Life in space is full of fun!

How do astronauts live in space? Do they enjoy the fun of "flying" anytime and anywhere? In fact, the life of astronauts in space is very interesting, but they must always be careful and prepared to deal with some potential risks.

Eating and drinking are particular

As we all know, space is a microgravity environment, and it is not easy for astronauts to stand, let alone walk. Therefore, astronauts often have to "fly" to move their bodies, which is full of skills, and the arms play a big role. Many handrails are specially installed on the cabin wall. In addition, astronauts also have to be careful of the trouble of "flying" when eating.

When exploring space, you can't be careless about eating. In the early days, space food was like toothpaste, but now it has become a wide variety. For example, the Chinese space station has prepared more than 120 kinds of food for astronauts, including staple foods such as rice porridge, coconut bread, fried rice, and fried noodles, as well as various dishes, including sour, spicy, salty, and sweet, including grilled fish hot pot and spicy snacks. Astronauts can drink yogurt and eat chocolate, and can also enjoy apples and grapes.

However, the sense of smell and taste will be weakened in weightlessness, which may be the result of blood flowing back to the head. Foreign astronauts like to have some strong stimulation such as spicy mustard to refresh themselves, but be careful of flatulence, burping and farting...

The dining area of ​​the Chinese space station is equipped with food heating and refrigeration equipment, folding tables, etc., where astronauts can sit down and "drink tea and chat."

The astronauts' plates have strong magnetic force and can firmly hold knives, forks and spoons. There are also many nylon buckles on the plates to fix them on the table to prevent eating while they are flying. There are also buckles specifically used to fix food, but some astronauts are playful and let the food float, and then gently suck it up and "eat it from the mouth".

Drinking water in space is a "skill" that must be learned. In a weightless environment, the bagged water is equipped with a pencil-thin straw with a water stop clip. The astronaut first holds the straw in his mouth, then loosens the water stop clip and squeezes the water bag, and the cool, pure water will be sucked or squeezed into his mouth. After drinking the water, the astronaut must first press the water stop clip tightly and then take out the straw.

Astronauts don't rely entirely on water delivered by spacecraft, but instead use recycled urine, sweat, etc. If you're worried about the "strong taste" of the water, the Chinese space station has a trick up its sleeve.

The core module of Tianhe is equipped with a carbon dioxide reduction subsystem, which can convert the hydrogen separated by the electrolysis oxygen production subsystem and the carbon dioxide produced by astronauts into condensed water, methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor after processing, and then produce drinking water after further processing. This will increase the water utilization rate of the Chinese space station to more than 90%.

Washing dishes in space is very simple, just wipe them with a wet disinfectant cloth. However, astronauts should try to finish all the food and drinks they take out each time, and are prohibited from littering. Instead, they should pack them up, compress the volume as small as possible, and store them in the mezzanine to make the "space home" cleaner and more comfortable.

Washing is a challenge

It is not easy for astronauts to take a shower in the sky, because the water sprayed from the nozzle always floats in the air. For this reason, researchers designed a sealed bathtub and installed a suction device at the bottom to suck the water sprayed from the nozzle in one direction. However, after taking a shower, astronauts still need to spend a long time to clean the water on their bodies and in the bathtub. Now each astronaut is equipped with a "wrapped shower room" and can quickly clean themselves with a handheld water gun.

In space, to prevent water droplets from flying around, astronauts use a wet towel to wipe their faces. Chinese manned spacecraft are usually equipped with oral cleaners and oral cleaning gloves. Among them, oral cleaners are similar to chewing gum for astronauts to chew after meals. Later, astronauts used the sealed water absorption method to brush their teeth.

Haircuts in space are a little more complicated. Astronauts need to keep their bodies fixed and not float up to avoid "accidental injury". All broken hair is handled by vacuum-type hair clippers. Similarly, astronauts have to be careful when trimming their fingernails and toenails. Zhai Zhigang felt "particularly tired" and recreated the famous scene in a crosstalk tone: the feet cannot be retracted, they have to be bent, and the cut toenails must be controlled and not let them fly around.

"Bend the bow" to sleep more comfortably

It is important to get a good rest in space. Because of weightlessness, astronauts can sleep in space without standing or lying down. They can float in the air, but their heads must be exposed. Sleeping bags can be fixed anywhere, on the wall, ceiling or bottom of the cabin, but more often they are fixed in a dedicated sleeping area.

Here's a little-known fact: When in weightlessness, if an astronaut is completely relaxed, his body will be bent, looking like a bow. In fact, sleeping in this position in space is much more comfortable than lying flat on your back.

Will you catch a cold while sleeping? In the Chinese space station, each astronaut has a handheld terminal, which can adjust the cabin lighting environment by themselves through the APP, distinguishing between sleep mode, work mode, exercise mode, etc. The core cabin maintains a constant temperature of 23 degrees Celsius, which is comfortable.

Going to the toilet used to be embarrassing

Going to the toilet is an unavoidable problem in space life - in a weightless environment, people cannot stand or walk normally, so how can they sit on the toilet safely? Early space heroes encountered a lot of embarrassment when going to the toilet in space.

Traditional space toilets are equipped with a tube. Astronauts have to endure the discomfort and tie themselves up before using the toilet. Then they align the tube and the strong suction force under the tube will solve the problem.

The new space toilet is more convenient to use and has more functions. It also takes into account the special needs of female astronauts and improves the design of the gasket and funnel. In addition, handrails are welded on both sides of the new toilet, so astronauts don't have to spend time and effort "tossing" it.

Exercise inspection variety

Studies have shown that in the weightless environment of space, if astronauts do not persist in long-term fitness exercises, they will lose muscle and damage bones. Therefore, astronauts must exercise for one or two hours every day.

For example, the tensioner is used to exercise the shoulder and back muscles, the space treadmill strengthens the cardiopulmonary function, and the space bicycle can exercise the lower limb muscles. In addition, astronauts can push, pull or hit the heavy objects hanging in the cabin with both hands to strengthen their bones and muscles.

Chinese astronauts have demonstrated more distinctive fancy fitness: Jing Haipeng has done knee-hugging spins, and Nie Haisheng has sat in mid-air and rolled, which are known as "space exercises"; from "Shenzhou 9" to "Shenzhou 13", astronauts have practiced "Tai Chi Magic Kung Fu", and presumably they can better experience the "unity of man and nature"; riding a space bike is not new, but Chinese astronauts often stand upside down and crank the wheels by hand, which is probably more effective; as for playing table tennis in space, it is a way to carry forward the national quintessence.

Astronauts also need to take precautions when exercising, such as tying a rubber band around their waists and tying it to a treadmill, so that they can run in a similar way to normal gravity. Space bikes change speeds constantly, and by increasing intermittent or sprint states, they stimulate the astronauts' psychological foresight and strengthen their cardiovascular regulation ability. Astronauts' sportswear stretches the entire body, which is a disguised way of exercising all the time.

Astronauts spend more and more time in space, so psychological treatment cannot be neglected. On the Chinese space station, astronauts have a "private voice channel" to whisper to their families and avoid loneliness. Usually, astronauts wear bone conduction headphones, and the in-cabin WiFi allows them to talk in various places and contact the ground in a timely manner.

Based on virtual reality technology, a psychological relief system for astronauts has also been successfully developed. They can "see" familiar people and life scenes and better adjust themselves.

During the period of being in orbit, astronauts have to conduct physical examinations on each other, including venous blood sampling, blood routine test, urine routine monitoring, ultrasound examination, etc. Among them, fundus examination and bone density test are more interesting. Fundus lesions may indicate many systemic diseases. During the mission of Shenzhou XII spacecraft, Nie Haisheng experienced the fun of early photographers, adjusting the light to "make a dark room", and Tang Hongbo examined Liu Boming with an ophthalmoscope.

In fact, different cabin lights can adjust the astronauts' mood and relieve the discomfort of being in a monotonous environment for a long time.

Some space enthusiasts have discovered that astronauts often take "space foot baths". The truth is not so "enjoyable". They are doing bone density tests, inserting their feet into the testing machine, and paying attention to the loss of bone density under long-term weightlessness.

Entertainment and leisure are colorful

What do astronauts do when they are not working? They take photos, listen to music, write diaries, watch TV series, or take out their space sunglasses to enjoy the unique scenery.

Astronauts playing music in space is also a famous scene, with all kinds of strange playing postures. If they want to play the flute, astronauts must tie their feet tightly, after all, a little force will make the astronauts sway back and forth, or even turn a few circles. When playing, the instrument keyboard is not so "obedient", and every time the astronauts hit a note, the keyboard will move.

The International Space Station has hosted the Space Olympics, including "handless handball", "splash swimming without water", "long long jump without grounding", free gymnastics, badminton, football, golf, etc. in a weightless state.

Let me tell you a little secret: Astronauts are always experiencing a "slow life"! According to the theory of relativity, the faster the speed of movement, the slower the time people experience. According to calculations, astronauts living in a high-speed moving space station for one year will experience about 0.01 seconds less than people on the surface of the earth. This means that people on the space station are "traveling through time" very slowly.

In short, with the development of technology and humanistic concepts, life in space is destined to be interesting.