The International Space Station (ISS) crew got into the Halloween spirit by dressing up in costumes for their next spacewalk. The four astronauts working in the U.S. segment of the ISS posed in the Japanese Kibo module on Wednesday (Oct. 31) and invited the audience to guess their costumes.
Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA) shared the costumes on X and encouraged people to guess what the crew is wearing. Two of the astronauts, NASA’s Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, will be wearing spacesuits for a rare all-woman spacewalk on Thursday (Nov. 1). You can watch the coverage on NASA Television starting at 6:30 a.m. EDT (1030 GMT).
The costumes worn by the astronauts were a subject of speculation. Here’s a breakdown:
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NASA’s Moghbeli wore a box-shaped costume labeled “bread”, with a picture of herself and her twin girls. It could symbolize her role as a “breadwinner” or represent a specific flavor like peanut butter-and-jelly.
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Satoshi Furukawa from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) wore a Luigi hat, referencing the character from Nintendo’s Mario franchise.
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NASA’s O’Hara wore a Colorado-themed hat with a picture of mountains, promoting the message “Go Outside: Never Stop Exploring.”
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ESA’s Mogensen sported a tinfoil hat, reminiscent of the ones featured in the movie “Signs,” along with a T-shirt that read “Birds Aren’t Real.”
Dressing up in costume is a tradition among astronaut crews on the ISS. In the past, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly surprised his crewmates by appearing in a gorilla costume during a 2016 spacewalk. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti also cosplayed as a famous flight attendant from the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” in 2022.
If you’re curious about other Halloween costumes worn on the ISS over the years, you can check out Space.com’s collection, which includes Elvis, Superman, and Darth Vader.
