CAC - Noticias

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Did you know that¿on 2nd November 2000 the International Space Station receive his first three tenants Posted: 31 Oct 2012 01:00 AM PDT 12 years ago the International Space Station receive his first permanent equipment formed for  Bill Sheperd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev. The construction of the Station was initiated in 1998 and represents a collaboration between the NASA (from the USA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Japanese Space Exploration Agency, and the Brazilian Space Agency. 16 countries are now working on the project. It is the size of a football pitch (108 metres long by 80 metres wide), and contains six laboratories in which up to seven astronauts carry out experiments and research in the fields of biology, medicine, materials, etc. The Space Academy of the Science Museum reproduces the three basic stages in preparing a launch to the International Space Station (ISS) itself. Visitors are guided by the voice and image of the astronaut Pedro Duque as they get to know the space laboratory, the launch lift, and the shuttle service that affords access to the space flight simulator. The entire trip takes the public through different environments in which they experience the same feelings as the astronauts with real images and even movements. They will get to know various areas including the antechamber of the launching ramp, the lift, and the metallic footbridge by which the spaceship is reached. Furthermore, they will also share the unique experience of what a space launch entails, including the journey, the visit to the European space laboratory of the ISS, and the subsequent return to Earth. Visitors thus become familiar with the fact of weightlessness, the everyday objects used by the astronauts, and the scientific experiments they carry out. The International Space Station is at an altitude of 400 kilometres and travels at a speed of 7.7 km per second; at night it is visible from the Earth with the naked eye as a bright fixed point in contrast to the sparkling stars that crosses the whole of the horizon in about five minutes. The duration of the space missions generally ranges from one week to six months, although some astronauts have been in space for more than a year. Almost all the water that is consumed at the ISS for drinking and cooking has to be taken there from Earth. However, water is also recycled whenever possible; for example, up to 24 litres of water are extracted daily from the ambient air and it is even obtained from urine after purification. Every 24 hours at the ISS there are 16 dawns and 16 dusks, owing to which its crew members usually sleep eight hours at the end of each day. Spacewalks may last a long time; some astronauts have spent up to 9 hours outside the spaceship. When the astronauts return to Earth they are very tired and sometimes feel dizzy or even faint. Their muscles and bones have weakened and their hearts have to work overtime to pump their blood through their bodies. For some time they tend to have problems standing up, walking, turning at corners, and keeping their balance. If they close their eyes they may fall over and they even find it hard to sleep. Some astronauts mention that after months back on Earth they have let a cup go in the air and have been surprised to see it fall to the ground.

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