Labor Day Celebrated Aboard the International Space Station

It might sound odd, but the International Space Station really does observe Earth’s holidays. On Labor Day, September 7, three NASA astronauts—Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir and Anil Menon—took a well‑deserved break from their routine, floating in micro‑gravity while the rest of the crew kept the station humming.

Joining them in the “day‑off” club was European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, who recently made history as the first French woman to perform a spacewalk. The four of them floated around the ISS, chatted about the long weekend, and maybe even watched a favorite Earth‑bound movie on their onboard laptops.

Meanwhile, the three Russian cosmonauts—Pyotr Dubrov, Andrey Fedyaev and Anna Kikina—were not so lucky. NASA’s public update explained that they would be busy monitoring the departure of Progress 94, a cargo ship loaded with trash and old equipment, as it undocked from the Poisk module on Monday. Their schedule would stay packed, especially with the arrival of Progress 96, slated to launch from Baikonur on September 9 and dock two days later.

It’s worth noting that all long‑duration crew members on the ISS generally follow a fairly normal Earth‑based calendar: weekends and major holidays are built into their work‑rest cycles. That downtime isn’t just a perk; it’s a crucial part of keeping the crew happy, healthy and productive over months in space.

Of course, celebrating Labor Day in orbit looks a bit different than back on the ground. There’s no backyard grill, no sizzling hot dogs—open flames are a strict no‑go on the station. Instead, astronauts might share a snack from their galley, send a quick video message home, or simply enjoy a few extra minutes of personal time looking out the Cupola at Earth’s curvature.

Even though the crews don’t always share the same days off—like today, when the Russians are on duty—the international team makes a point of marking big holidays together whenever possible. Those shared moments help knit the multinational crew closer together and soften the ache of being so far from family and friends.

All six of these spacefarers arrived on the ISS not long ago. Hathaway, Meir and Adenot came aboard SpaceX’s Crew‑12 mission in mid‑February, while Menon, Dubrov and Kikina touched down on a Russian Soyuz in mid‑July. Their overlapping stays mean they’ve had plenty of time to get to know each other, and a holiday pause is a nice reminder of the human side of spaceflight.