In a message from the International Space State, the crew sent their Christmas greetings to planet Earth below.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is on her third long-duration mission to the ISS, said that being able to look down on the earth gives them a unique perspective on the holidays.

"Obviously, friends and family are important to all of us," Whitson said. "There is another very important aspect of being on ISIS and that's seeing the planet as a whole. And it actually reinforces I think that the fact that we should live as one people and strive for peace."

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency showed off some canned space food that he said was prepared for him by French chefs for the crew's Christmas dinner and which he said were based on his grandmother's recipes.

Mission commander Shane Kimbrough brought out some 'traditional' American Christmas food, including turkey and potatoes, albeit contained in pouches that floated in front of them in the low-gravity compartment.

As they signed off, the astronauts took advantage of their ability to float, with Whitson and Kimbrough doing backflips and Pesquet gliding towards their camera.