Problems Of Living In Space

Casey: Hello K international school! I’m Casey. I’m sick of my homework, so I’m planning on living in space with my handmade rocket from tomorrow! I heard you guys are learning about space in school in science class currently, so please give me some advice!!!!

Shumpei (a student of KIST): Um… What??? Wait. Wait. Did you know it is soooooooooooo hard for humans to live in space??

C: Ahh…No…WHY????????

S: Because there are plenty of problems that you need to solve to live in space and it’s going to take forever to explain all of these problems to you, so I will explain one of the problems for humans to live in space.

C: Ok!! Thanks!!

S: So I will start with some basic information about human in space. In 1961, April 12th, a Russian astronaut

Therefore you need to have enough muscles and bone mass to move on earth, because you have to defy the power of gravity whenever you move. In the environment of weightless of space, astronauts do not have to defy gravity to move. Therefore the astronauts lose muscles and bone mass, which we need to defy gravity and move on earth. To not lose muscles, you need to exercise a lot everyday.

C: That’s fine I will just run around inside the rocket!

S: Nononono you can’t run in space because you’re floating.

C: Oh….. but why do we need to exercise?? Do we need muscles and bone mass?? I don’t care about them!

S: Well, exercising in space is not only an entertainment for astronauts; Astronauts can gradually gain back most of their muscles and bone mass after they return to Earth, however it is important for them to be strong enough to be able to perform energetic activities in space such as spacewalks and emergency situations during landing. Also, exercising regularly in space helps the astronauts to recover their muscles and bone mass faster when they return to Earth.

C: Oh! I want to walk on the moon so I will exercise

And the three main exercises that astronauts do in space are, Cycle Ergometer, Treadmill, and Resistance Exercise Device, which is also known as ‘RED’.

C: How do you use them??

S: Cycle Ergometer is a device you go on to pedal like a bicycle. Cycle Ergometers are used by people on Earth, but the differences to Cycle Ergometers in space are that they are way more compact than the ones in Earth, and they have straps called ‘Harnesses’ to keep the astronauts on the device, so that they won’t float away when they are exercising.

Treadmill is a device that simulates walking on earth. Walking is the most simple and easy way to keep your muscles and bone mass. In space, astronauts are given no pressure like gravity to walk, because the lack of gravity makes them float. The parts called ‘Harnesses’ that are attached to astronauts hold them to the walking surface, giving pressure just like gravity on earth. Treadmills are also used by people on Earth, but again the differences to treadmills in space are that they are more compact and they have ‘Harnesses’

Resistance Exercise Device (RED): The RED looks like the common weight lifting machines at the gym. Astronauts pull and twist cords like stretchy rubber band that are attached to pulleys. The RED can cover lots of different workouts such as squats, arm exercises, bending exercise for the legs and heel