be delayed from February to late March.
• March 2025 onwards: The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft returns to Earth with Williams, Wilmore, Hague and Gorbunov.