• Question: what does it feel like when you are in space , and do you ever have practise missions , if so how do you prepare.

    Asked by s1377 to Kevin, Katie, Jon, Jean-François, Floris, Delma, Claudie, Camilla, Beth, Adrian on 1 Jan 2016. This question was also asked by E.T phone home, jemma1802, chloe2000, jordanhalcomb67, iaaukadmin, eleanor1234.
    • Photo: Adrianos Golemis

      Adrianos Golemis answered on 1 Jan 2016:

      Hey, s1377, happy new year! Haven’t been in space (yet) unfortunately, so i can only imagine what it would feel like. I guess it would feel awesome on a psychological level as with any new adventure where you cross your limits. In the same time it would also feel challenging since astronauts have to live in low gravity conditions as well as in isolation – and these affect their bodies quite a lot. Some astronauts have been known to experience a boost in their psychology because of being able to float around in space and seeing our planet from up above while simultaneously producing high quality scientific work that improves living conditions on the Earth.

      Yes, astronauts do have practice missions almost on every aspect that they will face. This is often done in places called “space analogues”. Astronauts train underwater for low gravity, they study in order to conduct scientific experiments and they learn to fly their capsule in space. They also train to cooperate optimally with other crew members and to endure the hardships of life in isolation and away from family and friends.

    • Photo: Delma Childers

      Delma Childers answered on 3 Jan 2016:

      Hi s1377! Like Adrian, I’ve never been to space. However, I have been on a parabolic flight which lets you experience weightlessness for about 22 seconds at a time (11 minutes total per flight). Some fliers are disoriented by the feeling of weightlessness, but the group I went with (we were conducting an experiment on the flight) all did really well and loved the experience! Two of our fliers who are scuba-trained related it to the feeling of deep sea diving, where there’s no real sense of up or down. I was perfectly comfortable sitting on the ceiling or wall of the airplane as the floor during weightless moments (and if my eyes were closed, I would have sworn I was sitting on the floor if I was sitting on the ceiling – it really takes away your sense of up/down).

    • Photo: Claudie Haignere

      Claudie Haignere answered on 25 Jan 2016:

      Without weight, freely moving, freefloating, slowly moving, with real 3D perception and a lot of freedom, with a new brain and body’s potentialities.

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