What is life in space like?

Space is a magical world full of charm, and life in space is a magical topic full of charm and curiosity.

The space environment is very different from the earth's environment. There is no air, no gravity, and full of dangerous space radiation. Of course, in a closed space station or space shuttle cabin, there is enough air for you to breathe, and good spacecraft shielding materials can effectively block space radiation, but "weightlessness" will bring some troubles to life.

If you live in space the way you do on Earth, you will definitely make a lot of big jokes. For example, when eating, if you hold a bowl of rice, grains of rice will float all over your cabin. You may not be able to eat any grains with your mouth open; but when you close your mouth, grains of rice may float into your nostrils and choke you. Half dead. You want to lie on the bed and have a comfortable sleep, but you will find that there is no upper and lower boundary in space, and there is almost no difference between "lying" and "standing"...

So how do astronauts do it? What about eating and sleeping in space?

More than 100 kinds of space food

Astronauts’ food is rich and colorful, and it has grown from a dozen kinds at the beginning to more than 100 kinds. Astronauts generally eat 4 meals a day, and the recipes within a week are not repeated. Some people think that astronauts’ food is made into toothpaste and eaten in a squeeze, which must be boring. In fact, this was the situation of early astronauts, and it is no longer what it used to be. Astronauts can eat sausage pies, spicy grilled fish, beef stew, brioche bread, black bean soup, tuna salad, cookies, chocolate, yogurt, preserved fruits, juice and other delicacies in space. NASA Members can even drink their favorite Coca-Cola. However, astronauts cannot eat as they wish. They must eat according to recipes prepared for them by nutritionists on the ground. When astronauts on the U.S. space shuttle eat, they first take out the plastic bags marked with the day and meal from the pantry. Each plastic bag contains 7 kinds of food for one astronaut. Space food is all dehydrated food. Before eating, you can put the food into a bowl-shaped container, use a syringe to pour a certain amount of water into the container, and then heat it in the oven. A meal can be "cooked" in less than half an hour.

Unusual eating movements

The space dining table is specially made. It is magnetic and can absorb cutlery such as knives, forks, spoons, bowls, plates, etc. It is equipped with a water cooler and heater on the table. When eating, astronauts must first fix their feet on the floor and their bodies on the seats to prevent them from floating around. When facing the food on the table, you must not be anxious. You must pay attention to the coordination of a series of actions such as holding the bowl, picking up the rice, opening your mouth, and chewing. Be gentle when holding the bowl. If you move too hard, the rice will float out of the bowl. You must be decisive when picking up rice and vegetables. The pinches must be precise and tight. It is best not to pull around in the bowl to prevent the food from floating away. Use a fork. The effect is the best; after clamping the food, open and close your mouth quickly, because even the food put in your mouth will "fly" away if you don't close your mouth; when chewing, the rhythm should be slowed down and chew slowly Swallowing facilitates digestion, can also reduce the production and excretion of waste gas in the body, and avoid pollution of the living environment of astronauts.

Some people like to chat while eating, but the most taboo thing about eating in space is talking while eating. Talking while eating will cause the chewed food bits to fly out of the mouth and float in the dining room or living cabin. If the astronauts are not careful to inhale the food into the nasal cavity, it will easily choke into the lungs and cause danger.

Special "Mrs. Wang's Stir-fried Lamb"

Although space food is abundant, diverse and nutritious, astronauts generally complain that eating in space does not taste good. Scientists analyze that the reason may not be the food itself, but the space environment causing astronauts' taste disorders. For example, weightlessness makes the nasal cavity congested, resulting in blunting of taste nerves, changes in saliva secretion affecting taste, or the inability to see the color of food or smell the smell of food. When the Chinese-American astronaut Wang Ganjun took the space shuttle to space, in order to give him a good appetite, his wife cooked his favorite fried mutton. This food is named "Mrs. Wang's Fried Lamb".

Confusing sleep and strange sleeping postures

Astronauts sleeping in space are indeed "confused sleeping". One of the manifestations is that they cannot distinguish between black and white, and the other is that they sleep in strange sleeping postures.

There is no distinction between black and white, which means that astronauts are sailing around the earth in the sky, and the sunrise and sunset in space are determined by the time it takes for the spacecraft to circle the earth.

Sometimes the sunrises and sunsets alternate many times within 24 hours. Astronauts cannot follow the living habits of "working at sunrise and resting at sunset" on Earth, so they have to mechanically arrange their work and sleep according to hours.

The strange sleeping posture means that astronauts cannot find the feeling of "lying down" in the weightless environment of space. In the earth's gravity environment, people are accustomed to defining the direction of gravity as "down" and the direction of "sky" as "up", which is what people often say "step on the earth and have a blue sky above your head." But in a weightless environment, people lose the reference coordinates of "up" and "down". Their feet can't touch the ground, and they are surrounded by sky. You can't tell the difference between up and down. Therefore, there is no "lying flat" when sleeping. "One said. Since astronauts can sleep while standing, lying down, or lying on their stomachs, astronauts can sleep floating in the space capsule, hanging on the wall, tied to the bed, hanging from a beam, or leaning against the table. sleep.

But most astronauts are not used to sleeping while floating. Once they wake up from their floating sleep, they will have the feeling of falling into an abyss. In order to gain a sense of security, astronauts usually sleep on a fixed bed or in a sleeping bag fixed on the wall. When the sleeping bag is tightened, it can exert a certain amount of pressure on the human body and eliminate the feeling of panic.

Never extend your hands or feet outside the quilt

Some people are used to sleeping with their hands or legs outside the quilt. This seems to be a normal phenomenon on the ground, but in the space environment, it is very dangerous. There is weightlessness in space, and a person's limbs will float around regardless of the control of the trunk during sleep. A former Soviet cosmonaut once slept with his arms outside his sleeping bag. When he woke up, he suddenly found two big hands floating towards his face, which shocked him. It turned out that the two big floating hands were his own hands. It’s a trivial matter to be startled. If an astronaut’s out-of-control “free” hand or “free” foot accidentally touches some switch or instrument after falling asleep, wouldn’t the safety of the space capsule and the life of the astronaut be compromised? A big problem? Therefore, when sleeping in space, be sure to put your hands and feet into your sleeping bag.

Unique ways of washing your face and brushing your teeth

Due to the weightless environment of space, washing your face, brushing your teeth, shaving, getting a haircut and washing your face, which seem simple on earth, become complicated in space. Complicated and troublesome things.

Astronauts wash their faces and brush their teeth in a strange way. In order to prevent water from floating everywhere, they usually wipe their faces with a wet towel to wash their faces; when brushing their teeth, dip their fingers in toothpaste and rub it back and forth a few times, and then use Wipe your teeth clean with a wet towel and brushing is complete. If you brush your teeth like you do on the ground, toothpaste bubbles will fly all over the cabin. Astronauts generally use electric razors to shave, and they must be very careful about beard residue leaking from the edge of the razor. The space capsule is inherently very small, so environmental issues are extremely important. If fine stubble is floating in the cabin, it will be very difficult to clean up.

It is not easy to get a haircut in space, so both male and female astronauts have to cut their hair shorter and shorter before going to space. But after a long flight, my hair will grow longer, what should I do? The astronauts had to help each other in a spirit of solidarity, with one person getting a haircut and the other holding a vacuum cleaner to suck up the cut hair.

"Sauna" and "Bath Bag"

Bathing in space is even more troublesome. Astronauts need to put their feet in a fixed ring, otherwise their floating bodies will turn somersaults when washed by water. The water in the weightless state is full of small water droplets, which can easily injure or even kill people. Therefore, astronauts must wear breathing masks and goggles when taking a shower. After taking a shower, the sewage on your body will not flow down automatically. You need to start the water pump to remove it together with the air. Water on the canvas cover also had to be pumped away. When you take a bath, the actual bathing time is only 15 minutes, but it takes 45 minutes to clean up the sewage and other preparations.

Later, scientists made some improvements to the space bathroom. For example, the bathroom on the Russian Mir space station looks like a sauna. After the astronauts go in, they go through a period of warming to make their bodies sweat, and then wipe them with a wet towel. Because it was inconvenient and uncomfortable, the "sauna" was transformed into a sleeping bag-like device. When an astronaut takes a shower, clean water and bath fluid are ejected from the bag. After scrubbing, the exhaust fan under the bag can be turned on to drain away the dirty water. The bathroom on the U.S. space shuttle has a bath cover, and there is also an exhaust fan installed at the bottom of the bath cover. When astronauts take a shower, they turn on the shower faucet and exhaust fan, spraying water from above and pumping water from below, which will create a shower effect like the ground.

Space-specific shampoo

Astronauts’ shampoo is specially made. 96% of the ingredients in this shampoo are extracted from plants. Since there is not a lot of water for astronauts to rinse their hair in space, the shampoo used by astronauts is a no-rinse type. It can become very fine particles in a weightless state. When you wash your hair, it can easily take away the dirt on your head. After washing, wipe it with a napkin or towel and the shampoo will be completely removed. Hair washed with this space shampoo does not require hair gel, mousse and hair dryer at all. It can not only show the natural beauty of the hair but also be particularly easy to comb.

According to the latest reports, Russian and American experts are preparing the latest toiletries for astronauts from the two countries, but they have differences on the cosmetics of female astronauts. Russian experts believe that there is no need to dress up in space, while American experts believe that perfume, lotion, lipstick, etc. are all indispensable. ("China National Defense News" September 27)