‘Alien’encounter: ISS crew member plays joke as SpaceX team arrives

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Even astronauts have a sense of humor, as shown during NASA’s Crew-10 docking on the International Space Station (ISS), when they were met by an “alien” early Sunday morning.

Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner wore an alien mask while welcoming four newcomers after their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked to the station at 12:04 a.m., about 29 hours after launching at 7:03 p.m.on Friday fromNASA’s Kennedy Space Centerin Florida.

While ISS crew members were preparing the capsule for deboarding, Vagner could be seen floating around while wearing a mask, a hoodie, pants and socks during the “lighthearted moment,� 

“NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov entered the International Space Station shortly after opening the hatches between the space station and theSpaceX Dragon spacecraftat 1:35 a.m.EDT,” NASA said in a statement.

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Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner wears an alien mask in the port during the arrival of Crew-10 to the ISS on March 16, 2025.(NASA/SPACEX)

Following the hatch opening by Suni Williams, the ship’s bell was rung as the new arrivals floated in, shook hands and hugged the Expedition 72 crew after Vagner’s practical joke. 

“It was a wonderful day.Great to see our friends arrive,” Williams told Mission Control. 

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Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner wears an alien mask and sits in the port during the arrival of Crew-10 to the ISS on March 16, 2025.(NASA/SPACEX)

Williams and Butch Wilmore are expected to show the new arrivals the ins and outs of the space station before they finally return home after nine months.Their mission was only scheduled to last one week after the launch of Boeing’s first astronaut flight, but they were stuck in space after issues forced NASA to bring the Boeing Starliner back empty.

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Closer look at the light blue alien mask worn by Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner as Crew-10 arrived at the ISS.(NASA/SPACEX)

This image made from video by NASA shows astronauts greeting each other after a SpaceX capsule docked with the International Space Station, Sunday, March 16, 2025.Top row from left: Nick Hague, Alexander Gorbunov, Suni Williams, Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.Bottom row from left: Butch Wilmore, Takuya Onishi, Anne McClain, Kirill Peskov, Nichole Ayers and Don Pettit.(NASA)

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off Florida’s coast.

� Landon Mion, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.