To mark the occasion, NASA has revealed photos from four decades of the best Thanksgiving parties in space. Meanwhile, astronauts on the International Space Station have already shared videos about their plans for this year.

Thanksgiving is approaching, inviting everyone to the dinner table, whether you are on the Earth’s surface or in space.

Inside the premises of the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting nearly 18,000 miles away from Earth, the astronauts float to their dining room, strap themselves to chairs fixed to the floor, and enjoy their Thanksgiving dinner from magnetized trays, which bring the dining experience in zero-gravity just a bit closer to normal.

Just like at grandma’s, astronauts can enjoy stuffed turkey with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. The only difference is that instead of cutting the turkey and breaking the wishbone for good luck, astronauts grab the plastic packages with thoroughly cut and freeze-dried meals.

To convert it back to the food that we normally enjoy on Earth, they have to plug it into a hot water dispenser. And, of course, the main difference is that astronauts enjoy their Thanksgiving celebration while floating near the ceiling.

How are astronauts celebrating Thanksgiving this year?

Currently, there are seven astronauts on the ISS conducting research and maintenance of the station. The crew consists of NASA’s astronauts – Nick Hague, Don Petit, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams. There are also three Russian astronauts in the station.

As part of the Thanksgiving tradition, astronauts appear on video and say what Thanksgiving means to them and what they are thankful for this year. They also reveal what they are going to eat at the cosmic Thanksgiving feast.

On Wednesday, while the astronauts were busy with DNA-like nanomaterials, bacterial genetic analysis, and 3D printing experiments, the crew recorded a video greeting.

“We have much to be thankful for in a professional sense. I mean, there are not many places that you can lay on the ceiling, and this is the one. We are thankful for zero gravity,” Wilmore said, addressing viewers.

“Our crew just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family down on Earth, and everyone that is supporting us,” said Williams.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are already counting 176 days in zero gravity. They became stranded on the ISS after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft failed in June.

As they opened the food box, packages of Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, apples, and smoked turkey popped out and started floating around them.

“One of the big Thanksgiving traditions is having a meal together. And so we are going to celebrate that tradition up here, though our meal may look a bit different,” commented Hague.

When was the first Thanksgiving celebration held in space?

The first Thanksgiving party in space was held in 1973. However, it was more about work than fun. On the celebration day, three astronauts from the Skylab 4 mission completed a 6-hour and 33-minute spacewalk without access to food.

After coming back from open space, the crew took two meals as they skipped lunch that day. However, none of the meals they had included Thanksgiving specialties.

After 12 years, the second Thanksgiving party was held in a spacecraft. Seven astronauts from the STS-61B mission feasted on shrimp cocktail, irradiated turkey, and cranberry sauce.

A crew member from Mexico introduced tortillas, which became the astronauts’ favorite food for the upcoming decades. Apart from taste and various uses for any meal, tortillas have another advantage: unlike bread, they don’t produce crumbs.

In zero gravity, crumbs could become deadly. Crumbs and other foods containing small particles, such as spices, salt, and seasonings can harm astronauts by getting into their eyes and noses, as well as clogging ventilation and damaging the technical equipment.

Biggest Thanksgiving parties in space

The 1996 celebration was a blast, with the crowd of eight astronauts partying on Thanksgiving Day. Although the eight crew members were in separate spacecraft and in different orbits, they found a way to exchange holiday greetings using space-to-space radio.

A year later, the party was even bigger, with nine astronauts joining the feast with smoked turkey, freeze-dried mashed potatoes, peas, and milk. This party also made history with the highest number of nationalities attending.

American astronauts were joined by two Russian astronauts, who named the holiday in the Russian language den blagodarenia. At the same time, aboard the other spacecraft, four Americans, a Ukrainian, and a Japanese astronaut were celebrating together.

In 2002, the biggest party ever was held, with ten astronauts celebrating in space. After a busy day working in open space, the combined crews enjoyed smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans with mushrooms, and blueberry-cherry cobbler.

The most original Thanksgiving parties in space

The first Thanksgiving celebration on the ISS took place on November 23rd, 2000. American and Russian astronauts expressed their gratitude with ham and smoked turkey. Since then, Thanksgiving has become a yearly tradition with astronauts bursting with creativity on how to celebrate in space.

In 2001, the astronauts were set into holiday mood with a cardboard turkey as decoration. While in 2017, the six astronauts put on a colorful matching shirt for the Thanksgiving dinner.

In 2020, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi brought some special treats from Japan. One well-known “party food” that he shared with his fellow astronauts included curry rice, red bean rice, and special seafood that a Japanese high school student specially prepared for the crew.

In 2021, NASA astronaut Raja Chari surprised his colleague by bringing colored headbands for the crew to wear while running on the treadmill. Astronauts need to exercise up to 2 hours per day to stay healthy, and ISS crews call their Thanksgiving treadmill time a "turkey trot."

"I've got some special surprise colored headbands for the crew to wear," he said, joking that the workout would help them burn off the calories from their Thanksgiving meal, which features delicacies like crab bisque, candied yams, and cherry blueberry cobbler, along with the traditional turkey.