Does Santa Visit The Space Station? Astronauts Celebrate Christmas In Orbit
225 MILES ABOVE EARTH (CBS SF) -- You think YOUR house is crowded with house guests this season? NASA astronauts have been having Christmas dinner in a dining room the size of a Volkswagen for decades, and this season is no exception, although the International Space Station is far more spacious than the original Apollo capsule where one of the most famous Christmases in space was ever celebrated.
NASA's history office and spaceflight office are great at reminding America of what the Yuletide season looks like, from orbit, and beyond.
Perhaps the most powerful was the Apollo 8 reading of Genesis as the crew entered lunar orbit on Christmas Day, 1968
On the same mission came one of the most famous moments captured on film, this color "Earthrise" photo.
In 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts spent Christmas at the moon: http://t.co/2v2V0sKpAh @NASAHistory pic.twitter.com/0yg29FUHxc
— NASA (@NASA) December 23, 2014
Today, space station astronauts have enough space to hang their stockings, hoping Santa will stop by.
.@Space_Station decorated for the holidays as the #ISS crew studies life in space: http://t.co/AabwSB90ba pic.twitter.com/WZt2gsFU0n
— NASA (@NASA) December 23, 2014
Here's their holiday greeting to Earth:
And, if you want to send your own holiday greeting, you can share your well wishes with astronauts right here:
http://www.nasa.gov/content/holiday-greeting-iss/#.VJrtzsAKD