Even astronauts have a sense of humor, as was demonstrated during the NASA 10 crew's docking with the International Space Station (ISS) when they were greeted by an “alien” early Sunday morning.
Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner wore an alien mask as he greeted the four newcomers after their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked at the station at 12:04 p.m., about 29 hours after Friday's 7:03 p.m. launch NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
As ISS crew members prepared the capsule for disembarkation, Wagner could be seen floating around wearing a mask, sweatshirt, pants and socks in a “light-hearted moment,” a NASA spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nicole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov entered the International Space Station shortly after the hatches between the ISS and the ISS opened. SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 1:35 a.m. ET,” NASA said in a statement.
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Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner wears an alien mask at the port during Crew-10's arrival at the ISS on March 16, 2025. (NASA/SPASEX)
After Suni Williams opened the hatch, the ship's bell rang as the new arrivals sailed in, shook hands and hugged the Expedition 72 crew after Wagner's prank.
“It was a wonderful day. It's good to see our friends have arrived,” Williams told Mission Control.
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Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner wears an alien mask and sits in the port during Crew-10's arrival at the ISS on March 16, 2025. (NASA/SPASEX)
Williams and Butch Wilmore are expected to show the new arrivals the ins and outs of the space station before they finally return home in nine months. Their mission was planned to last just one week after the launch of Boeing's first flight of astronauts, but they were stranded in space after problems forced NASA to return the Boeing Starliner empty.
Take a closer look at the blue alien mask worn by Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner during Crew 10's arrival at the ISS. (NASA/SPASEX)
This image from NASA video shows astronauts greeting each other after a SpaceX capsule docks with the International Space Station on Sunday, March 16, 2025. Top row from left: Nick Hague, Alexander Gorbunov, Suni Williams, Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. Bottom row from left: Butch Wilmore, Takuya Onishi, Anne McClain, Kirill Peskov, Nicole Ayers and Don Pettit. (NASA)
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Crew nine commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov are scheduled to leave the station as early as 4 a.m. on Wednesday and then splash down. off the coast of Florida.
Landon Mion of Fox News, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
