What do astronauts do

Need to use the bathroom? During meal times, astronauts must strap trays to their laps or a table. Seasoning like salt and pepper are available to use, but they are in liquid form. There is also no refrigeration on the ISS, so the food on the station is usually stored in vacuumed sealed packets and containers.

A week consists of five and a half days scheduled for working nominal tasks with 1. With help from a little bit of water, astronauts comb the no-rinse shampoo through their hair to get it nice and clean since there are no actual showers in space.

Also in their kits are other personal hygiene items each astronaut has chosen to take, including their favorite brand of toothpaste, if NASA is able to accommodate their preference, which the agency says it aims to do. Regardless of the brand, you will find a toothbrush and toothpaste in each kit. Astronauts also take a few minutes each morning to brush their teeth, pretty much the same way we do on Earth. To use the toilet to go No.

The toilet works like a vacuum cleaner to suck air and waste into the commode. To go No. Confused about how that works? Astronauts can also use razors from their kits to shave or clippers or scissors to give themselves or each other a hair cut.

Of course, breakfast is still an important meal in space and astronauts are scheduled to eat one every day. Not the kind we just talked about, the work kind. After wrapping up their morning routine, an astronaut begins their work assignments for the day, which can entail a number of different tasks. Astronauts spend their days working on science experiments that require their input, monitoring projects that are controlled from the ground and taking part in medical experiments to figure out how well their bodies adjust to living in space for long periods of time.

Much like homeowners do routine maintenance and other work around the house to protect the good health of their home, crew members are tasked with regularly checking support systems and cleaning filters, updating computer equipment and even taking out the trash. Mission Control Center also monitors the ISS from the ground and sends instructions via email or voice message to the astronauts each day about any work that may need to be done around the Space Station.

If a task calls for it -- for example, batteries need to be replaced on an external area of the ISS-- an astronaut may have to suit up and conduct a spacewalk, as seen below. Other experiments have more down-to-earth implications and benefits for the rest of humanity. Prolonged periods in a microgravity environment can lead to loss of bone and muscle strength.

How this occurs and how it can be reversed is helping inform treatments for people living with chronic conditions like osteoporosis or whose muscles are affected by conditions that limit their mobility. The crew get a daily update from Mission Control on activities they need to complete. That includes checking the life support systems are functioning properly, carrying out regular cleaning procedures and performing software updates.

There are lots of regular activities we take for granted that, on the ISS, are more complicated, such as personal hygiene. Microgravity makes using a toilet a major undertaking. There are leg restraints to keep the astronaut seated securely and an arrangement of fans and vacuum pumps to dispose of waste matter quickly and safely.

Free-floating droplets of water can be hazardous on the ISS, as they could find their way into sensitive equipment and cause problems.

The same is true of small particles too, and that has implications for eating in space. Here on terra firma, we routinely sprinkle salt and pepper onto our meals. So, they are available in liquid form instead. The crew of the ISS get three meals a day and some of the food they eat is no different to what they might enjoy back home. Fruit, for example, and brownies too are available in their natural forms.

Other food is stored dry and has to be mixed with water before it is cooked; there is an oven on the ISS, but there are no refrigerators. There is also plenty of free time and a range of non-research activities for the crew.