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Think you know what it is like to live and work on the International Space Station? Test your knowledge on the science, daily routines, and quirky realities of humanity's home in the stars.
Ground Control Newbie 0–4 · Expedition Crewmate 5–8 · Commander of the Cosmos 9–10
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Chris Hadfield recorded a historic cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity using a modified Larrivée acoustic guitar that was already on the station. The video, filmed floating in the station, became one of the most-watched space videos ever.
Photo: Robert Markowitz, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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Without gravity, the human body quickly loses bone density and muscle mass. To combat this, astronauts must use specialized resistance machines and treadmills with bungee cords for about two hours daily to force their bodies to work against resistance.
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Water is incredibly heavy and expensive to launch into space, so the ISS uses a state-of-the-art water recovery system. It purifies sweat, breath moisture, and urine into drinking water that is actually cleaner than most tap water on Earth.
Photo: NASA, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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There is no washing machine on the ISS because water is too precious. Astronauts wear their underwear, shirts, and socks for several days or weeks until they are too dirty, then discard them. These dirty clothes are packed into cargo ships that burn up in Earth's atmosphere.
Photo: Don DeBold from San Jose, CA, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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Because there is no gravity to keep them down, astronauts sleep in vertical cabins and strap their sleeping bags directly to the walls. This keeps them from drifting into delicate equipment or bumping into each other. Some astronauts even prefer sleeping upside down since direction does not matter in microgravity.
Photo: NASA, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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Without the constant downward pull of Earth's gravity compressing the spine, the spinal column expands in space. Astronauts temporarily grow up to three percent taller while in orbit, though they return to their normal height after returning to Earth.
Photo: NASA, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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The ISSpresso machine was built by Italian companies for the space station, and astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti drank the very first cup in May 2015. Because liquids float as wobbly blobs in microgravity, the coffee came out in a pouch, and later a special space cup used its shape to guide the drink to her lips.
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Astronauts harvested and ate fresh red romaine lettuce grown in the Veggie plant growth system in 2015. To ensure it was safe, they cleaned the leaves with citric acid-based sanitizing wipes before enjoying their historic space salad.
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The space station travels at a staggering speed of about 17,500 miles per hour. Because it orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, the crew sees a sunrise or a sunset roughly every 45 minutes, totaling about 16 of each every single day.
Photo: NASA, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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In 2021, a Russian actress and a director spent twelve days on the ISS to film scenes for the movie The Challenge. This marked the first time professional filmmakers and actors went into orbit to produce a fictional feature film.
Photo: Kh. Betredinova, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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