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For the past 25 years, an intrepid group of astronauts have spent the holidays 250 miles above the Earth. The crew living and working aboard the International Space Station (ISS) get to eat their turkey (but can’t drink seltzer or use salt) and open presents while traveling 17,500 miles per hour and circling their home planet every 90 minutes.
Despite that unique vantage, the celebrations often look quite similar to how they would here on Earth. NASA astronauts share special meals packed by the Space Food Systems Laboratory at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the crews will select their menus with help from nutritionists and food scientists before launch. The cargo launches arriving before special occasions often include Holiday Bulk Overwrapped Bags filled with foods including clams, oysters, green beans, and smoked salmon, and shelf-stable treats such as icing, candies, almond butter, and hummus.
ISS crew members will also use the opportunity to connect with loved ones through video calls. According to NASA, these chats and the holiday greetings sent back to Earth are, “a reminder that even in space, home is never far away.”
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Browse through a quarter century of ISS holiday celebrations below. (Click to expand images to full screen.)
Expedition 4 crew members, former NASA astronauts Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz, along with Rosocosmos cosmonaut Yuri Onifriyenko, pose for a Christmas photo in December 2022. Image: NASA.
Expedition 13 crew members, Rosocosmos cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarav (left) and former NASA astronaut William McArthur, pose with Christmas stockings in December 2005. Image: NASA.
The six Expedition 30 crew members assembled in the U.S. Destiny laboratory aboard the space station for a Christmas celebration in December 2011. Image: NASA.
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti pictured above the space station on December 20, 2014 during Expedition 42. Image NASA.
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Expedition 50 crew members celebrate the holidays aboard the orbiting laboratory in December 2016. Image: NASA.
Four Expedition 70 crewmates join each other inside the space station and join each other inside the space station’s Unity module for a Christmas Day Meal in December 2023. From left are Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency); Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency); and NASA Flight Engineers Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli. Image: NASA.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams shows off a holiday decoration of a familiar reindeer aboard the ISS on December 16, 2024. The Decoration was crafted with excess hardware, cargo bags, and recently-delivered Santa Hats. Image: NASA.
NASA astronauts Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Petit (left) and Commander Suni Williams (right) pose for a fun holiday season portrait while speaking on a ham radio inside the space station’s Columbus laboratory module. Image: NASA.
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To remind us here on Earth that we are all still connected, NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Don Pettit wish a merry Christmas and a happy holiday season to Earth in a message recorded on December 23, 2024.
