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Space travel has become so far away because since humans first stepped out into space (over 100km above sea level) in 1961 to mid-2011, there were only 523 people. In 38 countries each had the honor of flying into space. There are now individuals who fly into space by paying to buy "tickets" on spaceships like traveling. However, each visit to space still costs a few tens of millions of dollars

-Space Station

The space station that we are most often heard about is ISS (International Space Station - International Space Station). And the ISS's construction process is also very "international": built up from the efforts of 16 countries and has received citizens of 22 countries. But the ISS is not the only space station ever built.

Up to the present time there are at least 10 space stations, most of the former Soviet Union has been used. Basically, the space station is just a "mother ship" with a large area, ensuring the living and research of astronauts for a long time, while allowing the space shuttle to connect with stations to transport goods and people between the ground and the station. And in contrast to the Space Shuttle, which is supposed to send people to space and return like planes, space stations are launched into space one by one, reassembled and will be destroyed or abandoned. right on space after the mission is over. Space stations are the places where human life in zero gravity is studied in the most meticulous detail and detail. To be able to reach planets farther than the moon in flights lasting months or even years, human responses in closed, socially isolated and gravity-free environments need to be. is thoroughly studied both physiological and psychological.

Space stations like the ISS are the place for people to carry out these studies and observations along with other scientific studies in non-gravity environments such as biology, chemistry ... In 1980, when heroes Pham Tuan, the first Vietnamese citizen to fly into space with Soviet experts, spent the entire time 7 days 21 hours in space to conduct two symbolic scientific studies, which are harmony. Dissolve the mineral and cultivate water hyacinth in zero gravity conditions.

-The food of the astronauts

"It is true that the religion is true", and the first issue to consider when bringing astronauts to space for a long time is what they will feed them to ensure physical strength as well as intelligence and spirit. Can astronauts cope with the dangerous and stressful work in space?

Because in a zero-gravity environment, everything will float unsteadily, so you can forget the idea of ​​bringing ... rice, grease to the space station to cook like below ground. Our astronauts will have to eat cooked food during their time in space. In the early part of the space age, the food for astronauts was really bad.

Nutritional sources such as protein, sugar powder are provided through dry "nutritious tablets", about 3 fingers big, like a piece of dry food and each time the astronauts have to ... eat the whole piece. 1 in your mouth, do not bite in small pieces because if you break the dry food pellets, the debris and powder will fly out wildly and get stuck on electronic devices on the station, causing damage.

Besides, there are nutritional types like toothpaste tubes used to supplement vitamins and make dry food "easier to swallow". Besides, the food is processed and is in a very dry state, so when it gets into the stomach, the food becomes very indigestible and harmful to the stomach. In addition, astronauts living in zero gravity are also affected by congestion: while on earth, to pump blood to the brain, the heart must create a pressure that can overcome the pressure caused by the magnetic column of blood. the brain is pressed against the heart when we are upright. However, with the astronauts, zero gravity causes the pressure of the blood column to disappear while the heart is still functioning as normal. This leads to a higher than normal blood flow and blood pressure in the astronaut in the brain. This phenomenon is called congestion and can cause a feeling of lightheadedness and the inability to sense smells and tastes.

Therefore, the food of the astronauts is often very richly processed to better suit the taste has been reduced. Over time the astronauts' diet improved, eliminating the nutritious "ice creams" and tasteless dry food stalls and replaced them with foods that were dried and refrigerated. But obviously if you think you can have big meals on the space station think again: Astronauts are very miserable eaters, at least in space.

Besides drinking water is also a problem. It takes about 2 liters of water a day to ensure that the body is functioning properly, especially in the condition that the food is completely dried and packaged, then drinking more water to ensure digestion. Chemistry is indispensable. Each liter of water brought from the earth to the ISS will cost about 11 thousand USD (220 million VND) and each year NASA takes up to 24 million USD just to supply water to the ISS.

In our daily life, water passes out of the body in many ways. In addition to the most conspicuous ... urine, water is also released through sweat, evaporates through the skin and through the breath (try placing a glass and breathing on it you will see the mist stagnant on the face. glass, each time we breathe, 1 amount of water follows the exhaled breath and becomes moisture in the air).

Fortunately, the space on the ISS is completely self contained with the atmosphere 100% machine-conditioned. It was this factor that led Soviet scientists to come up with the idea of ​​condensing the amount of water vapor in the air on the ISS to regenerate a portion of the water. However, this only regenerates about 10% of the water that a person normally uses. Recently, NASA is investing in a project to help filter ... waste water of astronauts to recycle up to 90% of the water needed on the ISS. That means astronauts will "cycle" a few liters of water for a very long time, ensuring cost savings and normal operation of the station.

-Oxygen and temperature

Earth's atmosphere is about 70-20 with 70% nitrogen and 20% oxygen and the rest other gasses. And of course we only use 02 for our live activities. Nitrogen has almost no effect in human respiration, even if the nitrogen concentration in the air is too high, it can cause nitrogen poisoning. So NASA's original idea was to provide oxygen-only air in the shuttles of space shuttles and space stations, eliminating the cost of bringing more nitro into space while minimizing the risk. Nitro poisoning if this gas leaks.

And in the Apolo 1 ship project, NASA performed 100% of the air in the cockpit as oxygen. At that time they did not calculate that with such an atmosphere when a fire happened, the fire would spread very quickly because the air was too rich in oxygen, and in fact one fire took the lives of all 3 astronauts. on Apolo 1 during the 1967 ground test.

As a result, after the defeat of Apolo 1, the spacecraft all have an earth-like atmosphere with the pressure, temperature and gas proportions being maintained steadily by the air-conditioning systems. Particularly oxygen is generated by the electrolysis reaction of water, electrolytic energy is collected from solar panels or electric motors. Large space stations such as ISS are also equipped with compressed oxygen tanks in case the oxygen generation system fails.

-Bathing and cleaning

Sanitation on the space station is an extremely important thing. Many studies show that the rate of bacteria multiplying in the microgravity environment many times faster than on earth means that infectious and inflammatory diseases will be easier and more dangerous. All the astronaut's clothes cannot be washed because water must be saved and the centrifugal washing facilities do not work in zero gravity. So pants (change 1 time a week) with underwear, socks, shirts (change 1 time every 2 days) will be stored in sealed bags and collected in 1 place to be destroyed, not reused except for cases especially.

The system of toilets on the spaceship is also quite simple: To ensure that the waste does not float everywhere, the toilets of the spacecraft do not use water but have an exhaust fan system, when using an exhaust fan system. This works to create a circulating air stream that draws waste into the storage compartments, which is then separated by water, and the solid residue is packed and stored for later analysis in the lower laboratories. ground. This scum will help people understand the mechanism of the astronaut's body in living conditions in space. From there on the appropriate adjustments.

In terms of bathing, in the past, astronauts showered in closed chambers, after closing the door they flushed water like on the ground, the suspended water was dried by exhaust fans. However, the system has now been rejected because of its lack of reliability and water wastage. The suspended water droplets if not treated thoroughly will cause a fire for electronic equipment on board. Modern spacecraft use moistened bath towels for astronauts to clean their bodies instead of spraying water in a hose. And in zero gravity, simple things like personal hygiene, bathing will take about an hour and a half a day.

Resting on the space station is generally the same as on the ground, with sleep that lasts an average of 8 hours per day. Astronauts would have to sleep in sleeping bags to make sure they weren't floating around. Sleep is still performed to coincide with earth time to ensure the normal operation of the biological clock because when a space station like the ISS orbits the earth 16 times a day for 24 hours every 1 hour. and a half of the astronauts see the sun rise and set once again. In addition, every time a rest is over, the NASA control centers in Houston, Texas will play a song to wake the astronauts. These tracks are sometimes requested by families of astronauts to donate to relatives on duty.