NASA astronaut Kate Rubins managed to cast her vote all the way from space. Rubins, currently the only American aboard the International Space Station (ISS), has sent out her vote for the US presidential elections which will be electronically delivered back to Earth and officially recorded. She voted last week and posted a photo of herself in front of an "ISS Voting Booth," with the caption "From the International Space Station: I voted today."
Rubins, who is now more than 200 miles above Earth, working with the SpaceX Crew-1, won't be able to come back to Earth for voting on November 3, the scheduled date for the elections in the US.
Rubins first voted from space in 2016, also working on the ISS, NASA notes. "I think it's really important for everybody to vote," Rubins said in a &feature=emb_logo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-component="externalLink">video uploaded by NASA. "And if we can do it from space, then I believe folks can do it from the ground, too," added Rubins, who is on a six-month-long ISS mission which kickstarted on October 14.
She is accompanied by her Russian crewmates Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos. They are researching on "the use of laser-cooled atoms for future quantum sensors" and conduct cardiovascular experiments from the space station, according to NASA.
This mission marked Rubins’ second time in space after she was aboard the Soyuz MS spacecraft on its first test flight to the ISS in July 2016. Rubins started out as a scientist before becoming an astronaut. She majored in cancer biology, viral diseases, microbiology and immunology.
Voting in space
"Voting in space has been possible since 1997 when a bill passed to legally allow voting from space in Texas," NASA said in a statement. "Since then, several NASA astronauts have exercised this civic duty from orbit. As NASA works toward sending astronauts to the Moon in 2024 and eventually on to Mars, the agency plans to continue to ensure astronauts who want to vote in space are able to, no matter where in the solar system they may be."
Also Read: In A First, NASA Appoints A Woman Chief Flight Director
Feature Image credit: Yahoo News New Zealand
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