The astronauts aboard the International Space Station (I.S.S.), including two who were supposed to return months earlier, held a cookie-decorating contest in zero gravity and created a reindeer using storage bags. In June, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore embarked on what was anticipated to be an eight-day mission to the I.S.S. However, after six months and multiple spacecraft issues, they wore Santa hats and sent greetings to their families from hundreds of miles above Earth, with their stay likely extending for at least two more months. Williams, 59, and Wilmore, 61, arrived at the space station during a test flight of Boeing’s Starliner, designed as a commercial transport for space travel. But due to a series of malfunctions that raised concerns about the safety of their return, NASA decided to send the Starliner back to Earth without a crew, leaving the two astronauts until another vehicle could retrieve them. As a result, Williams and Wilmore were able to take part in the unique tradition of celebrating holidays in space, a practice that began in 1968 when the Apollo 8 astronauts read from the Book of Genesis while showing a video of the moon’s surface to about one billion viewers. As the Apollo 8 astronauts came around the far side of the moon on Christmas Eve 1968, they were met with a sight of the Earth rising. Credit…NASA. We are experiencing difficulties accessing the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience as we confirm access. If you are using Reader mode, please exit and sign into your Times account, or subscribe to access all of The Times. Thank you for your patience as we check your access. Are you already a subscriber? Sign in.. Interested in accessing all of The Times? Înscrie-te.
