Astronauts on the International Space Station celebrate Halloween by creating costumes with materials on board, keeping the joyful spirit alive in area.
Although no ghouls or goblins or trick-or-treaters come knocking at the International Space Stations front hatch, team members aboard the orbiting facility still like to get in the Halloween spirit. Whether separately or as an entire crew, they dress up in often scary, in some cases frightening, but constantly imaginative outfits, typically designed from materials available aboard the space station. Please enjoy the following scenes from Halloweens past even as we anticipate the costumes of the future.
Wearing a black cape, Expedition 16 NASA astronaut Clayton C. Anderson channels his inner vampire for Halloween 2007. Credit: Clayton C. Anderson
For Halloween 2009, the Expedition 21 team displays its costumes. Credit: NASA
Exploration 21 Flight Engineer NASA astronaut Nicole P. Stott displays her Halloween outfit. Credit: NASA
Italian Space Agency astronaut Luca S. Parmitano finally gets his wish to fly like Superman throughout Expedition 37. Credit: NASA
Whos that behind the frightening mask? None besides NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly commemorating Halloween in 2015 during his one-year objective. Credit: NASA
Expedition 53 Commander NASA astronaut Randolph J. “Randy” Bresnik displaying his costume. Credit: NASA
Exploration 53 Flight Engineer NASA astronaut Joseph M. Acaba wearing Halloween colors. Credit: NASA
Exploration 53 European Space Agency astronaut Paolo A. Nespoli displaying his Spiderman skills. Credit: NASA
Expedition 57 crewmembers in their Halloween best– European Space Agency astronaut and Commander Alexander Gerst, left, and NASA astronaut Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor. Credit: NASA
Members of Expedition 61, NASA astronaut Christina H. Koch, top left, European Space Agency astronaut Luca S. Parmitano, NASA astronaut Andrew R. “Drew” Morgan, and NASA astronaut Jessica U. Meir, reveal off their Halloween spirit in 2019. Credit: NASA
Exploration 66 crewmembers NASA astronaut R. Shane Kimbrough, left, Thomas G. Pesquet of the European Space Agency, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and NASA astronaut Mark T. Vande Hei flaunting their Halloween cards. Credit: NASA
A hand increasing from the grave? Credit: NASA
In October 2021, Crew-3 NASA astronauts Raja J. Chari, Thomas H. Marshburn, Kayla S. Barron, and Matthias J. Maurer of the European Space Agency (ESA), had some undisclosed strategies for when they reached the spaceport station simply before Halloween. Bad weather at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida thwarted those super-secret creepy Halloween strategies, postponing their launch till November 11. Undeterred, Expedition 66 crewmembers who awaited them aboard the station held their own Halloween shenanigans. ESA astronaut Thomas G. Pesquet posted on social media that “Strange things were occurring on ISS for Halloween. Aki increasing from the dead (or is it from our observation window?),” referring to fellow team member Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
In 2022, Expedition 68 astronauts Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, left, and NASA astronauts Francisco “Frank” C. Rubio, Nicole A. Mann, and Josh A. Cassada impersonated popular video game and cartoon characters, using stowage containers in their Halloween costumes and holding improvised trick-or-treat bags. Credit: NASA
Expedition 70 astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, left, Satoshi Furakawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA astronaut Loral OHara, and European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen commemorate Halloween 2023. Credit: NASA
The spookiness continues …
None other than NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly commemorating Halloween in 2015 during his 1 year objective. Credit: NASA
In October 2021, Crew-3 NASA astronauts Raja J. Chari, Thomas H. Marshburn, Kayla S. Barron, and Matthias J. Maurer of the European Space Agency (ESA), had some concealed plans for when they reached the area station just before Halloween. Bad weather at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida warded off those super-secret creepy Halloween strategies, delaying their launch till November 11. ESA astronaut Thomas G. Pesquet published on social media that “Strange things were happening on ISS for Halloween.