Sunita Williams to celebrate Thanksgiving in space with special feast
text_fields
New Delhi: Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving in space with a special menu featuring smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, and other festive dishes. 'Thanksgiving', observed annually in the US on the fourth Thursday of November, is a time to give thanks for blessings and the year's harvest.
In a video message shared by NASA on Wednesday, Williams extended warm wishes to friends, family, and supporters back on Earth: “Our Crew up here just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family who are down on Earth and everyone who is supporting us.” The astronauts revealed that NASA has provided a range of food items for the occasion, including butternut squash, apples, sardines, and smoked turkey.
In a recent interview with NBC News, Williams outlined her plans to celebrate Thanksgiving with fellow astronauts Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The celebration will feature a viewing of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade followed by a festive meal with smoked turkey, cranberry, apple cobbler, green beans, mushrooms, and mashed potatoes.
Williams and Wilmore had originally embarked on an eight-day mission to the ISS in June aboard the Starliner, developed by Boeing. However, due to a delay, the mission extended to eight months when the spacecraft was deemed unfit for human travel by NASA. Although the Starliner has returned to Earth safely, Williams is expected to come back to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February 2025.
Despite concerns about their prolonged stay in space, NASA has reassured that Williams and Wilmore are safe on the ISS. Williams also noted that she is "feeling good, working out, and eating right," following reports of weight loss during her time in space.
Williams previously celebrated Diwali "from 260 miles above the Earth on the ISS" and has now spent a cumulative total of 322 days in space. According to NASA, she is the second woman astronaut with the highest number of spacewalks.
With IANS inputs
