Midwinter Festival celebrations on the Space Station

NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore (left) floats with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti (center) and NASA's Terry Virts (right) are decked out for Christmas 2014.

Credit: Sam Cristoforetti Twitter/ESA

Astronauts in space have decked the halls of the International Space Station in honour of the holiday season.

The international crew members on the station have hung stockings, pulled out the orbiting outpost's Christmas tree, and they generally seem to be getting into the Christmas spirit.

European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti even sent out a picture of her with NASA astronauts Terry Virts and Barry "Butch" Wilmore with their decorations on the station.

"It's beginning to look like Christmas on the International Space Station," NASA officials wrote on a blog about the holiday.

"The stockings are out, the tree is up and the station residents continue advanced space research to benefit life on Earth and in space."

Space Station Christmas decorationsPin It ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti decorates the International Space Station for Christmas 2014.

Credit: NASA

Although NASA astronauts usually get the day off for Christmas, they have still been taking part in a variety of experiments leading up to the holiday.

On Dec. 23, for example, the crewmembers participated in a neurology experiment to monitor how motor control, perception and other aspects of brain function change over time in space, according to NASA.

In addition to Wilmore, Virts and Cristoforetti, the station's cre includes Russian cosmonauts Elena Serova, Alexander Samokutyaev and Anton Shkaplerov.

People on Earth can also send holiday messages of cheer to astronauts in space this season. NASA has set up a special portal for Earthlings that want to send their greetings to Virts and Wilmore on the station.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti enjoying ISS Zero Gravity

After a textbook Russian launch and precise docking on Sunday night, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Roscosmos commander Anton Shkaplerov boarded the International Space Station.

This image taken by Terry of Samantha was Samantha’s first Tweet from space, with the comment: “Amazing being in space, better than anything I ever imagined. Saw my first sunrise from the Cupola today!”

The three astronauts have about a week to get used to floating around their new surroundings before taking on a full schedule of science and maintenance for the rest of their six-month mission.

Credit: ESA

ISS Expedition 42 crew members Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts

In the front row, from left are the newest Expedition 42 crew members Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts.

In the back are Elena Serova, Commander Barry Wilmore and Alexander Samokutyaev.

They are in the Zvezda service module for a traditional crew greeting ceremony with family and mission officials on the ground. Credit: NASA TV

NASA astronaut Terry Virts, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency joined their Expedition 42 crewmates when the hatches between the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft and the International Space Station officially opened at midnight EST. Expedition 42 Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore of NASA and Alexander Samoukutyaev and Elena Serova of Roscosmos welcomed the new crew members aboard their orbital home.

Expedition 42 will continue to take advantage of the orbital lab’s unique microgravity environment and expand the scope of research.

The crew will perform experiments that cover human research, biological and physical sciences, technology development and Earth observations as well as engage in educational activities.

They are scheduled to greet a host of cargo vehicles during their mission, including a number of U.S. commercial resupply flights, two Russian Progress resupply missions and the departure of the final European ATV cargo spacecraft. The crew will conduct up to three U.S. spacewalks.

Wilmore, Samoukutyaev and Serova will return home in March 2015. At that time Virts will become commander for Expedition 43. Virts, Shkaplerov and Cristoforetti will return to Earth in May 2015.

Russian Soyuz Delivers Crew of 3 to International Space Station

A Russian Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft carrying three new members of the Expedition 42 crew approaches the International Space Station ahead of docking on Nov. 23, 2014.

Credit: NASA

Three new crewmembers arrived at the International Space Station late Sunday (Nov. 23), doubling the orbiting lab's population back up to its full six-person strength.

NASA astronaut Terry Virts, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov blasted off atop a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:01 p.m. EST (2101 GMT, 3:01 a.m. local time in Baikonur).

The trio reached the space station about six hours later after a quick trip through space.

Virts, Cristoforetti and Shkaplerov's Soyuz spacecraft linked up with the space station at 9:48 p.m. EST (0248 GMT).

Virts is planning on sharing his experiences in space via social media websites like Twitter. The NASA astronaut is planning to take photos of his views of the planet to help people experience a little bit of what spaceflight is like.

"It's such a unique experience and such a small number of people ever get to leave Earth, so I'm going to be using Twitter and Instagram to share pictures," Virts told reporters before launch.

"@AstroTerry is the call-sign [Twitter handle]. And hopefully I can just share the adventure that I'm going on with as many people as possible around the world."

Russia's Soyuz spacecraft are currently the only spaceflight vehicle that can transport NASA astronauts to the space station.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti: Soyuz TMA-15M Launch

Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft launch.

Credit: ROCOSMOS

The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft was launched from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 23 November 2014 with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and her crewmates to the weightless research centre where they will live and work for five months.

Credit: ROCOSMOS

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is all set for her five-month mission on the International Space Station. 

She will leave Earth on Sunday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov.

Watch the international crew of astronauts board their Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft strapped to 274 tonnes of rocket propellants, accelerate to 28 800 km/h and dock with the Space Station orbiting Earth in just six hours.

The programme will include images of Expedition 42/43 suiting up, walking to their spacecraft and a last wave as they board.

The hatch opening will include commentary by ESA’s Space Station Programme Manager Bernado Patti and ESA’s Head of the Astronaut Corps and former astronaut Frank De Winne.

Docking with the Space Station will happen early Monday morning at around 02:53 with coverage returning at 02:30.

Cosmonaut's Snowman Mascot will act as Zero-G Doll Detector

A small plush doll of Disney's "Frozen" snowman Olaf will signal the Soyuz TMA-15M crew when they have reached space after launching on Nov. 23, 2014. 

Credit: NASA/RSC Energia

When Shkaplerov and his crewmates, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, lift off for the International Space Station on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 23), they will have with them a small plush doll of the Disney animated character "Olaf."

"It is going to be the snowman from 'Frozen,'" Shkaplerov told reporters at a pre-flight press conference in Star City, Russia.

"My youngest daughter is eight years old and she selected that as a talisman."

More than just a charm or mascot, the doll, suspended from a cord in the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft, will serve as the flight's zero-g indicator.

When the crew enters Earth orbit, Olaf will (to borrow another "Frozen" song line) "let it go" and float, signaling Shkaplerov, Virts, and Cristoforetti that they are in space.

"This guy will be flying with me, [Anton and Samantha]," Virts wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo of the small stuffed snowman.

The three crewmembers and their carrot nosed companion are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday at 4:01 p.m. EST (2101 GMT or 3:01 a.m. local Kazakh time, Nov. 24).

Six hours and four orbits of the Earth later, they are expected to arrive at the station, where Shkaplerov, Virts, and Cristoforetti will join the outpost's Expedition 42 crew before taking the lead for Expedition 43.

Olaf, and his TMA-15M crewmates, will return to Earth in mid-May 2015.

European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti wears a NASA spacesuit

European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy wears a NASA spacesuit ahead of spacewalk training inside the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, a giant training pool near the Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

Cristoforetti will launch to the International Space Station on Nov. 24 to join the orbiting lab's Expedition 42 crew. 

NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov will join her. 

Credit: NASA, ESA

ISS Expedition 41 Astronaut team pose for pictures

Spaceflight is all about teamwork. ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Samantha Cristoforetti pose with their suited Russian colleagues Anton Shkaplerov and Maksim Surayev.

Credit: ESA

From the five space agencies that build and maintain the International Space Station to the mission control centres on Earth and the European (ESA), Japanese (JAXA), American (NASA) and Russian (ROCOSMOS) astronauts who fly to the space laboratory, international cooperation and knowhow is critical for a successful mission.

All four will leave Earth for the International Space Station this year. Alexander and Maxim are first up, on 28 May, while Samantha and Anton have their departure planned for 24 November. They will stay on the orbital outpost for around six months.

The ESA astronauts will support their Russian colleagues as 'third operators' if the cosmonauts venture outside the Space Station in their Orlan spacesuits.


Here they are preparing to train with the airlocks that separate astronauts in the Space Station from the harsh vacuum of outer space. Third operators help the spacewalkers put on and remove their spacesuits.

Alexander and Samantha are obvious choices to help the cosmonauts because they have both trained with the Orlan suit themselves.

All Station astronauts must speak Russian and English.

Alexander's Expedition 41 mission patch is visible below the European Astronaut Corps patch on his flight suit.