Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina in an interview DEA News He talked about the tradition of NASA astronauts cutting the cake before flying into space.
“There’s such a tradition at NASA that after the entire training cycle, the so-called ‘cake ceremony’ is given before the crew leaves for the flight,” he shared.
According to Kikina, on this day a huge cake with the emblem of the crew is being prepared, experts and other employees are invited to ensure the operation of the simulators and, in general, all the training of the crew.
He pointed out that cosmonauts and astronauts uttered words of gratitude to experts, workers, and everyone who trained them, and ate cake, chatting together in a pleasant atmosphere.
Former NASA translator Tatyana Lind said socialbites.ca that NASA astronauts have developed their own traditions that differ from the Soviet and Russian traditions.
Since 2016, Kikina is the only woman in the Roscosmos cosmonaut corps. She participated in the international SIRIUS lunar flight simulation experiment in 2017.
Kikina’s first space flight took place on October 5, 2022. He went to the ISS as part of the crew of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft of the American company SpaceX. Kikina became the first cosmonaut from Russia to fly on this ship. The duration of its mission on the ISS is 145 days.