SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts and NASA honor Veterans Day from space and Earth

The American flag floats in the cupola aboard the International Space Station.
The American flag floats in the cupola aboard the International Space Station. (Image credit: NASA)

NASA and the astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-3 mission shared a moment of silence to honor U.S. veterans this Veterans Day (Nov. 11). 

Veterans Day marks the anniversary of the armistice, an agreement that was signed by the allies and Germany that ended World War I in 1918. Known as Armistice Day up until 1954, this holiday honors veterans and victims of war. 

"Thanks on behalf of Endurance and SpaceX and NASA, and really the world, to all the veterans who give us the ability to do this on a daily basis," SpaceX Crew-3 mission commander and NASA astronaut Raja Chari, who joined NASA in 2017 as a U.S. Air Force Colonel select, said today from aboard the Crew Dragon vehicle the astronauts are riding to the International Space Station

Live updates: SpaceX's Crew-3 astronaut mission for NASA

Chari is a U.S. military veteran, having served as a Colonel select in the U.S. Air Force.

The crew observed a moment of silence together to commemorate the holiday.

The Crew-3 astronauts launched on a six-month mission to the orbiting lab last night (Nov. 10) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is set to dock with the station tonight. 

NASA officials, astronauts here on Earth and other folks in the space community have also shared their thoughts to commemorate the day.

"We honor the Americans who are serving or have served in the military on this #VeteransDay. We are grateful for your service and sacrifice," NASA wrote on Twitter.

The official page for NASA's Artemis moon exploration program also weighed in, sharing a post with an image of Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad with the American flag at the Ocean of Storms, the mission's landing site on the lunar surface. 

Conrad was a U.S. Navy veteran, serving as an aviator, safety officer, flight instructor and performance engineer.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy also shared a few words online this Veterans Day. Melroy is a veteran, having served through Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Just Cause with over 200 combat and combat support hours logged.

NASA's astronauts on the ground are also sharing their thoughts this Veterans Day. Both NASA astronaut Bob Hines, who is slated to launch as the pilot with SpaceX's Crew-4 mission, and retired NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman have shared their thoughts online.

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Chelsea Gohd
Senior Writer

Chelsea “Foxanne” Gohd joined Space.com in 2018 and is now a Senior Writer, writing about everything from climate change to planetary science and human spaceflight in both articles and on-camera in videos. With a degree in Public Health and biological sciences, Chelsea has written and worked for institutions including the American Museum of Natural History, Scientific American, Discover Magazine Blog, Astronomy Magazine and Live Science. When not writing, editing or filming something space-y, Chelsea "Foxanne" Gohd is writing music and performing as Foxanne, even launching a song to space in 2021 with Inspiration4. You can follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd and @foxannemusic.