Happy New Year: NASA astronauts to take part in Times Square party

For the first time ever, NASA astronauts will take part in the New Year’s Eve countdown in Times Square. It’s fitting when you think about it. They know countdowns. And 2014 is ready to launch.

Astronaut Mike Massimino will be on the main stage at Times Square on Tuesday night, a NASA spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times.

The veteran astronaut was among those fixing up the Hubble Space Telescope for the fifth and final time in May 2009. His spacewalks on that mission were just shy of 16 hours. Massimino and crew mates “overcame frozen bolts, stripped screws and stuck handrails,” NASA notes.

So if the ball gets stuck, we know who can fix it. Look for Massimino on stage at 9:47 p.m. He will introduce pre-recorded video greetings from astronaut Karen Nyberg, space station Expedition 36 flight engineer, as well as three of the astronauts now aboard the station: NASA’s Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins, plus Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

NASA is no stranger to the Toshiba Vision screen atop One Times Square. The launches of two spacecraft were shown on the screen, and hundreds gathered to watch live coverage of the landing of Curiosity on Mars in August 2012.

Wish they’d launch the ball instead of drop it? Follow me @AmyTheHub

ALSO: