Hey

I have a couple of question that I hope you can answer. I was googling
around earlier but found no official papers about them...

Anyway I'd like to know:

- how do the astronauts clean their clothes? they spend about 3-6
months on the station, i'm quite sure they need a washing machine or
something. how often do they get to change ... underware and socks and
stuff?

- what kind of 'entertainment' possibilites do they have? is there an
hdtv onboard for nfl maybe?

- do they have continouos internet connection? can they use it to chat
with their friends in offwork hours?

- what kind of noise pollution do they live in? with all the machines
and lack of walls really, i imagine getting a good uninterrupted sleep
would be hard

Thanks for any answers ^^

Maybe it's not a regular washing machine, but along with taking a
shower to clean the sweat and stuff, you obviously need to change
clothes. And since there's no space or payload capacity to launch 90
pairs of trousers and shirts and underwear and socks for each
astronaut, I'm thinking they must have something to clean the cloths.

Maybe a few seconds in the airlock?

- how do the astronauts clean their clothes?

- what kind of 'entertainment' possibilites do they have? is there an
hdtv onboard for nfl maybe?

- do they have continouos internet connection? can they use it to chat
with their friends in offwork hours?

- what kind of noise pollution do they live in?

I thought the russian service module was equipped with all kinds of
hygienic stuff...

They wash themselves by hand only then? For several months?

What does the space station smell like from inside?

No, nopermanent internet access, yes some IP phone time. Yes plenty of
recorded media. Some live media, but as it has to come through the ku
resources, its obviously limited.

One astronaut described the noise as a bit like sleeping next to your fridge
every night, but they do measure the sound levels regularly, and some places
are noisier than others according to the data I've seen. Noise is difficult
as its more the nature of it than the actual level that tends to disturb.

I thought the russian service module was equipped with all kinds of
hygienic stuff...
They wash themselves by hand only then? For several months?

What does the space station smell like from inside?

Brian Gaff wrote:
No, nopermanent internet access, yes some IP phone time. Yes plenty of
recorded media. Some live media, but as it has to come through the ku
resources, its obviously limited.

Right. Lots of DVDs, fairly limited live broadcasts.

One astronaut described the noise as a bit like sleeping next to your
fridge every night, but they do measure the sound levels regularly, and
some places are noisier than others according to the data I've seen.
Noise is difficult as its more the nature of it than the actual level
that tends to disturb.

The Russian segment is considerably noisier than the US segment, as it was
adapted from Mir designs without regard for US noise standards. Early
crews installed baffles on some equipment to muffle the sound but the dB
levels still exceed standards.

shikakaa@gmail.com wrote:

What does the space station smell like from inside?

Fortunately, in space the sense of smell is somewhat dulled by body
fluids redistributing themselves evenly throughout the body (instead of
being pooled by gravity), which clogs the sinuses a bit. It affects
taste for the same reason; astronauts tend to prefer spicier foods in
space than they would eat on the ground. The number one food item among
NASA astronauts is shrimp cocktail loaded with horseradish.

Nevertheless, some smell does come through. The interior smell of ISS
has been compared to a locker room, though different crewmembers report
different impressions.

It is hard to make the kind of equipment quiet and for it to stay that way.

shikakaa@gmail.com wrote:

Fortunately, in space the sense of smell is somewhat dulled by body fluids
redistributing themselves evenly throughout the body (instead of being
pooled by gravity), which clogs the sinuses a bit. It affects taste for
the same reason; astronauts tend to prefer spicier foods in space than
they would eat on the ground. The number one food item among NASA
astronauts is shrimp cocktail loaded with horseradish.

Nevertheless, some smell does come through. The interior smell of ISS has
been compared to a locker room, though different crewmembers report
different impressions.

The Russian segment is considerably noisier than the US segment, as it was
adapted from Mir designs without regard for US noise standards. Early
crews installed baffles on some equipment to muffle the sound but the dB
levels still exceed standards.