Life in space is, not surprisingly, very different from life on Earth. In an environment of zero gravity, even simple tasks become more complicated to perform.
How Do Astronauts Live And Work On The International Space Station?
Maintenance
Astronauts are on call 24 hours a day and can work more than 16 hours in a row. The International space station never returns to earth, so as consequence, crew members oversee the maintenance of the station throughout the entire day.
For example, they must check the station systems, clean air filters and update computer equipment; at all times, the tools and the pieces of equipment that they use to perform these jobs must be secured using magnets.
Their own survival depends on the astronauts’ skills to solve problems; they must be ready to spot and repair the station at any time of day.
Spacewalk
Whenever an astronaut leaves the station, it is called a spacewalk. It is very physically demanding, and is an operation that can be compulsory for many reasons: to test new equipment, repair materials on the satellite, repair materials on the space craft and experimentation.
As floating in space is a lot like floating in water, astronauts practice spacewalks underwater in a large swimming pool on earth. Nowadays, they can also use virtual reality to adapt to the movement in space.
Finally, when astronauts embark on spacewalks, they leave the spacecraft through a special door called an airlock and wear space suits where pure oxygen is pumped into the globe in order for them to breathe. For safety purposes, cosmonauts use security ropes to stay close and attached to their spaceship; it prevents astronauts from floating away into space.
Experiments
Astronauts are scientists in medicine, engineering, physics, chemistry or biology. They perform scientific experiments for government agencies, private companies, and educational institutions; research varies in nature from growing vegetables to printing in zero gravity. More often than not, the overall goal is to help humans with their tasks on earth and to improve the living conditions in space in order to travel on to other planets.
Of course, the astronauts themselves are also living-experiments. Zero gravity and a sunrise every 90 minutes can disrupt an astronaut’s health, both physically and psychologically. They are all taking part in medical experiments to observe the human body’s reactions to living in space for long periods of time.
Exercise
Astronauts must train at least two hours per day to prevent muscle loss and health changes. Equipped with three machines (a bicycle, a treadmill, and a weightlifting machine), the International Space Station is designed to allow astronauts to stay fit.
Without gravity to work against them, astronauts face the risk of losing their bone mineral density as well as muscle atrophy. Blood and water from their body can also change in space: they can change direction and flow more to the upper body and head, causing issues with the blood circulation which can affect vision. Usually, most of these problem disappear after returning to Earth.
Primary needs
In the International Space Station, astronauts usually get eight hours of rest time after their daily missions; however, the excitement and anxiety of being in space can often disturb their life balance and disrupt their sleep.
Several types of food are consumed in the space station, however, dehydrated meals a usually eaten more frequently.
Group meals and celebrations are often organized to look after the morale of the crew, as often when living in space daily routine can become quite repetitive and boring.
Free time
Astronauts’ free time can be spent in a variety of ways whilst on the International Space Station: they can use the internet, they can call or email their families or friends, they can watch movies – they can even share music, videos or photos with their followers on earth. Nevertheless, it’s most likely that the most popular activity during free time is to just simply look down at the Earth from the Tranquility Module.
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