Stranded NASA Astronauts' Christmas Photo Sparks Timeline Questions

Stranded NASA astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams has intrigued followers with a festive photo. This image showcases space travelers embracing the holiday spirit, light-years away from Earth.

Despite being thousands of miles from home, the stranded astronauts are celebrating Christmas. Sunita "Suni" Williams and her colleague Barry "Butch" Wilmore have been in space since June. Recently, they got into the holiday mood with fellow explorers aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA shared an Instagram post featuring Williams and astronaut Don Pettit wearing red Santa hats. The playful photo is from the Columbus laboratory module, where they can be seen enjoying the festive moment. NASA captioned it, "Another day, another sleigh."

While the astronauts appear cheerful in their December 16 picture, it raised a significant question: How did they obtain Christmas attire after spending months in orbit? Social media users expressed their curiosity.

One comment was, "Where did the Santa hats come from if they’ve been stuck up there for months?" Another wondered how they had Santa hats when their mission was only supposed to last eight days.

The probable explanation is that they picked up the Santa hats when they boarded the ISS last month, ahead of Thanksgiving. Although Williams and Wilmore missed being with family for the holiday, they celebrated with a suitable meal in dehydrated form.

On November 27, Williams told NBC Nightly News, "We have a bunch of food that we’ve packed away that is Thanksgiving-ish." The items included smoked turkey, cranberry, apple cobbler, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Astronaut Nick Hague and three Russian cosmonauts joined in the Thanksgiving celebration.

Williams and Wilmore first became stranded in June due to a malfunction on their Starliner craft. Initially planned as an eight-day mission, a leak in their Boeing vehicle left them unable to return.

They were meant to be back in February 2025, but a recent update indicated a longer delay. NASA now expects their return to be postponed until March or April due to delays in sending their replacements to the ISS.

Williams reassured worried followers earlier. "We’re feeling good, working out, eating right," she stated. "We have a lot of fun up here, too. So, you know, people are worried about us. Really, don’t worry about us."

Earlier, SSP wrote that Taylor Swift sent a heartfelt gift to a young fan during the hospital visit.