The coronavirus pandemic has caused more Americans than ever to vote for the presidential election remotely. And NASA Astronaut Katie Rubins cast her ballot from outer space.
Rubins could be seen in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station posing in front of what they’re calling the ISS Voting Booth in a picture tweeted by NASA Astronauts.
“I think it’s really important for everybody to vote,” Rubins told the Associated Press last month, ahead of her launch. “If we can do it from space, then I believe folks can do it from the ground, too.”
Rubins, who is the first person to sequence DNA in space, has just begun a 6-month stay at the International Space Station and made plans to vote ahead of her launch. Because most astronauts live near Houston, where the Johnson Space Center is located, Texas law allows them to cast their vote from space using a secure electronic ballot, which is forwarded to the county clerk via Mission Control.
This is the second time she has voted from space. She and other astronauts cast their ballots aboard the International Space Station in the 2016 presidential election.
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