LIVING IN SPACE

For almost fifty years, human beings have been able to leave the safety of their home planet and travel into space. Powerful rockets launch astronauts out of Earth's atmosphere. However, that is the easy part. Being able to survive in space for any period of time is actually more of a challenge.

To live on Earth, there are a number of things that people absolutely need. Take away any of them and the human race simply wouldn't survive. Have a think about what things you think are essential for human beings to live. Then press the buttons below to see if any of those things are in the boxes. 

The problem with space is that it isn't just missing one of the items in the boxes above; it's missing all of them! So in order to survive, an Earth-like environment needs to be created in the spacecrafts that the astronauts use to travel around space and in the clothes that they wear. Mission planners also need to bear in mind other human needs: the need to sleep, the need to go to the toilet, the need for exercise and the need for mental stimulation. They also need to be aware that, if something goes wrong in space, the problem has to be resolved out there.

So, how exactly are the items in the boxes above catered for in space? Let's take a look at them individually. 

The food and drink that astronauts consume while in space is similar to what they eat and drink on Earth. Some of it is specially adapted for storage and consumption in space and mission nutritionists ensure that meals contain a good balance of vitamins, minerals and protein. Many meals are dehydrated (they have their water removed) on Earth. This helps to preserve the food and makes it lighter and easier to store. Modern space craft have water supplies, so this water can be added to the dried food and then be consumed as normal. Typical examples of food that can be rehydrated is meat and pasta. Food can be heated using onboard ovens. Some meals are served in special cans which can be warmed up and eaten straight out of the can. Fruit, chocolate, nuts can be packaged in a similar way and consumed just as on Earth. Water can be added to powder to make drinks. Even fizzy drinks have been consumed in space! Coca Cola invented a space can which contained their famous fizzy pop. The first astronauts to drink from one were onboard the Challenger Space Shuttle on 12th July 1985. Since then, fizzy drinks are available through fountain dispensers in space.

Eating in space is also kept as Earth-like as possible. One of the problems with space is the lack of gravity. This causes anything that isn't nailed down to float around. This applies to food, the plates it is served on and the cutlery used to eat it. Food is served on specially-adapted trays. These trays have strips of velcro and magnets on them. Food is sometimes served in packets which also have velcro stuck to them, so they stick to the trays. The cutlery (and also a pair of scissors to open the packets) is metal, so sticks to the magnetic strips. On the Skylab space station, meals were actually eaten at a table with chairs. This space station also had a fridge and a freezer, luxuries that aren't currently available on the Space Shuttle or International Space Station.

Oxygen is made available in space, onboard structures like the International Space Station, primarily through the electrolysis of water. The chemical symbol for water is H2O. H=hydrogen and O=oxygen. Water contains two hydrogen atoms for every one oxygen atom (hence the small '2' after the 'H'). Electric is provided to the International Space Station through its solar panels. Running an electric current through water causes it to produce a gas. But in this gas, the two elements have been separated into H2 (hydrogen) and O2 (oxygen) atoms. They combine into one gas, but remain as two separate elements. The presence of oxygen in this gas means that human beings can breathe it. The hydrogen, although not necessary for humans to survive, is harmless to breathe in. The process of separating water into hydrogen and oxygen gases actually takes place naturally on Earth by plants during the photosynthesis process.

Oxygen is also made available through compressed oxygen tanks. 

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