Astronaut celebrates Chanukah with zero-gravity dreidel spin
She had a little dreidel
She spun in outer space
And with no friction to drag it down
It won the dreidel race
She, in this case, is NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, a former Marine Corps helicopter pilot who has been on the International Space Station, orbiting 250 miles above the Earth, since August.
Moghbeli, who isn’t Jewish but has a Jewish husband, had mentioned her outer space Chanukah plans in a pre-flight press conference back in July.
“In my household, we celebrate both Christmas and Chanukah, so I’ve brought some items for both to celebrate with my family,” she said.
“I’ve got a Christmas ornament with a picture of the four of us together and also my husband and little girls helped make a felt menorah with lights for each night that I can pin on to celebrate with them.”
In space, after all, safety protocols frown on open flames.
Last week, Moghbeli marked the holiday’s first night by posting a video of a dreidel, spinning and floating in front of window looking down onto the earth. Her felt menorah also was visible — she stuck to the window.
“Happy Hanukkah from the @Space_Station!! Real candles not allowed!” she wrote in her post.
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