Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA, Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA and Flight Engineer Tim Peake of the European Space Agency offered their thoughts on being in orbit away from home during the Christmas holidays and what Christmas means to them in a message downlinked on Dec. 17.

Kelly is nearing the completion of the ninth month of a year-long mission on the orbital laboratory, while Kopra and Peake arrived Dec. 15 to begin a six-month mission on the complex.