AstroButch [Butch Wilmore] has set up our Xmas tree in the lab and hung socks for us, tweeted astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti from the International Space Station Dec. 7, 2014. Credit: Samantha Cristoforetti\/Twitter <\/p>\n
Weve seen a vital telescope undergo repairs, an emergency replacement of part of a space stations cooling system, and even a tree made of food cans. Learn more about these fun holiday times below. <\/p>\n
Reading from above the moon (Apollo 8, 1969) <\/p>\n
In this famous reading from the Bible, astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders shared their experience looking at the Moon on Dec. 24, 1968. The Apollo 8 crew was the first to venture to lunar orbit, just seven months before the Apollo 11 crew made it all the way to the surface. <\/p>\n
Food can Christmas tree (Skylab 4, 1973) <\/p>\n
A Christmas tree created out of food cans by the Skylab 4 crew in 1973. Credit: NASA <\/p>\n
Living on the Skylab station taught astronauts the value of improvisation, such as when the first crew (under NASAs instructions) repaired a sunshield to stop electronics and people from roasting inside. Skylab 4 took the creativity to Christmas when they created a tree out of food cans. <\/p>\n
Hubble Space Telescope repair (STS-103, 1999) <\/p>\n
The Hubble Space Telescope during a 1999 repair mission with STS-103 crew members Mike Foale (left, for NASA) and Claude Nicollier (European Space Agency). Credit: NASA <\/p>\n
When the Hubble Space Telescope was in hibernation due to a failed gyroscope, the STS-103 crew made repairs in December 1999 that culminated with the final spacewalk on Christmas Day. The telescope remains in great shape to this day, following another repair mission in 2009. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Read more here:<\/p>\n
Crazy Space Christmases: Moon Readings, Food Cans And Emergency Repairs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AstroButch [Butch Wilmore] has set up our Xmas tree in the lab and hung socks for us, tweeted astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti from the International Space Station Dec. 7, 2014. Credit: Samantha Cristoforetti\/Twitter Weve seen a vital telescope undergo repairs, an emergency replacement of part of a space stations cooling system, and even a tree made of food cans. Continue reading