Would You Live IN SPACES?

The first residents have moved into the International Space Station. And their daily life is "out of this world."

Welcome to a new day aboard the largest spacecraft ever put into orbit: the International Space Station (ISS). It's 6 A.M. Greenwich Mean Time. An alarm blares from loudspeakers, jolting the station's first residents awake--astronaut William Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev. They climb out of "bed"--sleeping bags tethered to the walls of their closet-like quarters so they don't float around during the night.

With no washer/dryer onboard, they dress in "disposable clothing" that's thrown away when dirty. Then they bob weightlessly through the living quarters of the SVEDA module, (self-contained spacecraft unit), bouncing off the walls of their tiny, cluttered home to the kitchenette and bathroom. They spend 90 minutes on three very complicated tasks: eating breakfast, using the bathroom, and personal hygiene.

Once they check e-mail and chat with ground controllers to plan their schedules, the team begins their workday. The "Expedition One" crew's four-month mission is to activate and install communications and life-support systems on the station--which circles Earth at 8 kilometers (5 miles) per second. "The crew has to make sure the station is in good working order for the next crew who arrive in February," says Kyle Herring, a NASA spokesperson. After all, the space station must generate its own power, clean water, and breathable air to occupants.

In February, the space shuttle will also deliver the first of four laboratory modules. So the second crew will begin to conduct in-space research--the critical reason 16 nations worked together to build the station, dubbed "Space Station Alpha."

The ISS should be in use for 10 years after completion in 2006, and will become home to up to seven astronauts at a time. "From this point on, we may never have a period when humans are not living in space," says .line Van Laak, a NASA space station project manager.

WEIGHTLESS WORLD

For the current residents aboard Alpha, even the most basic daily tasks are arduous. "It's like taking a four-month camping trip--in space," says John Charles, a NASA physiologist (scientist who studies the human body). Weightlessness is one complicating factor. In space there is zero gravity (attracting force between all objects). Standing on Earth, your feet are pulled to the ground by 1 g of gravity. But the ISS orbits 402 km (250 mi) above Earth in the exosphere (upper atmosphere). There the planet's gravitational pull diminishes to microgravity (one one-millionth of 1 g). Everything that isn't tied down floats away.

The ISS will house the world's first microgravity lab. Scientists are eager to test the effects of zero-g on the human body--crucial if humans are to journey long distances in space. "All our major organs respond to changes in gravity," says Charles. Researchers will examine how cells grow and how genes respond in a free-floating environment.

One rapid change for humans in space: bone loss. With less weight; pressing against the skeleton, air molecules in bones expand, decreasing bone density. The body loses calcium, a mineral necessary for strong bones, at a rate of nearly 1 percent a month. Weightless living also triggers muscle loss--body strength is no longer needed for activities like walking and lifting. So astronauts must work out at least two hours each day!

GRUB AND WATER

With no supermarket down the block, supplies are hard to get. Everything aboard the station arrives by the space shuttle. Over 6,300 kilograms (14,000 pounds) of food, water, equipment, and other items are stored in the Russian-built ZARYA module, which also provides propulsion to maneuver the station for clocking with incoming shuttles.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner consist of dehydrated (dried) food in bags. Astronauts whip up meals by squirting warm water into food bags and warming them on heating trays.

And forget about a shower on ISS. Why? It's too hard to catch floating water droplets ricocheting around the bathroom. So the crew has to settle for sponge baths. They wash their hair with dry shampoo and mop it; off with a wet towel.

And they collect `all water--even toilet water--for reuse. Since water supplies are scarce, rationing is a necessity. Shepherd and his team are selling up water-recycling systems to reclaim wastewater from tooth brushing, hand washing--even the crew's breath! And ISS crewmembers will eventually include lab rats.

All creatures lose water when they exhale or sweat, adding humidity to the air. An air-conditioning system removes this moisture, and machines purify water in a three-step process. First, machines remove debris. Then water passes through filters that remove impurities. A last step kills bacteria and `viruses (microorganisms that cause infection) and removes organic compounds, molecules with carbon bound to hydrogen atoms. Water is then ready to drink.

The system even reuses toilet water! The toilet is outfitted with tubes to suck in body waste. Solid waste is removed and dried, then bagged and stored until the next resupply vehicle carts it away.

Liquid waste is processed by shooting electric currents through it, which separates hydrogen and oxygen molecules. Astronauts breathe the oxygen, but hydrogen, which is flammable, is released into space. The station's "airscrubbing" system also removes excess carbon dioxide (which humans exhale) and dumps it overboard.

What powers all these ISS operating systems? Eight large solar arrays convert sunlight into electricity in the same way that solar cells power a hand calculator.

MISSION GOALS

Understanding how zero gravity impacts substances in space is a vital research area for future crews. Studying crystals, for example, could increase understanding of their structure and how they fit together. This knowledge could help create new durable materials on Earth--used to build earthquake-proof buildings, for example.

Other experiments will examine processes like heat. In space, flames form a hot ball rather than a teardrop shape, because convection (heat transfer) doesn't occur in a weightless world. On Earth, lighter hot air rises, replaced by heavier cool air. This data may someday help scientists design cleaner-burning cars and factories.

But research won't kick into high gear until the station nears completion. "It's going to take time to get the ISS constructed and functional," Charles says. "But when it's finished, we're going to be amazed by what we learn--and we're going to wonder how we did without it for so long."

THINK ABOUT IT

The International Space Station cost 16 nations $60 billion to build. Do you think what we learn from experiments conducted aboard ISS is worth the hefty price tag?

(1) Docked space shuttle (2) Once complete in 2006, the space station will conduct science research in six different laboratories. (3) A total of eight solar-array panels collect the sun's energy for power. (4) The habitation module will provide living quarters for astronauts (scheduled launch: January 2004). (5) The Service Module contains life-support systems for the whole station and includes living quarters for inhabitants until the station is completed (launched in 1999). (6) Radiators release excess heat from station operating systems.

Living in SPACE

(1) Space station toilet (2) Astronaut Koichi Wakata quenches his thirst with a packaged beverage consumed through a straw. (3) Astronauts must work out two hours each day. (4) Astronaut Richard Mastracchio relaxes in the SVEDA module. (5) Laurie Weaver hangs in a compartment where astronauts sleep and keep belongings. (6) The TransHab module, a living space for astronauts, will be installed in 2004.

HANDS-ON SCIENCE

Launch into Orbit!

A satellite has to blast off at just the right speed to get into orbit. Too slow, and it falls to Earth and crashes. Too fast, and it shoots into outer space. How would you control a satellite's orbit?

YOU NEED:

two rulers (one to measure with and one to launch a marble) * molding clay * thick book * tape * marble * pen and paper

TO DO:

1. Make a launch pad: Hold a ruler on a table at about a 45 [degrees] angle. Secure it with clay 5 cm (2 in.) from the table's edge. (Support the ruler with a book if it falls.)

2. Tape an "X" on the floor about 40 cm (16 in.) from the table. The "X" stands for orbit. Beyond it is outer space. (We used books and the table to stand for Earth.)

3. Pick a"launch number"--a starting place on the ruler for your "satellite" (a marble). Write the number on your lab sheet.

4. Put the marble on the launch number and let go. Have a partner observe where it lands.

5. Measure and record the distance where it lands from the table. (That's where it first lands, not where it rolls!)

6. Test your marble satellite at different launch numbers until it lands on the "X" three times in a row.

CONCLUSION:

How does the length of the launch (where you put the marble) affect where it lands? What gives your marble satellite more energy--a long or short launch?

Cross-Curricular Connection

Social Studies: Write an essay predicting what humans will be doing in space 50 years from now, including how and where they'll live.

Did You Know?

* The International Space Station orbits the Earth at 8 kilometers (5 miles) per second. It stays in orbit because, at that speed, it falls at nearly the same rate that the Earth curves away beneath it.

* Each time the space shuttle docks at the space station, it boosts the station to orbit a little faster, which sends it a little higher. Otherwise, it would eventually fall out of orbit and combust upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

* Once astronauts return to Earth, it takes two and a half times the duration of their time in space for their bones to regain their normal density.

National Science Education Standards

Grades 5-8: properties and changes of properties in matter * motions and forces * transfer of energy * structure and function in living systems

Grades 9-12: motions and forces * interactions of energy and matter * matter, energy, and organization in living systems

Resources

"Putting a Room of One's Own in Orbit," The New York Times, December 30, 1999, p. F8.

For International Space Station info, go to: www.spaceflight.nasa.gov

Track the ISS: www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ index.html

Directions: Choose the word that best completes the sentence.

1. Aboard the International Space Station (ISS),
astrounauts and cosmonauts sleep in

a. water beds.
b. midair.
c. cages.
d. sleeping bags.

2. ISS orbits Earth at

a. 9:00 P.M. every night.
b. 60 kilometers per hour.
c. 8 kilometers per second.
d. none of the above.

3. The ISS will be completed

a. by robots.
b. in 2006.
c. in 2020.
d. next spring.

4. In order to prevent food from rotting in outer
space, it is

a. dehydrated.
b. eaten.
c. pureed.
d. not sent.
e. refrigerated.

5. In microgravity, or zero-g,

a. flames burn in the shape of a circle rather
   than a teardrop.
b. humans lose bone and muscle mass.
c. everything floats around.
d. all of the above.

ANSWERS

Would You Live in Space?

1. d 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. d