Ever wonder to what extent some individual can go to fulfill their civic duties? Of course, with the government’s assistance. This time, it was a couple of astronauts who did what could appear as a seemingly impossible task. They cast their ballots from space. Yes, quite literally from above our world.
The unprecedented demonstration of civic responsibility was made by astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara. Even the vastness of space did not hinder them from participating in the electoral process of US primary voting.
The duo shared their extraterrestrial voting experience on X, formerly known as Twitter, encouraging Earthbound citizens to exercise their right to vote.
“Being in space didn’t stop (O’Hara) and I from voting. Go vote today!” Moghbeli wrote in her tweet.
NASA’s intricate space voting procedure involves astronauts completing electronic absentee ballots aboard the International Space Station. Once the vote is cast, the encrypted document embarks on a journey through the cosmos. It travels via a tracking and data relay satellite to a ground antenna situated at the White Sands Complex in New Mexico.
From there, the ballot takes the cosmic route to the Mission Control Center in Houston, serving as a relay station before reaching the county clerk’s office.
What does it mean?
This interstellar voting process underscores the lengths to which modern technology and innovation can facilitate participation in democratic practices, even beyond the confines of our planet.
Who are the astronauts who voted from space?
Jasmin Moghbeli was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. Moghbeli launched to the International Space Station as Commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on August 26, 2023 and successfully docked on August 27, 2023.
In May 2017, Loral O’Hara was selected as a member of the 22nd NASA astronaut class. O’Hara was safely launched and docked to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz rocket on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.
