Even space celebrates the holidays.

The International Space Station deployed Expedition 42 on Nov. 10, 2014, and the crew will research “the effects of microgravity on cells, Earth observation, physical science and biological and molecular,” through March 2015. In between all that research, ISS astronauts will take time to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. Or at least, they'll enjoy NASA's version of dinner.

According to Tech Times, Thanksgiving in space this year includes freeze-dried smoked turkey, grits and butter, corn bread dressing, cranberry pie, and sweet tea (much to the delight of southern commander, Butch Wilmore). If not freeze-dried, some food will be thermostabilized, which means the food has been heat processed in order to be stored at room temperature.

Space food has been more or less the same since NASA’s space shuttle program launched 30 years ago. Food needs to be small, have a long shelf-life, as well as a lot of nutrition. Anything messy, like Thanksgiving dinner rolls, will result in crumbs, and the crumbs will float around the station compartments.

Tech Times did report, however, NASA is looking into ways to make actually appetizing food last longer, especially for deep space missions. These appetizing options are looking toward “real food” grown by the station’s food scientists, like fruits and vegetables.

While ISS astronauts will be without their friends and family, the International Business Times reported if astronauts had to be away from their family, space is a pretty legit alternative. Astronauts also gather together to celebrate.

"Whenever there's a holiday on the U.S. side, or if it was a crew member's birthday or anything like that or on the weekends, we'd get together," NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, who spent the 2013 holiday season on the ISS, told IBT. "All six of us, including the three Russians, two Americans, and Koichi, my Japanese crew mate, we'd get together once or twice a week and have dinner together and also on special occasions such as Christmas or Russian holidays."

Wilmore told IBT he plans to continue the tradition this tradition, enjoying his freeze-dried dinner alongside European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and Russian astronauts (cosmonauts) Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova.

In the Thanksgiving message Wilmore released for ISS, he explains how thankful he is to be living his dream of going to space with his crew. He's also thankful for being weightless. "The opportunity to just float effortlessly. … I can do my bat imitation, so I can hang from the ceiling like a bat," he said. "I’m thankful for these types of things that you dream about, literally dream about, and now to have the opportunity to take part and share in it, is special and amazing, and I’m thankful for that."

His parting words? Don't eat too much.