ISS - International Space Station emblem.
CMS - China Manned Space logo.
Jan 1, 2022
The celebration of the New Year 2022 in near-earth orbit was first met by ten earthlings at once: seven on the International Space Station and three on the Chinese space station "Tiangong". It was the most crowded New Year's "feast" in orbit in the history of world manned space exploration.
In the early years of the space program, holidays in space were relatively rare and therefore even more memorable. The first cosmonauts to celebrate the New Year in space were Yuri Romanenko and Georgy Grechko in 1977-1978.
ISS - Expedition 66 Crew
As space travel became more prolonged, holidays in space became more common. With the appearance of the Soviet Mir station in 1986, the New Year began to be celebrated regularly: 12 Mir crews spent this holiday in orbit.
The arrival on board the International Space Station of the first long-term expedition (Sergei Krikalev, Yuri Gidzenko and William Shepard) on November 2, 2000, marked the beginning of the permanent human presence in space. They were the first to celebrate the New Year at the new station. For 21 years, 83 people met the New Year on the ISS, some of the cosmonauts and astronauts repeatedly, and the cosmonaut of Roscosmos Anton Shkaplerov celebrated four New Years in orbit (in 2011-2012, in 2014-2015, in 2017-2018. and 2021-2022).
CSS - Shenzhou-13 Crew
“The most interesting fact from my biography is that I will celebrate the New Year in orbit for the 64th time! This will happen because we orbit the Earth 16 times per day, - says Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. “Thus, we cross the conditional line over the Earth 16 times, where at the moment it is midnight, and people raise their glasses of champagne and wish each other a Happy New Year!”
The Year of the Tiger in orbit was met by Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Petr Dubrov, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Thomas Marshburne, Raja Chari, Keila Barron and ESA astronaut Mathias Maurer, while on the International Space Station, as well as Zhang Zhigang, Wang Yapuin and Ye Guangf aboard the Tiangong station.
Related links:
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/33743/
Expedition 66: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks-66/
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks/
Images, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/CNSA/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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