Living Without Gravity
by Skylar Leibold
Is living without gravity hard? Why or Why not?
Living in space is just like living on Earth. They have to exercise so that when they come home from space their bones are not weak and forget what it is like to live with gravity. Astronaut's hearts have to work extra hard against gravity. They do not have bathrooms, unlike Earth. They have a hose that they use the bathroom in. The hose is for going number one. There is a "space toilet", but it has no water and it is used as a suction.
How do they stay clean and organized?
Astronauts use many things to stay clean and organized. They use a vacuum like machine to pick up the floating objects that need to stay on the ground. For example: Lets say that a pencil started floating away from you and you couldn't reach it. You would get the vacuum and you would suck the pencil into the hose. Then you would pull the pencil out of the vacuum and keep writing with it. There are four trash buckets in the Space Shuttle. Three are for dry trash (things that don't smell.) And the other one is for wet trash (things that do smell.) Astronauts have toothbrushes and toothpaste like we do here on Earth, but they do not have a sink in space so they have to spit in washcloths.
What happens to their body's in space?
They exercise for two and a half hours on the space station. This it to help their bones not become fragile and so they don't forget what it is like to walk on a gravitated surface. If Astronauts don't exercise everyday then their body's start losing bone and muscle. They use Cycle Ergometer, Treadmill, and a Resistance Exercise Device. These exercise machines help you stay in shape.
Shuttle Astronauts Weightless in Space
Cites:
For the video: crocadilebollox's. Shuttle Astronauts Weightless in Space. 9 August 2009.
For the NASA website: Dunbar, Brian. Astronauts in traing . 9 April 2009 .