International Space Station Expands Again
Image credit: STS-119 Shuttle Crew, NASA
Today marks the 51st anniversary of the first Moon landing, but since the end of the Apollo lunar program, which made it possible for a human being to set foot on the Moon, human space exploration has been limited to low-Earth orbit, with research being conducted on the ISS [1]. Just imagine how cool waking up every morning to such a breathtaking view as the curvature of our Earth would be! It turns out that is exactly what astronauts get to see daily, so let's explore together their extraordinary home, the International Space Station (ISS). Every house has at least one bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen, right? Well, scientists had to come up with a slightly different home design to live up in space.
Image credit: ESA
Sleeping in space is...fun. First of all, there is no "up" or "down" in space; these terms have been coined by human beings living on the Earth in order to have a system of reference. Indeed, when astronauts are in space they experience what is called "microgravity", i.e. they are weightless, which is the reason why we see them floating. As a curious consequence, they have to attach themselves while sleeping so as to not fly away [2]. The bedroom of an astronaut is a simple sleeping bag located in a small cabin, big enough for just one person. Don't question the quality of their sleep, though, because it has been reported that some of the astronauts even SNORE! No doubt they are having sweet dreams.
Another interesting fact is that the first device made active on shuttle flights has been the space or zero gravity toilet, also called the Waste Collection System (WCS), which can be used in a weightless environment such as space. One of its features is having a urine-reclaiming system which recycles water on the ISS, since carrying a huge volume of water to the space station would be inefficient and exorbitantly pricey. Having such a well-built and high-functioning facility service also paves the way for long-duration space travel as could be a journey to Mars [3]. Speaking of which, did you know that according to Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, a space transportation company now in collaboration with NASA, humans could land on Mars by 2030?
Gif credit: GIPHY
Space cuisine offers a vast assortment of foods. A food warmer can be used to heat meals, but there are no refrigerators, so all foodstuff has to be stored and prepared properly [4]. Condiments are also provided, but salt and pepper cannot be sprinkled on food, since they would float away and could clog air vents or get stuck in an astronaut's eyes, so they are provided in a liquid form.
Finally, a couple of interesting resources you may find interesting to look up!
If you are curious about how to simulate our Solar System, check out our online-taught Introduction to Scratch programming language course and learn how to insert the ISS in orbit!
To know more about the structure of the ISS and play around, check the LEGO set!
Watch our astronauts talking about their life experience on board of the ISS!
(sleeping, cooking and washing teeth)How to spot the ISS!
Author: Ludovica Maria Golia