"It is a miraculous moment," people wrote.
The 'firsts' of every new year are always special, especially the first sunrise and a video shot by a Japanese astronaut has taken this special moment to the next level. Koichi Wakata aboard the International Space Station captured the exact moment that the sun rose above the earth's horizon for the first time in 2023.
The ISS is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit and is an international collaborative project. It has five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). Mr Wakata had promised, in a NASA video uploaded, last week that he would capture the first orbital sunrise of 2023.
"For the first time in human history, it is a miraculous moment when the beginning of the New Year and sunrise in space at the same time," Mr Wakata said, along with a video of the sunrise.
People have expressed awe and wonder at the beauty of the sight. Replying to the post, one user said, “Powerful video of #Spacesunrise. Please watch the video of the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit in 2023 and the sunrise from space. I feel the miracle of being on this planet. May this year be a year of happiness.”
“It is a miraculous moment when the beginning of the #NewYear and #Sunrise at the same time! Happy 2023 everyone,” gushed another.
Koichi Wakata was not alone in celebrating New Year onboard the International Space Station. He was joined by fellow astronauts Josh Cassada, Nicole Mann, and Frank Rubio from NASA welcoming 2023, which they did with streamers and Santa hats.
Speaking on the occasion, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev said, “Just like back home, we have a tradition here to put up a New Year tree and decorate the interior of the space station to celebrate the New Year. Today, we will show you how to do it under zero-gravity conditions.”
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