LIFE ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

We tend to think of space travel in only the noblest of terms; steely-eyed men and women exploring the final frontier, the advancement of all human knowledge. But astronauts are people like every one of us, subject to idiosyncrasies, pettiness, and insecurities.

Things that we take for granted on Earth, such as washing our hair, popping to the shop for some milk or going to the toilet, become more of a challenge in Space. 

Here are some insights into life in space....

The International Space Station (ISS) is a habitable human-made satellite that orbits Earth. While it may be difficult to judge the scale of the ISS on a television screen, it is the same size as a football pitch. 

Astronauts making and eating hamburgers on board the ISS August 2007

There are different compartments for the American, Russian, European and Japanese astronauts. They all come together to have dinner but then head to their own labs to do research work.

RSA cosmonaut Gennady Padalka performs an ultrasound exam on NASA astronaut
Michael Fincke during Expedition 9 aboard the International Space Station.

During the six months that most astronauts spend on the International Space Station, they can grow up to 3 percent taller. 

Without gravity, the spine is free to expand, making the space flyers taller, even when they first return to Earth.

Astronaut Catherine (Cady) Coleman trims the hair of European Space Agency
astronaut Paolo Nespoli on the International Space Station during Expedition 26.

You can’t have running water as water causes problems if it gets loose in your cabin.You take a wash cloth and a bag of water and have a sponge bath. 

Space Station residents have liquid soap. 

Once they’re done with their towel they hang it up and the air flow will dry it out. 

For their hair they can use waterless shampoo.

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Expedition 36 flight engineer, attired in an
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit

Under their space suits, astronauts wear nappies.The space suit is your own little space ship. You can’t just take it off, go inside and do whatever. It makes everything convenient and a lot less stressful to know you can do that if you need to. 

Daniel Tani in ISS sleeping bag

As there is no “up or down” in Space, beds are positioned on the walls, ceilings and floor. Sleeping bags are strapped to the walls so they don’t float away.

Astronaut Sunita Williams
bungeed to the TVIS treadmill
aboard the International Space Station.

In the weightlessness of space, muscles aren't needed to support the body. An astronaut's muscles start to adapt to that change almost immediately. 

Due to the low gravity, the heart has a far easier time of pumping blood around the body in space than it does on Earth. 

This can be dangerous, as it gradually pumps less and less and becomes weaker, so astronauts must exercise for several hours a day to keep it working hard.

There are two treadmills and two stationary bicycles on board the space station to help the residents keep in shape during their time in orbit.

Astronauts have reported seeing flashes of light zap through their eyes as they try to rest, making it difficult for them to sleep on the space station. 

The flashes are actually from cosmic rays — high-energy particles that beam through the solar system — shooting through the orbiting outpost. 

Spaceflyers have described the flashes as "fireworks" or "streaks."

Cady Coleman plays a flute inside the International Space Station.

The International Space Station orbits the Earth at about 17,000mph (27,000kph). This means astronauts aboard the ISS see the Sun rise and set every 90 minutes. However, their clocks run to UTC and they work 9-5, just like on Earth, to keep their days ordered.

Dmitri Kondratyev and Paolo Nespoli photograph the Earth through the Cupola

The astronauts can visit the cupola, an observatory pod from which they can see Earth.

Sometimes, space flyers will drop things on earth, forgetting that gravity is influential back on Earth. After six months in micro-gravity conditions, it is difficult to adjust to life in a place where materials fall if you drop them. 

It is not only a fun job being an astronaut in space. It involves a lot of courage a sacrifice to be the chosen ones. We salute the brave astronauts!!