Family and Friends 6 (Extensive reading: The Diary of an Astronaut)

THE DIARY OF AN ASTRONAUT

October 16th

06.00

I didn't want to get up this morning when we had our wake-up call because I was really comfortable. Some people think that sleeping in space must be really uncomfortable, but it isn't! We sleep in sleeping bags in compartments and strap ourselves in so that we don't float around while we sleep. There is no gravity in space, so if something isn't tied down, it floats away! We also have eye masks and ear plugs at night as it can be difficult to sleep because of the light and noise from the machines all around us. We usually have about eight hours of sleep, but last night I only slept for about six hours. That's because I was staring out of the window at the views and taking pictures. It's amazing to see the Earth and all the stars from up here.

When I was finally awake, I had a very quick wash. There isn't much water on a space station because we have to bring it from Earth on the space shuttle. We use water for drinks and washing, but there isn't enough water for washing up, so we eat from food containers that we can throw away.

I had some bread and jam for breakfast. Some people think we only eat dry food in space, but this isn't true. We have lots of different types of food. Firstly, we have food that is ready to eat, like nuts and biscuits. Secondly, we have food that you have to add water to, Like soup. We also have food from tins, such as fish and fruit. We drink from cartons and use straws so that the liquid doesn't float away and damage any of the machines. This is very important because if liquid damaged the machines, it would be very dangerous in space!

After breakfast today, we did our usual cleaning jobs. It's really important that the space station is clean and tidy. This is because bits of rubbish can float away and damage the machines. All the rubbish we collect is taken back down to Earth. After we had cleaned, we sat down and had our usual daily planning conference with Mission Control on Earth. This is when we find out what work we have to do during the day.

08.00

My first job today was to go on a spacewalk to check for damage on the outside of the space station. First, I had to put on my space suit. Space suits are very important because they protect us from the dangers of being outside. Firstly, they protect us from extreme temperatures. Secondly, they protect us if we are hit by speeding objects in space. Thirdly, they provide the oxygen we need to breathe while we are in space. It takes about an hour to put on a space suit because you have to spend a lot of time checking for leaks or holes. But going on spacewalks is one of my favourite activities in space. It's such an amazing feeling to be floating out amongst the stars and the planets. Today, I didn't find any problems, so I was back inside the space station in time for lunch.

13.00

We usually have one hour for lunch and today we had soup and bread to eat, followed by some tinned fruit and some biscuits. After that, we cleaned up, had a rest and then got ready for the afternoon's work.

14.00

After lunch, I helped to repair a damaged satellite. We sometimes visit orbiting satellites when we need to repair them. We use the space shuttle's robotic arms to work on them, but we also sometimes pull them in so that we can work on them more slowly. We successfully repaired the damage and we will return the satellite to orbit tomorrow.

18.30

In the early evening, I did my exercise. Exercise is really important for us when we are in space. On Earth, we are always using our bones and muscles to move against the force of gravity. In space, there is no gravity, so our muscles and bones don't need to work so hard! They can become very weak, so we do at least two hours of exercise every day on the exercise machines at the space station. If we didn't do any exercise, then our muscles might become so weak that we couldn't walk anymore when we returned to Earth!

After dinner, there was a meeting for the whole crew to discuss some of our plans for the rest of our stay at the space station. Then, we had some free time. This evening, I listened to some music and wrote in my diary. I looked at the views and thought about how lucky I am to be an astronaut! It's brilliant!