A Christmas photo shared by NASA astronauts stranded on the international space station has everyone wondering how they got their hands on Christmas treats.
The images, which show Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams and other NASA astronauts wearing Santa Claus hats, was posted earlier this week to celebrate the holidays.
The two test pilots have been stranded in space since June, when they blasted off on Boeing’s first astronaut flight to the International Space Station. But their mission grew from eight days to eight months after NASA decided to send the company’s problem-plagued Starliner capsule back empty in September.
This has led many on social media to question how the astronauts received the Christmas decorations they showed off in their holiday images.
One X user wrote: ‘who delivered the Christmas hats and decorations??
‘So…u thought far enough in advance to pack them when extra space in the capsule is at a very high premium?? hmmm.’
Another echoed the sentiment, adding: ‘Just curious how they’re still alive with 8 days of food and Christmas decorations?’
A third questioned: ‘How much did it cost to send up Christmas hats?’
The viral question prompted commander Nick Hague to reveal the crew received the goodies in a shipment from Earth six months ago.
‘There’s no last-minute dash to the mall to get gifts on @SpaceSation,’ Hague said.
‘A team of elves had to pack up these gifts 6 months ago!’
On a holiday video, Williams said: ‘It’s a great time up here, we get to spend it with all of our ‘family’ on the International Space Station.
‘There are seven of us up here and so we’re going to get to enjoy company together.’
Mission commander Williams and flight engineer Wilmore took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5 for a test flight of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule.
The plan was to ride Starliner out of the atmosphere, perform a few test maneuvers, and dock with the ISS for an eight-day stay before returning to Earth in the same capsule.
However, things almost immediately began to go wrong for the problem-plagued capsule as the craft experienced thruster failures and a helium leak.
While Williams and Wilmore were safely delivered to the ISS, by the time Starliner arrived it had sprung more helium leaks and five of its 28 thrusters had failed.
After weeks of tests, NASA made the decision that it was not safe for the astronauts to return aboard Starliner as originally planned.
In September, Starliner was sent back to Earth empty, touching down in New Mexico after slowing its descent with parachutes.
Mission commander Williams and flight engineer Wilmore took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5 for a test flight of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule.
The plan was to ride Starliner out of the atmosphere, perform a few test maneuvers, and dock with the ISS for an eight-day stay before returning to Earth in the same capsule.
However, things almost immediately began to go wrong for the problem-plagued capsule as the craft experienced thruster failures and a helium leak.
While Williams and Wilmore were safely delivered to the ISS, by the time Starliner arrived it had sprung more helium leaks and five of its 28 thrusters had failed.
After weeks of tests, NASA made the decision that it was not safe for the astronauts to return aboard Starliner as originally planned.
In September, shortly after Starliner’s return, NASA’s Crew 9 mission launched from Florida aboard a SpaceX Dragon crew capsule.
Two of the mission’s original crew were left back on Earth, freeing up a seat each for Williams and Wilmore.
Crew 9 made it safely to the ISS, but Boeing’s stranded astronauts still can’t leave the station until a replacement crew arrives.
Under the original plan, NASA would send the four astronauts of Crew 10 to the ISS on a brand-new SpaceX Dragon capsule in February next year.
After a ‘handover period’ to help Crew 10 get up and running, Williams, Wilmore, and the members of Crew 9 would then return to Earth in their original capsule at the end of the month.
However, NASA has now revealed that the new SpaceX capsule isn’t going to be ready in time to hit that deadline.
The capsule isn’t expected to arrive at the company’s processing facility in Florida until early January and will still need more than a month of testing before it is ready.
NASA is now targeting no earlier than late March 2025 to launch the rescue crew, meaning Williams and Wilmore might not get back to Earth until April.
The space agency maintains that the ISS is well-stocked with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing, and oxygen, adding that a recent resupply even brought some ‘special items’ to help celebrate the holidays.
