Astronaut gets special ice cream delivery for 50th birthday

[Aug 30, 2021: Marcia Dunn]

A space station astronaut is celebrating her 50th birthday with the coolest present ever—a supply ship bearing ice cream and other treats.

SpaceX's latest cargo delivery showed up Monday at the International Space Station after a day in transit. Overseeing the automated docking was NASA astronaut Megan McArthur.

"No one's ever sent me a spaceship for my birthday before. I appreciate it," she radioed after the capsule arrived.

Launched Sunday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the capsule contains lemons, cherry tomatoes, avocados and ice cream for McArthur and her six crewmates, along with a couple tons of research and other gear.

The shipment arrived just a few days ahead of the first of three spacewalks.

Starting Friday, the two Russians on board will perform back-to-back spacewalks to outfit a new laboratory that arrived in July.

This long exposure photo shows the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on a resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, seen from Merritt Island, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021. The SpaceX shipment of ants, avocados and a human-sized robotic arm rocketed toward the International Space Station on Sunday. (Credit: Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

Then a Japanese-French spacewalking duo will venture out Sept. 12 to install a bracket for new solar panels due to arrive next year. That NASA-directed spacewalk should have occurred last week, but was postponed after U.S. spacewalker, Mark Vande Hei, suffered a pinched nerve in his neck. Station managers opted to replace him with French astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

For more good news stories check out our Good News section at The Brighter Side of News.

Like these kind of stories? Get The Brighter Side of News' newsletter.

Tags: #Good_News, #NASA, #Astronaut, #Birthday, #Space_Station, #The_Brighter_Side_of_News

Astronaut Birthday Good News NASA Space Station SpaceX

Joseph ShavitSpace, Technology and Medical News Writer

Joseph Shavit is the head science news writer with a passion for communicating complex scientific discoveries to a broad audience. With a strong background in both science, business, product management, media leadership and entrepreneurship, Joseph possesses the unique ability to bridge the gap between business and technology, making intricate scientific concepts accessible and engaging to readers of all backgrounds.