This holiday season, while you’re waiting for Atlantis to launch, why not drop a line to the astronauts who will be decking the halls of the International Space Station? There’s a link at the right-hand side of this web page, where you can select, write and “stamp” one of four postcards to send to the crew members, who will literally be celebrating all over the world.
(Look carefully at this one – what do YOU see in the reflection off the astronaut’s mirrored helmet?)
To really personalize your greeting, choose someone to address your postcard to; you can read about some of them here.
Scroll down a little further on the page to watch Expedition 16’s official holiday message, just for you.
And in case you’re wondering, here’s how will they be celebrating the holidays:
• Yes, they have a “Christmas Tree.” That’s the nickname given to “three bundles of 17 debris panels.” I'm not sure you can put a star on top of it, though.
• We all know they’re going to have to wait a bit for that new lab.
• On December 18, Station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani are headed out on a spacewalk to check out the solar array rotary joint. No word yet on whether or not they’ll be hanging blinking, colorful Christmas lights, or those elegant white icicles. If you’re up at 4:30 am EST, you can tune in to NASA TV to watch the spacewalk live here. (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html)
• To celebrate St. Stephen’s Day, also known as Boxing Day (UK), Progress 27 is scheduled to dock to the station on December 26.
Related, and other space news:
ShuttleJinx: Atlantis grounded till '08
Atlantis shuttle crew fends off giant arachnid
Voyager 2 leaves solar system, looking forward to 'new projects with Diddy'
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