With the US election just weeks away, NASA has explained how astronauts vote in space.

 

距离美国大选仅有几周，美国宇航局近日揭秘宇航员如何在太空中投票。

 

The space agency has a motto of "Vote while you float" for astronauts.

 

"Like other forms of absentee voting, voting from space starts with a Federal Postcard Application, or FPCA," NASA says on its website. "It's the same form military members and their families fill out while serving outside of the US. By completing it ahead of their launch, space station crew members signal their intent to participate in an election from space."

 

NASA notes that because astronauts move to Houston for their training, most opt¹ to vote as Texas residents. "Of course, NASA's astronauts come from all over, so those wishing to vote as residents of their home states can work with their counties to make special arrangements to vote from space," it adds.

 

Once the FCPA is approved, the county clerk who manages elections in the astronaut's home county sends a test ballot² to a team at NASA's Johnson Space Center, according to NASA. A space station test computer is then used to test whether it can be filled out and sent back to the county clerk.

 

"After a successful test, a secure electronic ballot generated by the Clerk's office of Harris County and surrounding counties in Texas, is uplinked by Johnson's Mission Control Center to the voting crew member," NASA says. "An e-mail with crew member-specific credentials³ is sent from the County Clerk to the astronaut. These credentials allow the crew member to access the secure ballot."

 

"The astronaut will then cast their vote, and the secure, completed ballot is downlinked and delivered back to the County Clerk's Office by e-mail to be officially recorded," NASA adds. "The clerk has their own password to ensure they are the only one who can open the ballot. It's a quick process, and the astronaut must be sure to submit it by 7 pm local time on Election Day if voting as a Texas resident."

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