The International Space Station crew was able to celebrate New Year's 16 different times

(Image credit: Paolo Nespoli - ESA/NASA via Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

At some point, the International Space Station crew must have run out of new targets for a stroke-of-midnight kiss.

In a prerecorded video, ISS Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and crew member Terry Virts explain the back-of-the-envelope math: Orbiting Earth at 17,500 miles per hour, the space station would have been directly over 16 separate 'midnights' as the planet's different time zones celebrated New Year's.

But before you crack wise about drunken astronauts hurtling around space after 16 champagne toasts, NASA was quick to point out that the ISS crew rang in 2015 with fruit juice.