2024-08-25 02:40:34
London: Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore are stranded on the International Space Station (ISS), about 320 kilometers from Earth. The two American astronauts sent into space in early June were supposed to return after spending only eight days, but due to a helium leak in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, they will have to stay there for eight months. NASA has said that both can be brought back in February 2025. But do you know in what conditions Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore have to live on the space station located in space far away from Earth? What is the life of those living on the space center like? Let’s find out.
Astronauts drink recycled urine
British astronaut Megan Christian is part of the UK Space Agency’s reserve team that goes to space. She told The Sun that Sunita and Barry will not get to take a bath during their long stay in the space station. 36-year-old Megan said that astronauts have to drink their recycled urine. Along with this, they have to face radiation. She said, ‘Sunita and Wilmore were ready for such a long duration mission. Space is a difficult place, this is something we always assume.’
Living in a space station is not easy
There are currently nine people on the space station, sharing its two bathrooms and six sleeping rooms. Food and water are supplied to the station from Earth, which needs to be used very carefully. Body fluids, especially urine, are recovered through the water recovery system and recycled. The same is true for sweat and moisture from breath. Megan says that there is no shower there. Astronauts use a kind of wet towel. Being outside the Earth’s magnetic field also poses a risk of radiation. Due to low gravity, muscles do not have to work as much, which can harm the body. In space, one has to get used to the sun rising and setting every 90 minutes.
use of special toilets
Megan explains that ‘you have to reuse and recycle as much as possible. They say, yesterday’s coffee is today’s coffee. It sounds disgusting, but when it reaches you, it becomes pure water.’ There is a special type of suction toilet for the toilet which collects the body fluids. Toilets cannot be used in space like on Earth. Due to microgravity, the material keeps floating in the space station. Astronauts urinate in a tube, which has a container attached to the front. For potty, there is a small sheet on top of each container. A rubberized bag is attached to it.
Sunita Williams went in June
Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore left for space on June 5 on a Boeing Starliner. This was a test flight of the Boeing Starliner, in which humans were sent for the first time. But after reaching space, helium leaks and thruster malfunctions were detected in the Starliner. The US space agency NASA is conducting tests to find out if it is safe for them to fly back on Boeing. NASA is considering the option of bringing both astronauts back in February on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon.