A Day in the Life of An Astronaut

It’s a career many aspire to, but few make the elite crew of astronauts that explore space. What does it take to become an astronaut? Once you become one, what do you do?

The application process to even become an astronaut is very competitive. In 2017, over 18,000 people applied but only 11 people were selected for the elite program. What exactly are they looking for? There’s various criteria, such as having a scientific background and a master’s degree, but there’s also less measurable characteristics that they are looking for, like good communication, teamwork, leadership, and followership skills.

The selection process is only the start on the long journey to becoming an astronaut. The selected candidates then have to go through a rigorous program that will prepare them for the journey into space. They first take classes in multiple subjects ranging from geology to public speaking to survival. These courses prepare the future astronauts for everything they will encounter in their career, like identifying different rocks and minerals or making speeches to the public.

In addition to their schooling, astronauts also go through many different simulations of what they will be doing in space to allow them to practice the skills. For these simulations, there are life size models of parts of the International Space Station (ISS) and vehicles they will use. This allows them to become familiar with what they will see in space. Astronauts also practice their space walks underwater, because the buoyancy of the water mimics microgravity, or the lack of gravity. Another way they simulate microgravity is in a plane called KC-135, also known as the Vomit Comet. This plane will alternate flying between upward and downward arcs, providing astronauts with 20-30 second bursts of weightlessness. This motion can sometimes cause astronauts to get sick, hence the nickname.

After up to two years of training and preparation for their voyage, astronauts are ready to be launched into space. Where exactly do they go? Usually, they are sent up to the ISS, a spacecraft orbiting Earth. In this structure there are facilities for astronauts to live and do research about space. Countries from all over the world participate and collaborate on this orbiting vessel.

You might just be wondering, just how do astronauts live in the International Space Station? When gravity is taken out of the picture, it makes a lot of things that are quite simple on Earth much more complicated. Having your morning bowl of cereal wouldn’t work in space — the milk and cereal would float away! How about when you want to go to sleep? You can’t lie down in bed in space!

Many preparations are made for the food in space. Everything is prepared and packaged properly on Earth. A lot of the food is either ready to eat out of the package, or the astronauts just add water to it. With the help of nutritionists, astronauts have a balanced diet that gives them the right amount of nutrients and minerals. But don’t worry, they still have fun food, such as freeze-dried ice cream. To keep morale high, each country has contributed different foods important in their home country. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) invented a rehydratable noodle, and the Italian Space Agency created an espresso machine that works in low gravity.

To actually eat the food, astronauts have to strap themselves into chairs, and eat off of tables with magnetized utensils that stick to the trays and tables. The food is prepared in packages that are designed to prevent the food from flying away. They have salt and pepper, but in liquid form, so it doesn’t fly into the vents. Because even humans' sense of taste is affected by microgravity, astronauts like spicy and stronger flavored food, like hot peppers or wasabi.

Once fueled up with food, the astronauts have a lot of tasks to fill their day. Like a large building requires a lot of maintenance the International Space Station requires constant attention and care to keep in functioning shape. It’s quite a large size, almost the size of an American football field, so you can imagine all the repairs and maintenance it requires.

Besides the maintenance of the station, the primary focus of the ISS is to conduct experiments in space. In space, everything appears to be weightless. In this microgravity environment, there is a lot we can learn about potentially living in space permanently, like how small organisms or different plants grow. The astronauts themselves will participate in medical experiments so that scientists can learn more about how the human body reacts to living in space. This will help build the body of knowledge that might allow humans to permanently live in space.

After a long day of working on the space station, it’s time to get into bed and lie….down? Up? Sideways? Because of the microgravity, it doesn’t really matter what direction or which way the astronauts lay. Each astronaut is assigned a small sleep station the size of a telephone booth, in which they have a sleeping bag that is strapped to the wall. While it may look uncomfortable to have to sleep upright, it makes no difference when there’s no gravity.

To become an astronaut, you not only need to have the specific skills and background to get in, but also the physical and mental strength to continue once you’ve gotten into the space program.