Unless I’m very much mistaken, today is Thanksgiving in America. Personally, being British, this holiday means absolutely nothing to me, it being a normal working day and all. But for Americans around the world this day means something special. And it seems even Americans not on Earth want to join in with the fun.

The Endeavour space shuttle is currently docked with the International Space Station, with the seven strong crew of astronauts having delivered essential supplies and carried out repairs. The shuttle is due to undock on Friday and be back in Florida on Sunday.

The 16-day mission saw the crew of the Endeavour deliver a new bathroom, kitchen, two bedrooms, exercise equipment, and a water-purification system that will turn urine, sweat, and condensation into drinking water. These upgrades are to enable the current crew of three to be doubled to six during 2009.

The Endeavour crew also performed spacewalks to clean and repair systems essential to keep the Space Station in top shape. But today saw the crew off-duty, where, according to AP, they got into the spirit of Thanksgiving in the best way available to them.

Endeavour astronaut Donald Pettit toasted Thanksgiving by saying, “To Thanksgiving. Wishing everyone on Earth, and off Earth, a good Thanksgiving.”

While Endeavour commander Christopher Ferguson said, “Just that ability to look out the window and look down on this beautiful planet that we live on is a source of thanks that we all have.”

The crew drank cups of iced tea, eschewing the normal pouch and straw combination for more traditional cups. They then toasted the start of the holiday season before tucking into a traditional meal with a slight twist. Although turkey, cornbread dressing, and yams were on the menu, necessity meant they were of the freeze-dried or irradiated variety.

This is because food taken into space has to be bacteria-free due to the risk of contaminating the enclosed spaces involved. This is achieved by either treating meats with radiation, taking the water out of vegetables, or heating foods to a high temperature in order to kill all of the germs.

For the International Space Station crew’s Thanksgiving dinner, the turkey was irradiated, the green beans were dehydrated, while the dessert was ultra heat-treated. It seems that Thanksgiving is one holiday that Americans refuse to miss, even if they are in orbit around the planet rather than at home with their families.

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Entry was posted on Thursday, November 27th, 2008 at 7:49 pm under Opinion, Science and technology.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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