ISS crew to see in New Year 15 times
MOSCOW. Dec 31 (Interfax) - The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) will see in the New Year 15 times, Roscosmos told Interfax in a statement.
"The crew will perform 15 full rotations around the Earth on January 1, 2020. They will see in the New Year according to Moscow time when the station is flying over the Pacific, according to GMT when they are above Siberia, and according to Houston time when they are crossing the Atlantic," the statement said.
In contrast to other Russians, whose holidays begin in the evening of December 31 and end on January 9, the Russian crewmembers of the ISS will have only two days off: Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka will not be working on January 1 and on Orthodox Christmas, January 7.
"The days off are January 1 and 7, and the cosmonauts will be working as usual on the rest of the days," Roscosmos said.
On Monday, the Russian cosmonauts wished people on Earth to strengthen friendship and develop inter-state relations in 2020 despite political circumstances.
The ISS has been adorned with New Year decorations, including snowflakes. The resupply ship, which arrived at the station earlier, delivered New Year presents and food, including citrus fruits.