Astronauts in their “Fright Suit” To Celebrate Halloween In Space
The Halloween bug has bitten everyone, including three astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Space station commander Mike Fossum said that they will try to have a little fun on Halloween, adding that since their treats will arrive a little late, he will try to look into some personal items that the crews have brought up in the past for some masks that they can use on that day.
The Russian Progress 45 freighter, a robotic cargo ship full of goods and supplies, will launch from the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Sunday (Oct. 30), the day before Halloween and is expected to reach them Nov. 2.
Fossum, Satoshi Furukawa of Japan and Sergei Volkov of Russia who have been living and working on the massive orbiting complex since June, will oversee the arrival of the spaceship. They expect to return to Earth Nov. 21, although they will first share the station with three new Expedition 29 crew members for almost a week.
The three new crew members are NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin who are slated to launch from the Baikonour Cosmodrome Nov. 13 and dock at the orbiting outpost two days later.
Another group of astronauts was set to celebrate Halloween in very different surroundings, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean until their mission was aborted due to safety concerns from Hurricane Rina.