While people here on Earth were busy carving pumpkins and scaring their neighbors, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were floating in on some zero-gravity Halloween fun.
NASA Cosmic Costume Party
NASA recently treated us to a cosmic costume party, and it is clear that even in space, they know how to let loose and have a "boo"-last.
According to NASA, the crew members of the ISS love to join in the Halloween festivities despite the lack of witches or wizards knocking at their front hatch.
In 2022, astronauts from Expedition 68, Koichi Wakata from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and NASA's Francisco “Frank” C. Rubio, Nicole A. Mann, and Josh A. Cassada, got into the Halloween spirit by donning outfits inspired by beloved video game and cartoon characters. Their costumes were ingeniously crafted using stowage containers, and they even fashioned improvised trick-or-treat bags for the occasion.
They conjured up their own space-themed costumes, using whatever materials they had in the station. From spooky to scary, their outfits are always out of this world.
"Although no ghouls or goblins or trick-or-treaters come knocking at the International Space Station's front hatch, crew members aboard the orbiting facility still like to get in the Halloween spirit," NASA wrote in a blog post.
Let's take a look at some unearthly Halloweens from the past and get ready for more interstellar costumes in the future.
How ISS Astronauts Celebrate Halloween in Space
In October 2021, the NASA Crew-3 astronauts, including Raja J. Chari, Thomas H. Marshburn, Kayla S. Barron, and Matthias J. Maurer from the European Space Agency (ESA), had some plans for when they reached the space station just before Halloween.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature played her own spooky trick with bad weather at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, delaying their launch until November 11. But that didn't stop the crew from having their own otherworldly celebration.
ESA astronaut Thomas G. Pesquet even shared a message on social media, hinting at peculiar events: "Strange things were happening on ISS for Halloween. Aki rising from the dead (or is it from our observation window?)," referring to fellow crew member Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
In 2022, Expedition 68 astronauts Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, along with NASA astronauts Francisco "Frank" C. Rubio, Nicole A. Mann, and Josh A. Cassada, transformed themselves into characters from popular video games and cartoons. They used stowage containers in their Halloween costumes and even crafted their improvised trick-or-treat bags.
This year, Expedition 70 astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, Satoshi Furakawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, and ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen raised the cosmic curtain on another stellar Halloween celebration.
In 2023, astronauts from Expedition 70, including NASA's Jasmin Moghbeli on the left, Satoshi Furakawa from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, and European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, embraced the Halloween spirit with festive celebrations.
It is evident that space does not spook these interstellar explorers, and they know how to have a spooktacular time among the stars. These astronauts prove that no matter how far from home they are, they can still have a stellar Halloween!
Related Article: NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio Sets New US Record for Longest Spaceflight After 371 Days in Space
