Winston Scott, a former NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Navy captain, told Newsmax on Tuesday that the two American astronauts stranded on the International Space Station are likely “making the best” of the “somewhat difficult situation” of being in space during the holidays.
“They both are naval aviators, and by that I mean they have experience with long-duration deployments on board Navy ships,” Scott told “Wake Up America.” “So, similar is a long-duration deployment aboard the space station. The difficulty is that, as you just said, they did not anticipate this. They didn't think they were going to be up there during the holiday season. So, it's a little bit trying in that respect.
"I think the biggest thing they have to contend with is, OK, what do I do now? because they weren't trained as part of the station crew. So, they'll help out where they can with station maintenance, they'll participate in as many of the experiments as they possibly can, but they don't have an exact return date.
“And then the other difficulty, of course, is the families here on Earth,” he continued. “They didn't anticipate their loved one being gone this long and certainly not being gone over the holiday period. So, it's a tough situation for them, but they are troopers and they're sincere when they say they're going to enjoy every moment that they possibly can. They'll make the best of this situation.”
The crew of the International Space Station sent a holiday message back home on Monday, which revealed their holiday decorations and showed them wearing Santa hats. Scott said that “NASA does the best job NASA can to bring some joy ... sense of home” and “sense of community to the crew while they’re up there.”
“They released this video, but it would not surprise me if they have video conferences with family members tomorrow, on Christmas Day,” Scott said. “There’ll probably be a link-up [where] NASA will bring the families into Mission Control, and the families will be able to talk to their loved ones. So, the agency goes as far as they possibly can to make it a fun and enjoyable stay on the space station.”
As for holiday space food, Scott said that it might not be “the food mom or grandma will cook here on Earth,” but it’s “not as bad as you would think.”
“This is not the same food our ancestors ate in the old Apollo days, the pouches,” he said. “This is real food that you eat with a knife and fork. Now, when I was in space, actually, I spent Thanksgiving in space aboard Columbia back in 1997, and in that case, we had real turkey dinners, the kind you buy in the grocery store. So, we heated them up and had turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and so on. So, space food is OK.”
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