About 250 miles above Earth, members of the NASA crew aboard the International Space Station took an off-duty day to mark Thanksgiving with a shared meal. Mike Fincke, speaking from the station, said it was his second Thanksgiving in space and recommended the experience.
A resupply flight brought a ‘Holiday Bulk Overwrapped Bag’ (BOB) stocked with festive items including clams, oysters, crab meat, quail and smoked salmon. Zena Cardman said ground teams and NASA’s food lab had prepared traditional holiday fare — turkey and mashed potatoes — specially packaged to prevent loose crumbs and liquids in microgravity. She also mentioned they had lobster, which she called amazing.
Fincke held up a can of cranberry sauce supplied by the Russian space agency and noted it was one of his favorite parts of the meal. Although he said he would miss celebrating with his family on Earth, he was enjoying the holiday with his ‘space family.’
Cardman, Fincke and Jonny Kim planned to dine with three Russian cosmonauts and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. Yui, noting that Japan does not observe Thanksgiving, said the ISS crew respects each other’s traditions and that he was looking forward to the dinner.
A Soyuz launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying three new station crew members, including NASA astronaut Chris Williams, was scheduled for 4:27 a.m. Eastern, with the possibility that the newcomers would arrive in time to join the Thanksgiving celebration.