But Chestnuts Roasting On Open Fire Considered Doubtful
People who have to work away from home during the holidays
always try to make special accommodations to get that feeling of
home, but what do you do when you're a couple hundred miles in
space? If you're an astronaut aboard the International Space
Station, you hope there's some holiday cheer packed in those
unmanned Russian supply capsules.
Christmas stockings, supplied by Wyle's expert "space-rated"
seamstresses, have been delivered and are now hung aboard the Space
Station to give astronauts that special feeling of home. The
stockings and presents were delivered in November when the Progress
45P re-supply vehicle docked with the Space Station.
"We know that personal holiday items really help astronauts
reduce the home sickness that is natural when someone is so far
from home," said Wyle's Steve Vander Ark, who manages the company's
Behavioral, Health and Performance section. The work is part of
Wyle's 10-year bioastronautics contract, under which the company
provides a wide range of medical and health-related services to
NASA.
The section's mission is to identify psychiatric, psychological,
psychosocial and psychophysiological factors that could impact
extended-duration space missions and to develop countermeasures to
facilitate adaptation to the space environment.
Among many other areas, the Wyle section is responsible for
supporting astronauts and their family members during all mission
phases. Wyle personnel assist the astronauts in monitoring and
maintaining their behavioral health, well-being and performance
during International Space Station and Shuttle missions.
"Long-duration spaceflight on the International Space Station
means that astronauts and cosmonauts not only work in space, but
they 'live' there, too," said Vander Ark. "At Wyle, we try to make
the space station a little more liveable. A little more like
home.
"A common thread among all partners and cultures is that they
celebrate specific events and holidays. Part of the psychological
support that Wyle provides is to ensure the events and holidays, as
well as mission milestones, are celebrated. Having these
celebrations facilitates a cohesive team onboard the station.
"Providing a few holiday decorations helps the astronauts and
cosmonauts make the place a little more festive. It helps the crew
to celebrate the season and provide a connection to what's
happening back at home. Holidays are a time for family and Wyle
also arranges several opportunities for the astronauts to have
two-way videoconferences with their families by way of the
videoconferencing equipment that we have set up in their
Earth-bound homes."
A multi-colored Nomex Christmas tree, fabricated by Wyle's Dona
Hooker and her soft goods team in Houston, was sent aboard the
STS-112 shuttle mission in October, 2002. Each year, new stockings
are made and customized for each astronaut and cosmonaut, and then
flown to the station on a mission just before the holiday
season.