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6 months without a shower or bath?
No problem, astronaut tells youngsters
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, told students at Kingston Community
School in South Australia that keeping oneself clean in space is not that
much of a problem, despite the lack of a shower or bathtub.
During a September 10 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) school group contact, Fincke suggested that no one will run the
other way when he and ISS Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka, RN3DT,
return to Earth - even though neither will have had a real bath or shower
during their six-month stay. The ISS crew washes up instead using wet
towels and special shampoo, Fincke explained.
"We have some special space shampoo that doesn't require water,
and it does a pretty good job," Fincke said. "So at the end
of the mission, even though it's six months without a bath, we're still
pretty good, and we don't smell too bad." Fincke said keeping clean
is important, but the crew
doesn't really get that dirty to start with. He also said he keeps his
hair very short to make it easy to shampoo.
As for space food - it's "pretty good," he said, responding
to another favorite question. But the astronauts can't just pop into the
kitchen when they feel hungry and grab a cold drink from the fridge or
whip up something on the stove.
"Now, we don't have a refrigerator, and we don't have any kind of
oven or a microwave, but we can warm up our food," he explained.
Meals - there's both American and Russian cuisine aboard - come dehydrated,
and the astronauts just add water and wait a few minutes for a food warmer
to do its job. Fincke said he and Padalka also take advantage of mealtime
to discuss their activities.
"We certainly enjoy three meals a day, and that's the time when
the commander and I, we have a chance to talk about our day and go over
our plans," Fincke said, "so mealtime is one of my favorite
times."
One topic they've likely been discussing the past few days has been recurring
problems with the space station's primary oxygen-generation system. Russian
engineers on the ground spent last weekend analyzing the intermittent
problem. NASA says the crew is in no danger, however.
The Elektron oxygen system initially shut down September 8. It works by
separating water into oxygen for ISS use and hydrogen, which is vented
overboard.
International Space Station Amateur Radio Club NN1SS in Greenbelt, Maryland,
served as the Earth station for the contact with NA1SS in space. A two-way
teleconference link, donated by MCI, made it possible for the students
to ask questions and hear Fincke's replies. Dave Taylor, W8AAS, served
as the control operator at NN1SS.
ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Mark Steiner, K3MS,
assisted. ARISS veteran Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, worked with Kingston Community
School to make arrangements for the contact.
ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation
from ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The
American Radio Relay League
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