NASA's Anil Menon Casts Midterm Ballot From Space Station Sleeping Pod

NASA astronaut Anil Menon found a polling place in an unlikely spot: his sleeping compartment aboard the International Space Station. On Election Day, he cast his midterm ballot from orbit. In a video posted to X, Menon showed how he used a computer to submit the ballot electronically to Harris County, Texas, according to AP.

He was not the only voter in orbit. Crewmates Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney also cast their ballots from the space station, AP reported. That made the station a remote voting site for the crew on Election Day.

U.S. astronauts have been voting from space since 1997. The process lets crew members take part in elections back home while they are living and working in orbit. Menon's setup put a personal spin on that tradition: his sleeping compartment served as the booth.

His computer became the ballot box, sending the completed midterm ballot to Harris County, Texas. The video, posted to X, captures a civic ritual carried out from orbit. Menon and his crewmates showed that distance does not have to stop a vote.