Astronauts in orbit especially welcomed 2024 on Monday as the planet rang in the new year by watching 16 consecutive New Year’s countdowns.
The International Space Station experiences these amazing phenomena, all because of its great velocity, which allows it to traverse the same distance to and from the Moon in a little over a day. Thus, in a day, the seven-person crew of the International Space Station completes 16 orbits around the planet and witnesses 16 sunrises and sunsets.
The astronauts celebrate New Year’s repeatedly since the station’s orbital route passes over 90% of the planet’s population. Astronauts in space experience 45 minutes of daylight followed by 45 minutes of darkness, in contrast to a typical day on Earth, which consists of 12 hours of darkness and 12 hours of light. The astronauts see sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets during their orbit, and this continuous cycle happens sixteen times a day.
The space station is the product of an international collaboration between five space organizations from fifteen countries. NASA claims that since November 2000, there has been constant habitation aboard the space station. The space station, larger than a six-bedroom house, typically houses and employs seven crew members; however there may be more when a personnel changeover occurs.
The record for the longest duration on board was achieved in 2017 by US astronaut Peggy Whitson, who spent 665 days, or over two years, on board.
Though it may appear strange to us on Earth, astronauts may do various microbiological and metallurgical tests exploiting the continual transitions between day and night thanks to this unusual occurrence. This is strange, yet it provides insights that are impossible to duplicate on Earth.
NASA claims that a spacecraft may arrive at the space station in as little as four hours after departing Earth.
