ever wonder what it's like to work in
space the brave men and women of the
international space station are truly a
special breed but at the end of the day
they're just regular people going about
their jobs
so join us today as we shadow our higher
ups and learn all about a day in the
life of an iss astronaut
when hurtling around planet earth at
seventeen thousand one hundred miles per
hour standard human notions of day and
night start to look pretty silly in a
normal 24-hour stretch a typical iss
astronaut will see the sun rise and set
16 times in total human bodies did not
evolve that way so a regular 24-hour
earth day is maintained up there if
nothing else to prevent the crew
descending into a grim spiral of
permanent crippling jet lag and while it
might seem from the internet that all
they do up there is strum guitars and
make funny videos in fact astronauts
schedules are rigorously itemized down
to five minute increments by an ops
planning team working at mission control
the day usually runs from 6am to 9 30pm
pegged to utc which is basically the
same thing as greenwich meantime anyway
let's start the day
lights go on at 6 00 am astronauts will
typically still be in their sleeping
bags which are affixed to the walls of
their telephone box size cabins to stop
them bobbing about before they get up
not that up or down have much meaning on
the iss crew my read emails digest the
news online or check any overnight
missions sent across from mission
control
first things first a hop in the shower
right
well no the best astronauts can hope for
hygiene wise despite working out twice a
day is to squirt a pouch of warm water
and a trace of soap onto a washcloth to
rub themselves down with longer-haired
crewmates like to use a special
rinseless shampoo applied to their scalp
and rubbed vigorously through with a
towel this requires very little water
and was developed for hospital patients
who can't shower at least you never need
a hair dryer there's even a specially
adapted hair cutting machine called the
flowbee essentially a pair of clippers
attached to a vacuum cleaner which
prevents stray stubble from floating
away and clogging up vital iss hardware
toothbrushing is broadly similar to the
process on earth and astronauts are even
allowed to bring up their own preferred
brand of toothpaste the main drawback is
with no sinks or running water
astronauts pretty much have to swallow
at the end it's time to get dressed
astronauts usually wear casual short
sleeve t-shirts as the temperature
aboard remains a constant 72 to 73
degrees and there's rarely any reason to
get doled up or wear a jumper they
change their clothes as seldom as
possible often wearing the same items
for days at a time this is because there
isn't much storage space and certainly
no washing facilities on the station
after a few days the smellier items are
stashed in a mesh bag ready for the next
resupply mission to dispatch to a
spectacular fiery death on re-entry
hopefully having brought fresh supplies
beforehand inevitably even in space
nature calls
as you might expect visiting the
bathroom in a micro gravity environment
throws up an assortment of grim
challenges
for liquid waste each crew member is
issued with a personal urinal funnel
they attach to a fan driven vacuum hose
this fan sucks any and all liquids away
whisking just next door where alongside
moisture condensated from the air their
wee is broken down by electrolysis to
generate fresh oxygen and make the next
batch of drinking water
solid waste has its own wholly separate
system well it's the same fan feces are
sucked away into a wastewater tank and
sealed in a plastic bag it's considered
good etiquette by the way for astronauts
to at least try and remember to leave a
fresh bag for the next crew person
unlovely as this setup is it's a vast
improvement on all the space station's
orbital facilities on the now defunct
russian space station mir a power
failure once forced cosmonauts to
defecate directly into emergency plastic
bags until a repair could be made morale
is said to have suffered badly anyway
let's go to breakfast toast is
definitely a no-no on the space station
as are sandwiches because crumbs are a
disaster in zero gravity environments
not only are they messy but if left to
float away unchecked they get lodged in
tiny crevices and encourage the growth
of fungus there are no conventional
fridges although a company called
bioserve space technologies is trialling
a substitute aboard right now but
there's plenty to eat nonetheless like
scrambled egg oatmeal or waffles true
much of it is dehydrated brought to life
with warm water but there's also
lemonade coffee or tea so long as you
don't mind drinking through a straw of
course
after breakfast part of a rigorously
planned diet that's carefully monitored
by nutritionists it's time for a crew
call to mission control to go over the
plan for the day nearly every single
task on the iss is carefully scripted
and astronauts have their activities
planned in step-by-step fashion down to
the finest detail some of the most
important duties involve maintenance
both preventative tasks carried out
before things go wrong and the
corrective approach once something's
actually broken cleaning filters is
important as is the disinfection of
surfaces updating computer software and
even taking out the trash which usually
goes into the russia launched progress
service vehicle on occasion the crew's
maintenance duties will require a
spacewalk this can be for jobs as
apparently mundane as changing batteries
on the exterior of the station but still
necessitate four hours just to suit up
and a 100 page checklist to run through
in case you're wondering yes there's a
diaper in there
typically the crew moved through the
interior of the iss using an array of
handrails which are situated at
intervals on every surface it's said
that during extended missions astronauts
calluses vanish from the base of their
feet but reappear on the top because
this is suddenly a very crucial body
part for keeping them upright and steady
as well as those handrails surfaces in
the iss are usually adorned with strips
of velcro this is to help stop handheld
tools pens and other items from drifting
away and getting lost sometimes for
frustratingly long periods after a solid
morning of work often in solitary roles
but sometimes teaming up with colleagues
across the russian english language
divide using a dialect astronauts
affectionately refer to as runglish it's
time for lunch
while the days of the week make even
less sense than the difference between
night and day in space the iss crews
still maintain a distinction between
weekdays and weekends and share a ritual
meal together as a team on sunday
weightlessness creates issues for
everything aboard the iss and cooking is
no exception convection the heating
principle on which most earth-based
ovens run doesn't work in orbit hence
most meals are prepared from dehydrated
ingredients and hot water this is also
to prevent fungus from taking hold amid
moist stored foodstuffs
some food items beefsteak for instance
come pre-sterilized with ionizing
radiation which helps prevent spoilage
condiments like ketchup mustard or hot
chili are all available to spice things
up as are salt and pepper albeit in
liquid form so the granules don't drift
away and cause havoc with station
operations deliveries of fresh food such
as fruit happen periodically throughout
the year takeaways aren't really an
option except for back in 2001 when
pizza hut memorably sent a family-sized
salami pizza on a russian rocket as part
of a million dollar marketing stunt
mission control is keenly aware of the
importance of fresh supplies to the
morale of the hard-working iss crew
after washing their hands with
disinfectant wipes because remember
there's no sink it's straight back to
work
the main mission for the iss team is to
conduct scientific experiments and
further mankind's understanding of life
in space so the most important and
exciting work they'll do is essentially
in the role of lab technicians guided in
their actions by scientists on the
ground and the iss is positively
bristling with labs russia has two mini
research modules the us lab is called
destiny columbus is run by the european
space agency the most recent lab is
japan's kaibo which includes a special
platform allowing experiments to take
place outside the station just some of
the questions being explored concern the
effects of low gravity on living cells
artificial materials and even miniature
explosions a veritable menagerie of
animals from mice to ants to fish to
worms often participate but it's fair to
say the most regular experimental
subjects are the astronauts themselves
as such they need to stay in good shape
so when all that scientific work is done
it's time to work out each crew member
is required as part of their duties to
work out for at least two and sometimes
more hours every day partly this is
because gravity on earth naturally keeps
human beings bones and muscles in good
condition as they are constantly working
to keep us upright but in space muscles
atrophy and bones grow brittle and less
constantly worked astronauts also work
out to combat the dreaded space snuffles
an unlovely condition where bodily
fluids no longer lug downward by gravity
accumulate in the head in order to stay
trim and clear minded astronauts make
use of three main pieces of gym
equipment specially designed and
calibrated for life on board there's an
exercise bike which doesn't have a seat
because you don't need one in zero
gravity there's also a treadmill onto
which crew are secured with bungee
straps it has a clever vibration
isolation system built in so astronaut's
heavy footfall can't disturb the
delicate science going on elsewhere on
the iss the third main piece of workout
equipment is the so-called advanced
resistive exercise device or aret the
most recent addition to the iss on-board
gym a-red uses clever vacuum-sealed
cylinders to mimic resistance up to 600
pounds as an alternative to lifting
heavy weights if you're wondering how
astronauts cope with the sheer tedium of
pumping iron for two hours every day
while teams on the ground monitor their
vital signs and provide coaching don't
worry there are screens for watching
movies and even scope to get competitive
in 2012 a nasa athlete named sunita
williams competed in the malibu
triathlon using a-red as a makeshift
swimming simulator what's your excuse
after an evening meal which can sadly
taste a little bland as aroma doesn't
really work in low gravity and blood
surges to the sinuses thanks to those
space snuffles we mentioned it's time to
unwind before bed the iss does have
wi-fi clocking in at an impressive 600
megabits per second via the tetra
satellite system so astronauts can and
do spend a lot of time online many
choose to phone home there's also the
station's beautiful cupola surely the
ultimate vantage point for just sitting
and watching the world go by at night
astronauts return to their sleeping bags
these bags have special armholes so
users keep restrained but can still type
or read a book some issues to overcome
with catching 40 winks include the iss
is constant humming noise it's been
compared to a constantly running vacuum
cleaner earplugs it said help out a lot
another more disturbing consideration
for dozing astronauts is airflow
experienced crewmates try to align
themselves at night with the station air
vents this is because warm air doesn't
rise in space so sleeping astronauts in
poorly ventilated sections can wake up
gasping for air surrounded by an
invisible bubble of their own exhaled
carbon dioxide at the very least this
causes splitting headaches once they
eventually drift off seasoned astronauts
are even said to dream in zero gravity
oh and despite everything else that's
different up there snoring is apparently
still very much a thing what do you
think does all that discomfort and
middling food seem worth it to become a
pioneer of interplanetary exploration
let us know in the comments and don't
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