Axiom Space's private astronaut becomes second Jew to celebrate Passover aboard ISS

Eytan Stibbe, who recently became only the second Israeli citizen to reach space, will celebrate the Passover festival aboard the International Space Station (ISS). As part of the Axiom-1 (Ax-1) mission, Stibbe arrived at the space station on April 9 with three other passengers- Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Michael Lopez-Alegria. The crew of four would remain in space for eight days and are conducting several experiments meant to benefit humanity. 

The Ax-1 mission was organised by Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX. The mission lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 8 in a Dragon capsule mounted atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. 

Stibbe talks about the Jewish festival

Speaking at a news conference before his launch to the ISS, Stibbe had said as per Space.com, "Passover is all about freedom, which is a value which we celebrate annually and remind ourselves about the importance of freedom". A major eight-day long Jewish holiday, Passover is celebrated each year to commemorate the exodus of Jews after their liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt. Interestingly, Stibbe will be the newest astronaut to celebrate the holiday aboard the space station.

The feat belongs to NASA astronauts Garrett Reisman, who was the first Jewish astronaut in space and celebrated Passover in 2008. According to Space.com, a total of 19 astronauts from the Jewish community have reached space so far. Actor William Shatner and private astronaut Jared Isaacman are also on the list.

Talking further about the festival, Stibbe said, "This is based on a 3,000-year-old story, where Moses had the famous sentence 'let my people go". We have several traditions in that feast. So I took a wineglass with me [to space], but I don't think I will find any wine in the station. And I don't think I need a glass to drink wine", the Israeli astronaut said. 

Apart from sending the first private and second Israeli astronaut to space, the Ax-1 mission was special for several other reasons. Larry, who served as the mission pilot is officially the first person to touch the ocean surface and visit outer space in the same year. On the other hand, Mark Pathy, the second mission specialist, is Canada’s second private and 12th overall astronaut. But most importantly, this was the first all-private mission to the ISS and barring Axiom Vice President Lopez-Alegria, each of the passengers paid $55 million for the trip.  

Image: SpaceX