As a total solar eclipse crosses North America on Monday (April 8), seven of the 13 people currently in space will be in the right position to see the spectacle from Earth orbit.
At the same time, more than 30 other astronauts will be at locations in seven U.S. states and Canada to help the public understand and enjoy the experience.
"As you may know, NASA has scheduled a solar eclipse during our increment," joked Expedition 70/71 astronaut Michael Barratt during a press conference held prior to his launch to the International Space Station in March. "Things like this really makes spaceflight quite wonderful."
Barratt, along with his NASA astronaut crewmates Matthew Dominick, Jennette Epps and Tracy Caldwell Dyson, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and Alexander Grebenkin will have three chances to see the solar eclipse as the space station's orbit takes them close to — but not into — the path of totality.
