Thanksgiving celebration is one of the most popular events people celebrate across the United States and other parts of the world. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station also participate in this great celebration. On November 11 this year, the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft arrived at the ISS with supplies containing Thanksgiving dinner turkeys for the crew.
The astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory celebrate the Thanksgiving season today, Thursday, (Nov. 23). The Expedition 70 crew enjoyed the lavish holiday feast as they enjoyed the delivery made by the Dragon spacecraft earlier this month.
Astronauts aboard the space station include Commander Andreas Mogensen, Flight Engineers, NASA’s astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, Japan’s Satoshi Furukawa, and Russia’s Cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Nikolai Chub, and Oleg Kononenko. The team enjoyed the celebration together.
How the astronauts celebrated the Thanksgiving Dinner holidays in orbit
Before the crew commenced with the celebration, they sent Thanksgiving greetings to the world from orbit. The message they shared includes their thoughts about celebrating the holiday in space. The crew also expressed their gratitude and emphasized more on what they are thankful for such as the fascinating view of our blue planet from space.
“We would also like to recognize that not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving in the same way,” O’Hara highlighted. “While this is a time for gratitude, it’s also an opportunity to reflect on our history and remember those who might not get to go home for Thanksgiving or enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.”
The Expedition crew are currently enjoying their holidays in space. But before they commenced with the break, NASA mandated them to carry out their respective duties such as performing maintenance tasks for the upkeep of the orbital station, space biology research, and many others.
“On Thursday, the entire seven-member crew will take the day off, relax, and enjoy a hearty meal,” mentioned NASA blog post.
The crew shared more insight about some food items that they will eat for the Thanksgiving dinner celebration.
What’s on the Menu?
The menu for the Thanksgiving dinner is quite different from the menus most Americans will enjoy today. Keep in mind that the ISS is orbiting around Earth at an altitude of about 250 miles. Hence, astronauts in space are mandated to eat unique foods for their health and well-being in space.
Even though they will not be able to cook a whole turkey in a space oven for this celebration, the SpaceX Dragon Capsule still delivered some delicious food items to the crew. The Expedition 70 crew menu for the Thanksgiving dinner includes succulent meats, desserts, and side dishes.
The menu also includes quail, duck, seafood, roast turkey, canned cranberry sauce, butternut squash, and corn. In addition, fresh citrus fruits, apples, cherry tomatoes, and other items. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft delivered two cold storage kits containing a variety of cheese like Parmesan, Romano, cheddar, Asiago, and Gruyère, along with kits for making pizza, hummus, salsa, and olives.
Other items contained on the menu include chocolate, pumpkin spice cappuccino, rice cakes, mochi, and cranberry-apple sweet dishes for dessert.
NASA is Celebrating its 50th Thanksgiving Dinner in Space
NASA will be celebrating its 50th year during this Thanksgiving holiday in space. The agency is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Skylab’s operation in space in the 1970s.
Note that this is the era when the United States inaugurated its first space station. NASA commenced the practice of celebrating Thanksgiving in space on November 22, 1973.
However, the crew did not enjoy holiday foods during the early days in space. In fact, the Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, and William Pogue only ate two meals during the early celebration of Thanksgiving in space.
Thanksgiving is a special season of the year for millions of people across the world. During this celebration, individuals and communities reflect on the numerous blessings and positive aspects of their everyday lives. The feast also encourages people to be thankful for all the wonderful things in their lives.
Conclusion
Expedition 70 crew celebrate Thanksgiving dinner in space today. The crew enjoyed a variety of meals as they celebrated this fascinating feast.
