What Do Astronauts Do in Space?
In 1958, NASA adopted the word “astronaut” which basically means “sailor among the stars” for those who they train to go into space. The job demands you to be in perfect physical shape and also the technical skills to live in a space station. They work in space and research about activities related to space exploration.
How Hard It Is to Be an Astronaut?
According to Wikipedia, an astronaut is a person trained by a human space flight program to command, pilot, and serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. Living the life of an astronaut is not only exciting but also can be very challenging. Many younger generations dream about becoming astronauts. It is not as easy as it seems. One has to work hard and prepare themselves physically and mentally to live in a whole different environment facing extremely different problems.
What Would Be the Most Difficult Thing About Living in a Weightless Environment?
The International Space Station basically is floating out there. When one has the sensation of weightlessness or zero gravity it means they do not feel the gravity at all. The first few days in the space cannot be much harmful but in the long run, astronauts can experience other major health issues, bones and muscles may weaken, and many other bodily changes may occur. ISS conducted a separate study of astronauts and their long term health effects in weightlessness. But compared to normal people, astronauts tend to experience weightlessness for a longer period. One of the major reasons is that our vestibular system cannot figure out where the ground and ceiling are.
1. When Was NASA Established Succeeding the NACA?
- A. 1957
- B. 1958
- C. 1959
- D. 1960
Why Is It Hard to Live in Space?
Being an astronaut is not easy, even simpler tasks that seem a lot easier on the earth can be really difficult in space. Here is a list to make you understand how hard it is to be an astronaut.
Sleeping
When you have gravity you have something to hold you down so when you toss or turn while sleeping it wouldn’t be a problem. But in space due to lack of gravity, each astronaut is provided with a sleeping bag that has a rigid cushion. It is attached to the wall or ceiling to prevent them from floating. The cabins in which they sleep are well organized and ventilated as sometimes they may wake up oxygen-deprived.
Eating
Bread isn’t allowed in space as the crumbs would go all over and might create problems by getting stuck in the eyes or nostrils of astronauts. So instead, they mostly prefer packed tortillas. Veggies are usually sealed in a package and water distributors are attached to it to make hard veggies textured and edible. It is also reported that astronauts tend to lose their sense of taste in space as the fluids responsible for it might not be located in the place where they are supposed due to lack of gravity.
Bathing
Due to lack of gravity, it is not possible to take bath in space as the water would float and not attach to your body. But it also would be really difficult to spend your hard days with smelly astronauts so, they use a soapy mixture and clean themselves with a cloth.
Crying
In space, you cannot cry because it is going to be inconvenient. Whether it is happy tears or you cry because you are homesick, either way, it is more of a burden. When you cry in space the tears coming from your eyes do not fall down instead, it would still be stuck in your eyes. So, the more you cry, the more the water accumulates in your eyes making it harder.
Pee or Poop
In Space, when astronauts pee or poop, they have to do it in a small toilet hole which has a fan vacuum that sucks in the excrements but unfortunately, when the toilets in space do not work, astronauts must deal with floating poop.
Space Exploration Facts
- It is estimated that it cost around $25.4 million for the Apollo 11 mission which was a lot of money those days. Even though today’s technology made traveling to space less complicated, there is still a lot of money involved.
- Astronauts wore heavy outfits which weighed over 280 pounds and it approximately took 45 minutes to wear it. Phew!
- Dennis Tito, an American engineer visited the International space station in 2001 to spend his holiday and he spent around $20 000 000 for it.
- In space, your manicures must be done in an air duct as the nails you cut would float around and litter the place.
- In earlier days, life insurance was denied for astronauts as they were considered riskier, it is considered one of the major disadvantages of space exploration. So in order to take care of their families in case they fail to return, they autographed their own pictures which would later be auctioned if needed.