NASA Astronauts In Space Now: Celebrating Holidays, 'Beaming In' Testimony, 'Mars Travel Expensive But Worth It,' Astronaut Scott Kelley

The holidays are not exclusive to planet Earth. Thanksgiving was celebrated at NASA's International Space Station too and astronauts joined in for a Congressional hearing via satellite.

Charlotte Kelly,11, daughter of Scott Kelley said that her dad participated in a teleconference with her class-mates and celebrated Thanksgiving. Kelley did a couple of flips in zero-gravity, said his daughter, and played with his food floating around.

"Our Thanksgiving was very low-key," Charlotte, a "Time for Kids" correspondent told Time. for "My mom and I celebrated with some friends from Japan, as well as a few others. Before dinner, I had a video conference with my dad, and he met my friends and classmate. He was even able to introduce them to the Japanese astronaut on board with him."

As for the holiday celebrations on the ISS, astronauts have to go through rough patches every day. So, they stopped to take a break for a Thanksgiving feast different from the one of Earth. In astronaut terms that would mean "goop in a tube and smoked meat with gravity," reported Modern Readers. 

ISS astronauts feasted on candied yams, smoked turkey, potatoes au gratin and corn for Thanksgiving.

Astronaut Scott Kelley is studying the long-term effects of space travel on humans before space flights are planned to Mars. Scott's twin brother is undergoing tests by NASA scientists to observe similarities and differences between the twins.

Scott Kelley has completed two-thirds of his stay on the International Space Station. He addressed the Congress via satellite to talk about his experience in space so far. He was speaking to the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Kelly and his colleague astronaut Kjell Lindgren offered testimony for 20 minutes. Kelley said that a trip to Mars is expensive and not a key priority for NASA. However, a trip to Mars would be worth investment, according to PBS.