What Happens Inside Mission Control?

There is one place at the North Pole that gets busier as Christmas gets closer: Mission Control.

Walk through its doors and you’ll see an enormous room filled with glowing screens, giant maps, weather reports, blinking lights and elves wearing headsets. Every station has an important Christmas Eve job.

At the center of the room is the World Tracking Map. It stretches across an entire wall and helps the team follow Santa’s journey around the globe. Nearby, the Navigation Desk studies routes, distances and time zones. The Weather Desk watches snow, wind, clouds and storms. At Communications, elves keep the connection with Santa’s sleigh open throughout the flight.

There is even a Reindeer Monitoring Station. Each reindeer’s flight status is checked before takeoff and monitored throughout the night. If everything is working exactly as it should, the board displays the words every tracking elf loves to see: ALL GREEN.

On most December days, Mission Control is busy preparing. Elves test equipment, update maps, practice emergency procedures and review Christmas Eve plans. But on December 24, the room changes completely.

Every station is staffed. Every screen is active. The giant clock begins counting down to departure.

When the sleigh is loaded and the reindeer are ready, Santa receives his final weather and navigation reports. Then Mission Control waits for the message everyone has been preparing to hear.

Santa is cleared for takeoff.

Once the sleigh leaves the North Pole, the Tracking Station stays active until the final stop is complete and Santa and the reindeer are safely home.

For the elves inside Mission Control, Christmas Eve isn’t just the biggest night of the year. It’s the night all their planning finally takes flight.