The crew of the International Space Station celebrates Thanksgiving. Credit: NASA
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station may be away from family and friends this Thanksgiving, but they will still be able to enjoy a holiday meal.
SpaceX’s CRS-31 resupply mission, which docked on Nov. 5, carried approximately 2,119 pounds (961 kilograms) of supplies for the crew. Among those supplies are holiday treats for the eight astronauts currently manning the station, including Boeing Starliner test crew members Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who will now return to Earth in February.
There’s quite a bit of science about eating in space. The food is specially prepared at NASA’s Space Food Systems Laboratory to be nutritious, tasty and safe to eat in space. It is prepared and sealed in plastic packets to ensure long shelf life. Food can be easily reheated or rehydrated.
NASA explains in this video:
The food is specially prepared at NASA’s Space Food Systems Laboratory to be nutritious, tasty and safe to eat in space. It is prepared and sealed in plastic packets to ensure long shelf life. Food can be easily reheated or rehydrated.
Let’s take a look at some of the previous holiday meals celebrated in low Earth orbit, starting with the first one.
1976
The first Thanksgiving in space was celebrated aboard Skylab 4, launched on November 16, 1973.
On November 22, 1973, astronauts Gerald P. Carr, William E. Pogue, and Edward G. Gibson celebrated with two dinnertime meals after the team completed a 6-hour, 33-minute spacewalk. The meals did not include any special items to celebrate the holiday.
Thanksgiving in space in the 1980s
The next time astronauts were in space for Thanksgiving was in 1985; this time they indulged in festive foods. After launch into space aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on November 26, 1985, the crew shared stable turkey, cranberry sauce, and shrimp cocktail.
Meats consumed in space must be irradiated. The process reduces the number of foodborne pathogens and parasites in the meat, making it safe after being stored for months, according to The Independent.
Also on the menu were tortillas, introduced by astronaut Neri Vela, which have since become a staple in space. The flat food doesn’t drop crumbs, making it ideal for zero-gravity meals, according to a press release.
In 1989, the crew of STS-33 celebrated Thanksgiving Discovery orbiting.
Thanksgiving in space in the 90s
Two years later, in 1991, the crew of STS-44 held a holiday dinner on Atlantis orbiting. Astronauts aboard two different spacecraft in different orbits celebrated Thanksgiving in the mid-1990s. STS-80 astronauts Kent V. Rominger, Tamara E. Jernigan, Story Musgrave, Thomas D. Jones and Kenneth D. Cockrell shared a meal on the Colombia central deck of the orbiter. At the same time, NASA astronaut John E. Blaha celebrated Thanksgiving on the Russian space station Mir, with cosmonauts Valeri G. Korzun and Aleksandr Y. Kaleri. Both crews exchanged holiday greetings on the radio. The occasion marked the largest number of astronauts in space on Thanksgiving Day.
But the record was broken in 1997 when NASA astronaut David A. Wolf, Russian cosmonauts Anatoli Y. Solovev and Pavel V. Vinogradov were on Mir. At that time, the crew of STS-87 was also in orbit on the plane Colombia orbiter, setting a record of nine astronauts in space on Thanksgiving Day. The Mir crew had milk, peas, freeze-dried mashed potatoes, and turkey.
The 2000s and beyond
On November 23, 2000, Expedition 1 astronauts celebrated the first Thanksgiving on the International Space Station. The meal included ham and smoked turkey. Since then, Thanksgiving has been celebrated every November from space. In 2001, Expedition 3 crew members celebrated their holiday with a meal complete with cardboard turkey decoration.
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Expedition 18 and STS-126 crews eat a Thanksgiving meal on the Endeavor orbiter in 2008. (Credit: NASA) -
Expedition and STS-126 crew warming up the 2008 Thanksgiving dinner on shuttle Endeavour. (Credit: NASA) -
A view of the 2009 Thanksgiving dinner of the Expedition 21 crew and STS-129. (Credit: NASA) -
Expedition 38 astronauts Michael S. Hopkins and Richard A. Mastracchio with their Thanksgiving dinner in 2013. The items are turkey, macaroni and cheese, green beans, mushrooms and dressing. (Credit: NASA) -
Expedition 42 enjoys Thanksgiving dinner in 2014. (Credit: NASA) -
NASA astronauts Scott J. Kelly and Kjell N. Lindgren hold Thanksgiving dinner 2015. (Credit: NASA) -
The Expedition 50 crew gathered for Thanksgiving dinner in 2016. (Credit: NASA) -
The Expedition 53 crew poses for Thanksgiving dinner in 2017. (Credit: NASA) -
A close-up of the 1950s Expedition dinner. (Credit: NASA) -
The Expedition 64 crew during Thanksgiving dinner in 2020. (Credit: NASA) -
The Expedition 66 crew as they dig into the Thanksgiving holiday in 2021. (Credit: NASA)
For 2002, the crews of STS-113 and Expeditions 5 and 6 ate an ISS meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans with mushrooms, and blueberry and cherry cobbler for dessert.
In 2008, Thanksgiving dinner was reheated in the chafing dish on the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Expedition 18 and STS-126 crew members munched on candied sweet potatoes, green beans, mushrooms, cornbread dressing and a cranberry treat.
The following year, in 2009, 12 total astronauts from STS-129 and Expedition 21 made up the most diverse group internationally as well as being the largest number of astronauts in space celebrating Turkey Day.
Crews celebrated the holiday two days early as the Atlantis orbiter was scheduled to undock on Thanksgiving Day. The teams represented the United States, Belgium, Canada and Russia.
Last year, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that delivered supplies on Nov. 11 included Christmas treats for the crew of NASA’s Expedition 70. The menu included turkey, duck, quail, seafood, cranberry sauce, pizza making kit, hummus, salsa and olives. The crew enjoyed chocolate, pumpkin spice lattes, rice cakes and mochi for dessert.
Oranges, apples, cherry tomatoes, carrots and a selection of specialty cheeses were also prepared for the crew, Dana Weigel, deputy program manager for the International Space Station, said in NASA’s SpaceX CRS-29 prelaunch media conference.
This story was originally published online Nov. 23, 2023, and was updated for Thanksgiving 2024.
