Astronauts Share What They Do During Thanksgiving In Space

Astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) are spending Thanksgiving in low orbit. But unlike the millions of American families sitting down to a turkey dinner during the holidays, they will be hard at work before they can kick back and relax for their own feast.

NASA astronauts used to take some time off work on Thanksgiving Day. However, this year's team will be hard at work, as only two out of six astronauts on board the space station are Americans.

Space.com noted that only Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson celebrate this, but everyone on board the station are expected to be at the dinner table as they carve their turkey -- or whatever they have as an alternative. However, their celebration would not be until they finish their tasks.

Whitson will be working with Sergey Ryzhikov in operating an ultrasound for baseline scans for the Fluid Shift study, investigating the cause of changes in eyesight that astronauts experience after spaceflight. Two other Russian cosmonauts, Andrei Borisenko and Oleg Novistky, are going to unload cargo from the Soyuz spacecraft that arrived last Saturday, Nov. 19, and replace a control panel in the Russian Service Module. Finally, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet is set to read a children's book aloud on camera for the ISS project called "Story Time from Space." He will also take measurements for the Aqua Membrane investigation, which is aimed at a more efficient water recycling system for the spacecraft.

Kimbrough shared in a video that, "We're obviously going to be talking about what Thanksgiving means to us, what we're thankful for, and sharing the tradition with our French and Russian colleagues."

However, instead of eating off plates and enjoying turkey and wine, these astronauts will be feating on a NASA-packaged feast of smoked turkey, cornbread dressing, strawberries, tea with sugar and cranberry juice spread. Also, Kimbrough said that he is asking mission control to send up footage of live football games to watch, too, in true Thanksgiving spirit.