Astronaut For A Day: What Is A Day Like In The Life Of Mankind In Space?

Since May 2009, mankind has been divided into two groups, with a very few select people living off the planet, at the International Space Station, and the good majority living on Earthen lands. Given that only a few have had the chance to live in space, most of us, excluding Richard Branson, are often wondering what a day is like in space. How do they eat? What are their daily routines? What are they doing there in the first place? Indeed, the degree of curiosity only intensifies as we hear Jeff Bezos also planning to go there soon. So, let us satisfy our curiosity and find out the daily motions observed by our well-trained astronauts.

Breakfast Routines

Life at the ISS is not the same as life on Earth as they do not have the traditional sunrise to sunset days like what we have here. What they have are schedules, and at the start of the day, of course, they have to eat breakfast. Many types of food are available for them to consume. Nutrition experts on Earth have made the needed investments to study the nutritional requirements of each astronaut. Like us on Earth, they also enjoy three meals a day, which are packed in disposable containers.

After their breakfast, they would then brush their teeth and perform personal hygiene activities. The toilet at the ISS is designed like a vacuum so that no fecal matter or urine would float away. So yes, life in space is a tad more complex than what we have.

Working in Space

The astronauts are in space for a reason, and that is to study things that could only be achieved in a microgravity setting. A good chunk of their time is spent working on science experiments. They also make sure that the ISS is in pristine condition, and if needed, they will conduct repairs. We also credit them for giving input about how their bodies adjust to the environment, hence contributing to medical science.

One recent development was that astronauts in the ISS could grow meat in laboratory settings. It has implications for both space travel and life on Earth. This means that if we can grow meat in space, it would be possible to travel to other planets while not running short on food. Hopefully, more investment money is poured into studying similar research angles.

Exercising and Past Time

The daily routine of the astronauts also includes their exercise routines. This is very critical since the microgravity environment makes them prone to wasting muscle and bones loss. Hence, they need to make sure that the muscles get the right exercise. They have bikes and weights they can use. Of course, the weights are adjusted accordingly as a 200-pound object on earth would not weigh the same up there.

During their free time, astronauts also joke around, talk about mortgages and other serious financial matters and watch a movie or two. There might not be streaming services available at the ISS yet, but they have a good selection of movies they can watch. As they are regular working-class individuals, they also get the weekend off, but since they really have nowhere else to go, they spend it with the same group of people, watching Earth or sometimes making a phone call to their loved ones. At the end of their mission, they would have known each other rather deeply.

Sleeping

At the end of a hectic day, astronauts also deserve some shut-eye. They usually go to bed at a certain time–but there really is no traditional bed, but more of a sleeping blanket that they slip themselves into. They are strapped so that they do not accidentally float away. Considerable investments have also been made to ensure the safety of the astronauts when they are at their most vulnerable. By practice, they are given eight hours of sleep, but sometimes it can be less than that, depending on the situation.