Labor Day in space: NASA astronauts get the holiday off

On September 7, three American astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir, and Anil Menon, will enjoy their Labor Day holiday. European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk, will also have the day off. However, the three Russian cosmonauts, Pyotr Dubrov, Andrey Fedyaev, and Anna Kikina, will be required to work as usual.

The Russian crew will be monitoring the undocking of the Progress 94 resupply spacecraft on Monday, which will carry trash and obsolete equipment away from the Poisk module. Shortly after, the Progress 96 resupply spacecraft, scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 9, will dock with the Poisk module. The Russian crew members will then take over control of the station.

The American astronauts, who arrived at the ISS in mid-February on SpaceX's Crew-12 mission, and the Russian crew, who arrived on July 14 in Russian Soyuz spacecraft, typically have a normal work schedule during long-duration missions. Such downtime between missions is vital for maintaining the well-being and productivity of the astronauts. However, unlike on Earth, the astronauts cannot celebrate holidays the same way; for example, they won't be grilling food on the ISS due to the prohibition of open flames.

Despite the differences in holiday schedules, the international crew members still make an effort to celebrate significant holidays like Christmas together. This effort fosters camaraderie and helps them cope with the physical and emotional challenges of living so far away from their loved ones.