Long Distance Greetings

International Space Station – December 21, 2007 – Do you send Christmas cards to friends in faraway places? Then you may want to take time and send one more to a place so remote that the postal service won’t deliver. For the first time, you can send NASA-themed e-postcards to the crew aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the first female to command the station, and her crewmates are circling Earth at 17,500 mph, orbiting 16 times each day. Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko, a Russian cosmonaut, have been on the station since Oct. 12. Flight Engineer Dan Tani, a U.S. astronaut, joined them Oct. 25. Together, they make up the 16th resident crew of the orbiting outpost. To send a personalized message to the crew, click here. Click on “Send Holiday Greetings to the Crew,” then pick one of four post cards available, type in a message, and sign your first name and city. The crew, all wearing Santa hats, wished “Earth dwellers” a happy holiday season in a special video message now on the NASA Web site. The crew will have some off-duty time for the holidays and share a special meal. Then, on Dec. 26, a Russian Progress cargo ship will arrive with a special holiday delivery, including fresh food, supplies and gifts. Until then, however, it’s work as usual aboard the station with a space walk on Tuesday to inspect a solar joint and unit that have been temporarily locked in place. Upcoming missions to the ISS include the launch of STS-122 and the delivery of the Columbus laboratory no earlier than Jan. 10. Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle, also known as Jules Verne, is targeted for launch to the station in mid-February. Also, the first part of Japan’s laboratory, Kibo, is scheduled for launch on space shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-123 in February.

The International Space Station is viewed from space shuttle Discovery after undocking during the STS-120 mission. Image credit: NASA Astronauts Yuri Malenchenko, Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani onboard the ISS wish “Earth dwellers” a happy holiday season. You can see the entire message on NASA’s web site. For More Information Send a Message to the ISS Crew See the Crew’s Holiday Greeting

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