Santa comes to International Space Station as astronauts on board receive Christmas presents

As the astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) beamed a message to their families back home on earth. they were in for a pleasant surprise, as some holiday levity had swept in. SpaceX Crew Dragon pilot Victor Glover showed off his socks, custom-printed with photos of his family, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency engineer Soichi Noguchi shared an early Christmas present for the team – a can of mackerel made by a group of schoolgirls.

The International Space Station will host seven crew members throughout the holiday season, the most ever for the orbiting laboratory in its 20 years of having humans living aboard.

The Expedition 64 crew members are taking the day off, but NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Kate Rubins, and Japanese space program astronaut Soichi Noguchi still took some time to send a message of “resilience” back home during a particularly difficult holiday season.

“Resilience” is also the name they gave to the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that launched four of the astronauts to the space station last month.

The Expedition 64 crew members are taking the day off, but NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Kate Rubins, and Japanese space program astronaut Soichi Noguchi still took some time to send a message of “resilience” back home during a particularly difficult holiday season.

“Resilience” is also the name they gave to the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that launched four of the astronauts to the space station last month.