Astronaut Sunita Williams is set to experience an extraordinary New Year's celebration aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where she will witness 16 sunrises and sunsets as the station orbits the Earth.
A post from the official ISS account on X highlighted this unique phenomenon, stating, "As 2024 comes to a close today, the Exp 72 crew will see 16 sunrises and sunsets while soaring into the New Year. Seen here are several sunsets pictured over the years from the orbital outpost."
Williams, who launched to the ISS in June aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft with fellow astronaut Barry Wilmore, initially planned to return after a nine-day mission. However, their stay has extended much longer, leading to a Christmas celebration in space.
In a video shared by NASA, Williams expressed her joy at being on the station during the festive season, saying, "It's a great time to be up here." The video also showcased her crew sporting Santa hats, part of a holiday package sent to the ISS via SpaceX's Dragon capsule.
"Welcome to the International Space Station as we get ready for the Christmas holidays. It's a great time up here; we get to spend it with all of our 'family' on the International Space Station. There are seven of us up here, so we're going to enjoy each other's company," Williams said in the video.
Initially scheduled to return in February 2025, Williams and Wilmore’s return has now been postponed to March due to delays in SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission, which is slated to replace them. The Crew-9 astronauts, who arrived in September 2024, left two empty seats on the ISS for Williams and Wilmore, with all four expected to return together.