Despite being stranded thousands of miles from Earth, NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore are embracing the holiday spirit aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
In a post shared by NASA on Instagram, Williams, alongside fellow astronaut Don Pettit, donned red Santa hats for a cheerful portrait.
“Another day, another sleigh,” the post captioned the December 16 snapshot of Williams and Pettit flashing smiles while speaking on a ham radio in the ISS’s Columbus laboratory module. “Don Pettit and Suni Williams, Expedition 72 flight engineer and commander, pose for a fun holiday season portrait.”
The festive image sparked curiosity among followers about the unexpected holiday attire.
“Where did the Santa hats come from if they’ve been stuck up there for months and only planned a short trip?” One commenter asked, “Seems an odd unnecessary to have on hand…”
Another added, “Eight-day mission, happened to have Santa hats.”
“Where do the hats come from??? You went up for a planned 8 days in the SUMMER!!!! Why do you have Christmas hats?????” Someone else ranted.
Williams and Wilmore left Earth on June 5 on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission to test that spacecraft — but after suffering problems before and during its launch, the Starliner ran into more on its way to the space station, and they are still not back almost eight months later.
Others on Instagram pointed out that there were reasonable explanations for the festive headwear.
“Y’all do realize there are other ppl on the ISS and there are space agencies that send supplies to the ISS,” one user wrote, while another added: “How do people not realize there’s resupply missions and they’ve prob had those up there.”
The astronauts boarded the ISS in November, just ahead of Thanksgiving. Though Williams and Wilmore couldn’t be with their families for the holiday, they made the most of their celebration in orbit.
During an interview with NBC Nightly News on November 27, Williams revealed that she, Pettit, astronaut Nick Hague, and three Russian cosmonauts joined the duo for the holiday meal.
“We have a bunch of food that we’ve packed away that is Thanksgiving-ish,” she said. “Some smoked turkey, some cranberry, apple cobbler, green beans and mushrooms and mashed potatoes.”
While the astronauts were expected to return to Earth in February 2025, NASA recently announced further delays. Their replacements at the ISS will not launch until March or April, pushing their return date back once again.
Despite the unexpected extension, Williams assured concerned followers that they are faring well. “We’re feeling good, working out, eating right,” she said earlier this year. “We have a lot of fun up here, too. So, you know, people are worried about us. Really, don’t worry about us.”
