NASA Astronaut Stuns New Crew with ‘Alien’ Prank (Video)

Astronauts aboard NASA’s Crew-10 mission received an out-of-this-world welcome to the International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday when they were humorously greeted by a crewmate disguised as an alien.

Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague pulled off the elaborate prank by donning a bright blue alien mask, hoodie, and casual pants, causing laughter and surprise as his new colleagues floated into the ISS.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov docked smoothly with the ISS at exactly 12:04 AM EDT. This docking concluded a nearly 29-hour journey that began with Friday evening’s dramatic liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

As the hatch swung open at approximately 1:35 AM, veteran astronaut Suni Williams officially welcomed the new arrivals. Moments later, Hague’s “alien” floated into view, prompting laughter among the exhausted but amused crew.

“It was fantastic,” Williams told Mission Control afterward. “After a long flight, seeing Nick floating around like an alien was exactly the morale booster we needed.”

This memorable moment comes after a tense period aboard the ISS. Hague, Williams, and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore were originally scheduled for a short mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Technical issues forced Boeing’s spacecraft to return unmanned, unexpectedly extending their stay in orbit by nearly nine months.

“We’re relieved Crew-10 is finally here,” Wilmore remarked. “It’s been a challenging nine months, but moments like these make everything worth it.”

NASA officials confirmed that Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to Earth as early as Wednesday morning, weather permitting, with splashdown anticipated off the coast of Florida.

The playful incident underscores NASA’s tradition of camaraderie and humor, even as astronauts grapple with high-stakes missions in orbit. As the space race intensifies with private sector involvement from companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, moments like Hague’s prank remind observers back home of the human side of space exploration.

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