Space station: how astronauts live.

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To understand how astronauts wash themselves in space, you need to remember that there is microgravity at the orbital station. Therefore, water does not flow there, but sticks around a person, and a flying hair can become a threat. Limited water supplies force astronauts to use them sparingly.

Showering and hand washing

Soviet space stations were equipped with showers. They were plastic and sealed. To take a shower, the astronaut put on swimming goggles and took out a breathing tube. Water dust was sprayed onto it from above, which was sucked up from below by a special vacuum cleaner.

Currently, astronauts working on the International Space Station do not use showers at all. To wash their bodies or hands, astronauts use special wet wipes and leave-in gel. The astronaut rubs the body with gel or a damp cloth soaked in it, and then wipes himself with a damp towel.

It must be soaked with water every three days. After washing, hang the towel near the ventilation shaft, where it dries faster.

For their hair, workers on the International Space Station use a special shampoo that does not require rinsing with water.

The procedure includes several points:

• Apply shampoo to hair with your hands.
• Massage your scalp vigorously.
• Dry your head with a damp towel.
• If necessary, comb.
• Allow to dry naturally.

It is important to remember that lost hair can pose a danger to plant workers. They can fly into their nose or eyes.

Going to the toilet and other hygiene issues

Everyday procedures on the International Space Station take on a number of nuances related to microgravity conditions. It can be described point by point:

• A man takes a position on the toilet seat.
• Secures himself with straps.
• Connects a special urination device to a long plastic tube that is mounted on the wall.
• For solid waste, the visitor places a specially prepared bag into the toilet. After this, imitation of gravity and fans are activated to purify the air.
• After use, the bag is placed in the waste compartment under the toilet.

Taking into account all these activities, going to the bathroom in orbit takes, on average, ten minutes longer than on the planet.

There is no sewage system in space, so urine mixes with other wastewater, which are produced at the station. They are then purified into water that is once again suitable for drinking. Solid waste placed in a tank, which is then sent overboard and burned in upper layers atmosphere.

Washing astronauts' clothes would require too much large quantity water. That's why station workers wear it all the way. The dirty clothes are then placed in a trash container, which then burns in the upper atmosphere.

Station workers brush their teeth using regular toothbrushes, tubes of water and toothpaste. A paste has been developed for space flights that is safe to swallow. Therefore, astronauts either swallow water with toothpaste or spit it out into a special napkin. The water from it is squeezed out and made suitable for new use.

In 2010, several NASA videos appeared online, where astronauts demonstrate how they live and work in orbit. Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's video shows how astronauts wash themselves in space. Another astronaut, Canadian Chris Hadfield, in his videos released in 2013, showed how they wash their hands and trim their nails in orbit.

Life in space is science fiction's biggest dream. It is also a dream that many brave men and women have been able to realize thanks to the numerous shuttle and space station missions carried out by various agencies.

However, it is not at all difficult to forget that the time they spend in space is not only walks in outer space and scientific experiments. During their missions, astronauts must adapt to a completely different lifestyle.

10. Physical changes

The human body begins to behave very strangely in space microgravity. The spine, freed from the constant gravity of the Earth, immediately begins to straighten. This process can add up to 5.72 centimeters to a person's height. Internal organs move up inside the body, which reduces the waist by several centimeters. The cardiovascular system changes appearance even more people. Once the pull disappears, the powerful leg muscles (which push blood upward against gravity) begin to push blood and fluids into the upper body. This new, equal distribution of fluid significantly increases the size of the torso, making the leg girth significantly smaller. NASA jokingly calls this phenomenon "chicken legs."

Essentially, the average human body is transformed into a cartoonish strongman with thin legs, a thin waist, and a disproportionately large upper body. Even the facial features become cartoonish as the blood flow to the upper body makes the person's face look puffy and puffy.

This may all sound pretty scary, but it's actually not that scary and doesn't cause any harm.

9. Space adaptation syndrome


Space adaptation syndrome is essentially two to three days of terrible illness that begins when the force of gravity disappears. About 80 percent of those who go into space suffer from this syndrome.

Since the body weighs nothing in microgravity, the brain gets confused. Our spatial orientation (the way our eyes and brains can determine where things are) is usually based on the force of gravity. When this power disappears, our brain cannot understand the situation, and the changes that suddenly occur in the body only add to the confusion. The brain deals with this situation by making the person feel a terrible sickness, similar to seasickness (which is why this condition is also known as space sickness). Symptoms can include everything from nausea and mild discomfort to persistent vomiting and hallucinations. Although conventional motion sickness medications can help in this situation, they are generally not used because gradual natural habituation is preferred.

Senator Jake Garn, a former astronaut, holds the record for the worst case of space adaptation syndrome in history. It is unclear what actually happened to him, but his teammates emphatically noted that “we shouldn’t tell stories like this.” In his part, astronauts still unofficially use the “Garn Scale,” where one Garn is a state of terrible malaise and complete incompetence. Luckily, most people don't go beyond 0.1 Garn.

8. Sleep problems


It's easy to imagine that sleeping in dark space would be fairly simple. Actually it's quite big problem. The fact is that a person who wants to sleep must fasten himself to the bunk in order to avoid floating in space and hitting various things. The space shuttle only has four sleeping berths, so when a mission involves... more people, some astronauts must use a sleeping bag strapped to the wall or just a chair. Once they reach the space station, things get a little more comfortable: there are two single cabins for the crew, complete with large windows for observing the cosmos.

Living in space (at least in the small part of it where people have been) can also lead to massive disruptions in sleep and wakefulness. The International Space Station is located in such a way that while there you can see sunsets and sunrises 16 times a day. And people have been getting used to this 90-minute day for a very long time.

Another, equally big problem is that the inside of spaceships and stations is actually very noisy. Filters, fans and all systems are constantly making noise and humming around you. Sometimes even earplugs and sleeping pills aren't enough to help them sleep until astronauts get used to the noise.

However, if you look at things optimistically, the quality of sleep you get in space can be much better than on Earth. Sleeping in zero gravity has been found to reduce sleep apnea and snoring, resulting in much more restful sleep.

7. Personal hygiene problems


When we imagine heroic astronauts on their missions, hygiene is not what comes to mind first. However, imagine a bunch of people living indoors for a long period of time. With this in mind, it's easy to see why astronauts must take personal hygiene very seriously.

Obviously, in conditions of weightlessness of souls, this is not even an option. Even if you had enough water on board, the shower water would simply stick to your body or float around in tiny beads. That is why each astronaut has a special hygiene kit (comb, toothbrush, and other personal hygiene items), which is attached to cabinets, walls and other devices. Astronauts wash their hair with a special no-rinse shampoo that was originally developed for bedridden patients in hospitals. They wash their bodies with sponges. Only shaving and brushing teeth are done in the same way as on Earth... except that they must be extremely careful. If just one shaved hair gets lost, it could end up in the eyes of other astronauts (or worse, get stuck in an important piece of equipment) and cause serious trouble.

6. Toilet


The most a common question The question asked to people who have been in space is, surprisingly, not “What did the Earth look like?” and not the question “How did you feel in the absence of gravity?” Instead of these questions, people ask, “How did you go to the toilet?”

This is a good question, and space agencies have spent countless hours trying to make this process as easy as possible. The first space toilets operated using a simple air mechanism: air sucked excrement into a container. It also had a special vacuum tube for urination. The very first shuttles also used simpler versions called "empty tubes." As shown in the movie Apollo 13, urine from this tube was released directly into space.

One of the most important systems The toilet had an air filtration system. The air that contained the excrement was the same air that one had to breathe, so a failure in the filters could turn an enclosed space into a very unpleasant place. Over time, toilet designs have become more diverse. When women entered the space race, a special urination system with an oval “Collector” was created for them. Rotating fans, storage methods, and waste management systems were added and improved. These days, some space toilets are so sophisticated that they can even turn urine back into drinking water.

Do you want to know fun fact, which can embarrass your astronaut friend? People planning to go into space must practice using a space toilet using a very specific device called an "attitude trainer." This is a training toilet with a video camera under the rim. The astronaut must sit correctly... looking at the monitor at his bare butt. It is considered one of the "deep and best kept secrets about space flights».

5. Clothes


The most famous space clothing, of course, is the spacesuit. They happen different sizes, colors and shapes, from the primitive SK-1 of Yuri Gagarin to the bulky solid AX-5 Hardshell from NASA. On average, the suit weighs approximately 122 kilograms (in its normal state in the presence of normal gravity), and in order to climb into it you need to spend 45 minutes. It is so bulky that astronauts must use Lower Torso Assembly Donning Handles to put it on.

However, there are many other things about space clothing that are worth learning about. Life in space requires a much smaller wardrobe than on Earth. After all, how can a person get dirty there? You rarely go outside (and if you do, there's a special suit for it), and the inside of the shuttle or station is absolutely clean. You also sweat much less, since with zero gravity there is virtually no stress. Astronaut teams typically change clothes every three days.

Clothing also played a big role in NASA's fight against human waste. The original plan was to install toilet facilities directly into the spacesuits. When this proved impossible, the agency created special "maximum absorbency clothing" to serve as an astronaut's emergency toilet. Essentially, these are special high-tech shorts that can absorb up to two liters of liquid.

4. Atrophy


Despite the fact that the proportions of the human figure become cartoonish and similar to the form Superman bodies, microgravity does not make us stronger. In fact, she works in opposite direction. On Earth, we constantly use our muscles: not just to lift things and move around, but simply to fight the force of gravity. In space, the lack of muscle activity in zero gravity quickly leads to muscle atrophy (muscles begin to shrink and weaken). Over time, even the spine and bones weaken because they do not need to support weight.

To combat this degradation and maintain muscle mass, astronauts have to exercise a lot. For example, the crew of the ISS (International Space Station) must train in a special gym 2.5 hours every day.

3. Flatulence


Flatulence can be very unpleasant and embarrassing. And when you are in space, it can also become a real threat to your health. At least that's what NASA thought in 1969 when they were studying a question called "gut hydrogen and methane in people eating a space diet." It may sound funny, but the question was very real and valid. Flatulence is much more than just an unpleasant odor. It produces significant quantities of methane and hydrogen, which are flammable gases. The second part of the problem is that space food is very different from the normal diet of earthlings. The food that the first astronauts ate caused serious gas formation. Their rampant flatulence was considered a potential cause of explosion risk, so poor scientists had to analyze their gases in order to create diets that caused less gas.

Today, flatulence is not considered a huge risk to life. However, it never hurts to pay attention to what you eat while indoors on a spacecraft. Nobody likes that guy who passes gas in an elevator for months on end.

2. Space can ruin your brain


Astronauts are generally very resistant to psychological pressure; after all, space agencies conduct psychological tests to make sure people can handle the stress and not go crazy during the mission. However, life in space can still be dangerous for the brain. In fact, space itself can cause serious problems for people who live there for a long period of time. The problem is cosmic radiation: the background radiation from the universe that essentially turns space into a low-intensity microwave oven. The Earth's atmosphere protects us from cosmic radiation, but once you are outside of it, there is no effective protection from radiation. How longer person spends in space, the more his brain suffers from radiation. Among other things, it can speed up the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

So when humanity eventually prepares to conquer Mars and other planets, the flight may well cause irreparable damage to our brains.

1. Monstrous microbes


“Sick” homes are buildings that suffer from a major mold problem and therefore pose a health risk to their occupants. They are unpleasant to live in, but at least the inhabitants can always move to a new place or go outside to breathe fresh air.

“Sick” spaceships and stations do not provide such an opportunity.

Mold, germs, bacteria and fungi are a serious problem in space. Large enough concentrations of them can damage complex equipment and cause health risks, and no matter how well the shuttles are disinfected before they leave the atmosphere, these little nasties will always find a way to tag along.

Once they get into space, the microbes stop behaving like ordinary mold and become something like creatures from video games. They develop into moisture, which eventually condenses into hidden, free-floating globules of germ-infested water. These floating concentrations of water can be the size of a basketball, and they are so loaded with dangerous microbes that they can even damage stainless steel. This makes them a dire danger to the crew and the space station itself if proper safety precautions are not followed.

A pilot-cosmonaut from the Cosmonaut Training Center named after A. Yu. A. Gagarin, Air Force Colonel Valery Tokarev.

About fear

I wouldn't say it's scary there. You are a professional and adapt to your work, so you have no time to think about fear. I was not afraid either at the start or on the descent - our pulse and blood pressure are constantly recorded. In general, after a while you feel at home at the station. But there is a delicate moment when you have to go out open space. I really don't want to go out there.

It's like your first parachute jump. Here in front of you open door and height 800 meters. As long as you’re sitting on a plane and there seems to be some kind of solid ground underneath you, it’s not scary. And then you have to step into the void. Conquer human nature, the instinct of self-preservation. It’s the same feeling, only much stronger, when you go into outer space.

Before leaving, you put on a spacesuit, release the pressure in the airlock chamber, but you are still inside the station, which flies at a speed of 28 thousand kilometers per hour in orbit, but this is your home. And so you open the hatch - you open it manually - and there is darkness, an abyss.

When you're on the shadow side, you can't see anything underneath you. And you understand that below there are hundreds of kilometers of abyss, darkness, darkness, and from the illuminated habitable station you need to go to where there is nothing.

At the same time, you are in a spacesuit, and this is not a business suit, it is uncomfortable. He is tough, and this toughness must be overcome physically. You move only on your hands, your legs hang like ballast. In addition, visibility deteriorates. And you need to move along the station. And you understand that if you unhook, then death is inevitable. It’s enough to miss by two centimeters, one millimeter may not be enough for you - and you’ll forever drift next to the station, but there’s nothing to push off from, and no one will help you.

But even this you get used to. When you swim out to the sunny side, you can see the planets, your native blue Earth, it becomes calmer, even if it is thousands of kilometers away from you.

About which ones are hired as astronauts

Any citizen of Russia who meets certain requirements can become an astronaut. This was only the first, Gagarin’s, recruitment of military pilots, then they also began to take engineers and representatives of other specialties. Now you can apply to become an astronaut if you have any higher education, at least philological. And then people are selected according to the standard: they check their health, conduct psychological tests... In the last set, for example, there is only one pilot.

But not everyone ends up flying into space; according to statistics, about 40-50% of those who have completed training. The candidate is constantly preparing, but it is not a fact that the flight will eventually take place.

The minimum training time is five years: a year and a half of general space training, then a year and a half of training in a group - this is not yet a crew, another year and a half of training in the crew with which you will fly. But on average, much more time passes before the first flight - for some ten years, for others longer. Therefore, there are practically no young and unmarried astronauts. People usually come to the training center at the age of about 30, usually married.

The astronaut must study the International space station, ship, flight dynamics, flight theory, ballistics... Our tasks in orbit also include filming, editing and sending footage from the station to Earth. Therefore, astronauts also master camera work. And, of course, the requirements for maintaining physical fitness constant, like athletes.

About health

We joke: cosmonauts are selected based on their health, and then they are asked whether they are smart. The health problem is not even about surviving overloads; it is not as difficult as is commonly believed; now even unprepared people fly into space as tourists.

But tourists still fly for a week, and a professional cosmonaut spends many months in orbit. And we work there. It was the tourist who was fastened to the seat on takeoff - and that’s all, his task is to survive. And the astronaut must work, regardless of overloads: maintain contact with the Earth, and be ready to take control in case of failures - in general, he must control everything.

Medical selection for cosmonauts is now, as before, very difficult. We took it at the Seventh Scientific Test Hospital of the Air Force in Sokolniki and called this place “Gestapo”. Because there they will scan you through and through, they will force you to drink something, they will inject you with something, they will rip something out.

Then it was fashionable to remove tonsils, say. They didn’t hurt me at all, but they told me that I needed to cut them out. And when you go through the selection process, it’s more expensive for you to contradict doctors.

Although some had it much worse. Many pilots were simply afraid to become cosmonauts, because many of them were written off from flight work after a medical examination. That is, you don’t fly into space, and you are forbidden to fly on an airplane.

About the first flight

You prepare for it for a long time, you are a professional, you can do everything, but you have never truly experienced the feeling of weightlessness.

Everything happens very quickly: pre-flight excitement, then strong vibration, acceleration, overloads and then - time! You're in space. The engines turn off - and there is complete silence. And at the same time the entire crew floats up, that is, you are fastened with seat belts, but your body is already weightless. That's when the feeling of euphoria sets in. Outside the window - the brightest colors. There are no halftones in space, everything there is saturated, very contrasting.

You immediately want to feel everything, spin in the air, succumb to the feeling of joy, but when you are a crew member, first of all you have to work. A lot of things happen at the same time: you need to monitor how the antennas open, check the tightness, and so on. And only after you are convinced that everything is in order, you can take off the spacesuit and truly enjoy weightlessness - tumble.

Again, tumbling is dangerous. I remember that the experienced cosmonauts began to move very smoothly, and we, the beginners, were spinning and spinning. And then the vestibular apparatus goes crazy. And you understand that you need to be careful with him, because attacks of nausea may begin.

About smells

It was you on Earth who made it to the toilet, and even if you didn’t make it, it’s okay. And there, if you missed, all this will fly inside in the atmosphere. And you will need to collect it with a special vacuum cleaner. But you can’t pick up odors with a vacuum cleaner. But the atmosphere is the same, and it’s deteriorating.

The smells at the station constantly accumulate, so that when you first arrive there you don’t feel very comfortable. We also play sports there, but you can’t open the window, you can’t ventilate it.

But a person gets used to smells very quickly. So you can’t say that you feel discomfort all the time in orbit. Only the first time, when you open the ship’s hatch and sail into the station. Although just a few months ago the time from launch to docking was 34 hours, so the atmosphere on the ship itself had time to fill with different smells and not much difference was felt. Now you only fly for six hours, so there is more or less fresh air left in the ship.

About weightlessness

The first few days it’s difficult to sleep: my head doesn’t feel any support, it’s very unusual. Some people tie their head to a sleeping bag. No things can be left unsecured: they will fly away. But after a week you completely get used to weightlessness and live as normal, developing a daily routine: how much to sleep, when to eat.

In zero gravity you don’t use your legs at all; some muscles atrophy, despite the fact that you train on special machines every day. Therefore, returning to Earth is much more difficult than flying away; overload is more difficult to bear.

And then the first time on Earth you still can’t get used to the fact that you have to bear the weight of your body. There he pushed off with his finger and flew. There is no need to transfer objects to a friend; if you throw an object, it will fly. What did some people sin after spending six months in space? A feast, someone asks to pass something, a glass, for example. Well, the astronaut throws the glass across the table.

About the International Space Station

The station, like spacecraft, consists of modules. These compartments are four meters in diameter and no more than 15 meters in length. Each astronaut has his own corner: you come at night, tie your sleeping bag, and swim there yourself. There is usually a laptop and a radio floating nearby so that if anything happens, they can quickly wake you up.

It's like a hostel. Nothing is isolated, even the cabins without a screen, only the toilet allows for a little privacy. Although American ships have completely isolated cabins.

Being at the station is neither a prison nor a hospital. It's just your job with specific tasks. It is necessary to conduct experiments, steer the station away from a collision with debris, maintain its operation, and change some equipment if necessary.

It is believed that astronauts for crews are carefully selected based on psychological characteristics, but this is not entirely true. If the crew is multinational, then each country simply provides its own person. During preparation, doctors, of course, observe how you fit each other.

But I've always been lucky with crews. Some cosmonauts do not communicate with each other after a joint flight on Earth, but I maintain relationships with all my colleagues.

Although in space, emotions, like colors, are very rich. They flow more intensely, the slightest push is enough - and immediately there is a scandal. That is, the main art is the art of managing oneself. Just like on earth, in general.

About the meaning

My path to becoming an astronaut was quite consistent. I graduated from flight school, I liked flying work, but I wanted to constantly experience new technology. Then I trained as a test pilot, tested newest aircraft deck-based is when you need to land your car on the deck of a ship. During such exercises, the pilots' pulse goes through the roof more than when flying into a combat zone. Then, when I became a first class test pilot, I realized that that’s it, you can’t jump higher in the atmosphere. And it was very logical to go and fly on a space bird. That is, for me it was a consistent path. This is characteristic of a man and an astronaut. Although astronauts are also different.

3D printer

In November, NASA astronauts installed the world's first 3D printer on the ISS. adapted for zero gravity. The device will be useful for experiments with additive manufacturing technologies in microgravity conditions. The printer is about the size of a small microwave oven and will help astronauts make their own components and tools on station, according to Commander Barry Willmore. The printer was developed by California startup Made in Space and sent to the space station as part of SpaceX's fourth cargo resupply mission in September.

“3D printing will allow us to email equipment instead of sending it into space,” said Nicky Werkheiser, 3D printing project manager.

Prior to this, the space printer was studied in laboratories, on board a special NASA aircraft, and also in a centrifuge. Preliminary tests were successful, now the printer will print test parts in space that will be returned to Earth and studied. If they satisfy NASA specialists, astronauts will be able to use the printer in practice.

ABOUT technical specifications Little is known about the space printer. But in its principle it is similar to the most common “earthly” models, which apply molten plastic layer by layer to the platform.

Exercise equipment

There are several sports simulators on board the ISS, which astronauts are required to use to maintain physical fitness. It is known that in conditions of weightlessness, human muscles atrophy and bones lose strength.

There are three running tracks at the station. The first two are American Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) ( treadmills with vibration isolation system), which are called COLBERT (one is installed in the American segment of the station, the other in the Russian). Not long ago, in the domestic module, the American track was replaced with a domestic one. The features of the space simulator are as follows: astronauts, running along the track, influence the station with a certain frequency, which is unacceptable. To dampen these vibrations, there is a vibration isolation system so that all shocks falling on the track are not transmitted to the ISS. Russian system vibration isolation was developed by Samara State Aerospace University. To exercise, the crew has to wear belts that pull the astronauts down to the treadmill; otherwise their legs would simply dangle in the air.

In addition to treadmills, the ISS is equipped with bicycle ergonometers (or, more simply put, exercise bikes), also with a vibration isolation system similar to that found on treadmills. To practice on them, you need to secure your body with many straps.

Astronauts also use a special device, the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device. (ARED), which “simulates gravity.” The simulator allows you to perform a whole range of exercises in microgravity conditions thanks to the resistance of the force of vacuum cylinders, for example, squats or imitation swimming.

Hydroponic system

Most astronauts on the ISS eat freeze-dried food. which they don’t find particularly tasty. Perhaps in the future they can eat their own fresh vegetables and fruits grown on board. In April 2014, a SpaceX cargo ship took on board a special system for growing vegetables.

The collapsible, collapsible chamber, called Veggie, is used for growing lettuce. Veggie measures 30cm by 36cm and is the largest space garden to date. A block of red, blue and green LEDs is used as lighting to stimulate plant growth.

Research and experiments related to the cultivation of plant and animal food (i.e. insects) were carried out at orbital stations in the past. The goal of Project Veggie is to determine whether it would be possible to grow fresh food to feed the long-duration space missions that NASA plans to launch in the future.

Dining table

Astronauts on the ISS have a special dining table. This is a massive device with special cells for securing food packages (there are six of them in total, one for each crew member). Also built into the table is a system for heating cans and a “crumb catcher”: a special fan that draws in all the small pieces and crumbs of food when something is being cut on it. The fact is that the crumbs carry mortal danger in conditions of weightlessness, since they can get into the respiratory tract or damage the equipment.

The crew members learn to use the dining table back on Earth, practicing how to heat canned food and fill bags of freeze-dried food with boiling water through special adapters. When refilling bags, the astronaut needs to be careful: if the bag is not held, it can fly off the fitting and burn your hands with water, damaging instruments and devices. The process of preparing puree soup, noodles, tea, and juice is always the same. The only difference is the temperature of the water used to restore the products. (from +25 ˚С to +85 ˚С).

Coffee machine

At the end of November, ISS astronauts received a new coffee machine called ISSpresso. The 20-kilogram device, developed by the famous Italian company Lavazza, ended up on orbital station together with the first female astronaut from Italy, 37-year-old Samantha Cristoforetti. She also became the first person to drink authentic Italian espresso in orbit. The designers of the capsule coffee machine assure that it meets the highest technical requirements and the ultra-strict security measures established by the Italian Space Agency. For example, the plastic tubes through which water usually flows in “earthly” coffee machines are replaced here with steel tubes that can withstand high pressure.

According to engineers, the machine will not only diversify the diet of astronauts, but will also contribute to the study of the behavior of liquids in zero gravity. ISSpresso will also improve psychological state crew.

Toilet

When astronautics was just beginning, the first devices for collecting solid and liquid waste were similar to diapers. That is, they were elastic panties with replaceable hygroscopic pads. Now there are two bathrooms on the ISS, costing $19 million each. One is in the “Star” module, the second is in the “Tranquility” module. Toilets are generally similar, but in “Tranquility” the device is equipped with an American subsystem for regenerating water from the urine and sweat of astronauts. According to plans, along with the new laboratory module “Science”, which will be launched by 2017, the ISS will receive a new “space” bathroom.

Toilets use a vacuum instead of water. After suction, the liquid waste is collected using a special hose with a nozzle, which can be used by both men and women. The materials are transferred to a regeneration system, which converts them into distilled water. They do not drink this industrial water at the station, preferring pure spring water, which is delivered to orbit by Progress trucks. It is needed mainly for the operation of catalysts and for the production of additional oxygen.

Solid waste is collected in special mesh plastic bags, which are then stored in 20-liter aluminum containers. The filled containers are transferred to the Progress cargo ship for further disposal. There are also filters installed in the ISS toilets that purify the air from bacteria and odors.

Computers

When we imagine the computers of astronauts on the ISS, supercomputers and entire render farms pop up in our imaginations, where complex calculations are carried out. But in fact, all difficult problems are solved on Earth, and the computers on the station are intended only for collecting and recording data, controlling individual elements of space equipment and other simple work processes. Since 1993, IBM ThinkPad series laptops have been used in space. In 2005, the division was purchased from IBM by Lenovo, and the last upgrade that came to the ISS were computers of the A31 and T61P models. All computers run the Linux operating system, which is open source and can be modified to suit the needs of use in orbit.

Laptops are still different from those we can buy in a store. They are based on a rigid protective frame made of Roll-Cage composite materials. It is quite lightweight and yet incredibly durable. Using this frame made from a mixture of carbon and glass fibers, ThinkPad laptops can withstand a drop of two meters or a pressure of one hundred kilograms.