Election day in the United States is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and even American astronauts living in space are taking the time to fulfill their civic duty and

How do you vote from space? NASA astronauts cast 2024 election ballots from ISS

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2024-11-06 01:00:05

Election day in the United States is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and even American astronauts living in space are taking the time to fulfill their civic duty and cast their votes.

There are four Americans currently aboard the Internationals Space Station (ISS): SpaceX Crew-9 NASA astronauts Don Pettit, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, and each has had the opportunity to add their voice to the more than 160 million other Americans able to participate in tomorrow's election.

"It's a very important duty that we have as citizens," Williams said during a call with reporters in September, adding that getting to vote from space, "is pretty cool."

"NASA makes it very easy for us to [be included in elections], so we're excited about that opportunity," Wilmore said on the call, revealing he had just requested an absentee ballot that same day.

Neither Williams and Wilmore expected to be voting absentee when they arrived to the ISS. The duo launched aboard the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test on June 5, for a mission that was only supposed to last about a week.