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Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams and her companions in space have sought some home decorating and cooking tips from Martha Stewart, homemaking expert and popular US television personality.

Stewart asked the International Space Station (ISS) crew about their experiments, the view of earth from their vantage point, and life in their orbital home away from home as she chatted with them on Monday in an event shown on NASA TV.

Williams showed off her green thumb with a sample of bean sprouts she had been growing as part of a horticulture experiment for long-term living in space. Pickles and shrimp cocktail were her top choices when asked of her favourite foods in space.

After giving a glimpse of their personalised sleeping areas, Williams and Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria told Stewart they were open to any home decorating or cooking tips for their home in space.

"You are helping us learn so much about space travel," Stewart said. "Just seeing you enjoying yourselves while you're doing such fantastic research is really wonderful."

A Russian re-supply ship loaded with propellant, oxygen, experiment hardware and other gear arrived at the space station on Friday. The ISS Progress 24 docked to the station's Pirs docking compartment with supplies for the current Expedition 14 and the upcoming Expedition 15 mission.

On Jan 17, the cargo spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan achieving earth orbit about 10 minutes later. A series of pre-programmed engine firings fine-tuned the Progress' arrival at the station that finally led to its automated docking.