How do astronauts live on the space station?

 

Being stuck in space may sound like science fiction to many. But such an incident really happened this time. Two NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are forced to stay aboard the International Space Station due to a spacecraft malfunction. The two astronauts were scheduled to return to Earth on June 22, but they were trapped in the International Space Station due to a helium gas leak from the Boeing Starliner spacecraft carrying them. When they will return to Earth, NASA has not yet been able to say precisely.

According to the US space agency, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore could take another eight months to return to Earth. And so, many people are interested to know how the days of the two astronauts trapped in the space station are going. Let's take a look at the facilities available to astronauts on the space station.

A living room equal to a phone booth

Many people use open rooms or soft beds and pillows for good sleep. If the bed and pillow are not right, it causes neck or back pain along with sleep disturbance. But the image of the space station is difficult and terrifying. The 'zero gravity' or weightlessness of the space station makes it very difficult to comfortably lie down or rest your head on a pillow. And so astronauts on the space station sleep in a special place called the sleep station. The sleep station is similar in size to a phone booth. Not only that, the astronauts have to sleep on special sleeping bags to keep their bodies stable.

Bathe and brush teeth

Showering, brushing teeth and washing hands and face are very difficult on the space station. Since the gravity is zero, the water here does not fall down like on Earth. As a result, there is no opportunity to shower in the space station like on Earth. So the astronauts wipe their body with cloth soaked in water. A special shampoo should be used to clean the hair. You don't have to wash your hair with water if you use this shampoo. Astronauts also have to brush their teeth.

the toilet

Astronauts jokingly call the space station's toilet 'orbital outhouse'. This toilet has two parts. One part is used for liquid and other for solid waste. While the faeces are kept in bags in the toilet, the pure food water from the urine is stored through a special device.