How do astronauts sleep? 12 things you never knew about life in space
Life in space includes some of the same mundane chores and activities of life on earth. Eating, sleeping, cleaning up after yourself. And then there’s the toilet. Here are some things you never thought about life in space.
The space shuttle had kind of has a new car smell
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Astronaut Mike Fincke flew on space shuttle Endeavour’s final mission in 2011. He wistfully remembered the shuttle’s smell in an interview. “The space station has a very neutral smell to me, but the shuttle has a slight metallic twang,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “Words can’t describe that particular blend.”
No poker game
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Astronaut Greg Johnson took a deck of cards aboard the space shuttle, but then found it nearly impossible to play in zero gravity.
Watch the snacks
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Astronaut Mike Fincke, who flew on Endeavour’s final mission in 2011, told the Los Angeles Times what NOT to bring on the space shuttle: No peanuts or other small snacks. The pieces would fly around and get stuck in hard-to-reach spots that would have to be cleaned up before landing.
They have to strap in to sleep
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Zero-gravity makes sleeping in space tricky. Astronauts strap sleeping bags to walls or ceilings so they don’t float around while they sleep.
What time is it?
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Another thing that makes sleep tricky: The International Space Station orbits the Earth every 90 minutes. So the sun is rising – and setting – every hour and a half.
Chores in space
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Each astronaut had specific duties aboard the space shuttle: building or fixing machinery on marathon spacewalks, wielding the shuttle’s 56-foot robotic arm, cleaning the toilet — an onerous task typically dealt to the pilot.
Zero-gravity Games
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Occasionally, astronauts make time to goof around. While Endeavour was hooked up to the International Space Station during the 2010 Winter Olympics, one astronaut performed a figure-skating twirl while another jumped with small makeshift skis.
Astronauts get taller in space
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Freed from gravity’s pull, the spine straightens and the body lengthens.
They are aware of their place in history
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Space shuttle Endeavour was named after the HMS Endeavour, which was 18th century British explorer Capt. James Cook’s ship. When Astronaut Andrew Thomas flew aboard Endeavour in 1996, he brought along a slim stick of wood from the HMS Endeavour. “That would have blown Capt. Cook’s mind,” Thomas said. “That piece of wood traveled about, oh, 6 million miles.”
Other things they carried
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On Garrett Reisman’s first flight on Endeavour in 2008, he packed his high school physics teacher’s rosary beads, a Christmas card from a friend who had died in the Sept. 11 attacks and a gold chain his late father wore. He also carried two pairs of wedding rings for his former California Institute of Technology professor Christopher Brennen. “I was trying to thank people that had helped me along the way,” Reisman said.
Floating is as cool as you might imagine
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Does floating look like the coolest thing about being in orbit? Astronauts say you’re right; it is. “Floating is one of the most wondrous parts of being in space,” said Jeffrey Hoffman, an MIT aeronautics professor who flew on the first mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993.
The toilet is … tricky
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Floating did have its downsides — particularly concerning the toilet. “Um, it’s quite complex,” Fincke said. “You have to strap yourself in, and there’s these leg stirrups, and you need to make a ‘perfect seal.’”
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