Astronauts broadcast “Jingle Bells” from space

jingle bells sheet music with a pair of red bells and holly leaves

Astronauts broadcast “Jingle Bells” from space

   Nine days before Christmas in 1965, astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford aboard the Gemini 6 told Mission Control that they saw an “unidentified flying object” about to enter Earth’s atmosphere, traveling in the polar orbit from north to south. Just as things got tense, they interrupted the broadcast with “Jingle Bells,” as Wally played a small harmonica accompanied by Tom shaking a handful of small sleigh bells.