Celebrating New Year's 16 times: how astronauts celebrate on the ISS

One of the remarkable aspects of life aboard the space station is that astronauts celebrate New Year's multiple times. Due to the space station's high velocity and continuous orbit around the Earth, astronauts onboard the ISS witness approximately 16 sunrises and sunsets within a 24-hour period.

This information comes from a statement by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). "In a span of 24 hours, the space station completes 16 orbits around the Earth, experiencing 16 sunrises and sunsets," NASA was quoted by Mint as saying.

It's highlighted that traveling at a speed of five miles per second, the space station completes a full orbit around the Earth roughly every 90 minutes. This rapid journey of the ISS offers astronauts a distinctive opportunity to mark the New Year multiple times.

Scientists underscore that experiencing multiple day-night cycles within a single Earth day is a routine occurrence for astronauts onboard the space station. Unlike the 12-hour day and 12-hour night cycle on Earth, astronauts encounter 45 minutes of daylight followed by 45 minutes of darkness.

Remarkably, this consistent cycle repeats 16 times within an Earth day, resulting in 16 sunrises and sunsets during one orbit. Consequently, the frequent transitions between day and night enable astronauts to conduct experiments across various fields such as microbiology and metallurgy, yielding insights that are unattainable on Earth.

However, there are also drawbacks, as the constant oscillation between 45-minute intervals of day and night poses challenges in maintaining circadian rhythms. This serves as a trade-off for astronauts during their sojourn in Earth's orbit.