As the US gears up for its November 5 presidential election, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are preparing to vote from space, marking a unique approach to exercising voting rights. With voting systems adapted by NASA, astronauts can fulfill their democratic duty even while orbiting Earth.

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NASA enables astronauts aboard ISS to vote remotely since 1997.
Texas law permits voting from space, passed to support astronauts from NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Current ISS astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, will vote from space.
Both Wilmore and Williams’ mission extended until February 2025, making voting accommodations essential.
Voting is secured via encrypted electronic ballots sent through NASA’s Near Space Network.
The ballots are relayed from the ISS to Mission Control in Houston, then sent to county offices.
NASA emphasises astronauts’ right to vote despite challenges of being far from home.
David Wolf was the first astronaut to vote from space, doing so in 1997.
In 2020, astronaut Kate Rubins also voted from the ISS, continuing the tradition.
NASA aims to maintain astronauts’ societal connections, including voting, while in space.