An American astronaut offered a wholesome Hanukkah greeting from hundreds of kilometers above the surface of the planet. Jessica Meir sent the greeting via a popular messaging platform. Along with the messages, her followers could also admire Earth in the background as well as a pair of menorah-festooned socks.
The message enjoyed a large amount of positive feedback from fans. In 1993 Jeff Hoffman, MIT professor and a NASA astronaut, sent a video broadcast to Earth from the Endeavor space shuttle. In the video, Hoffman spun a dreidel and showed his menorah.
In October, Meir and Cristina Loch, a fellow astronaut, achieved the first all-female spacewalk outside the International Space Station. The spacewalk lasted for 7 hours, and the duo completed several maintenance tasks.
NASA Astronaut Gave a “Happy Hanukkah” Greeting
A previous attempt that was scheduled in March had to be canceled due to problems related to the size of the spacesuits. While NASA strives to pack space suits that fit the astronauts, other factors have to be taken into account. For example, the influence of microgravity can change the form of a body. Tests that were made in a simulated environment will also offer some values while the sizing may be different for ventures that take place in space.
Christina Koch arrived on the ISS in March, and she will remain aboard the station until February 2020. The length of her stay will set a new record for the longest spaceflight time spent by a woman. The previous record is held by Peggy Whitson, who spent 288 consecutive days in space.
Jessica Meir reached the ISS in October and was a pivotal part of several activities that took place in recent months. Koch and Meir are members of the same astronaut class and spent over six years of training together. It is estimated that Meir will spend more than six months aboard the space station.
