Astronauts grow different kinds of plants on the ISS These plants will later produce flowers above An astronaut works with growing equipment on the ISS below The lettuce and other vegetables grown on the ISS don’t just help nourish the astronauts The ISS vegetable gardens are part of an experiment Scientists want to find the best ways to grow foods in space because the United States hopes to send astronauts on a three-year round-trip journey to Mars A spaceship on its way to Mars a journey of millions of miles couldn’t be resupplied by cargo ships Instead astronauts would have to rely on stored packaged foods and vegetables grown on board 6
OUT OF THIS WORLD Astronauts in space face a dangerous journey Powerful rockets blast capsules holding astronauts into orbit Even a small mechanical failure or human miscalculation can cause an explosion during launch The ISS and other spacecraft are safe havens for astronauts with supplies of food and oxygen but only if all systems are working properly One mishap anything from an oxygen leak to a collision with space debris can spell doom for an astronaut crew And the trip back home is a bumpy fiery journey through Earth’s atmosphere requiring split-second decision making for a safe landing More than twenty astronauts have been killed in accidents before or during space travel Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti smiles for the camera aboard the ISS left The station is packed full of complex systems that astronauts must maintain to stay safe and complete their missions above
The sixteen long brown bars that stick out from the ends of the ISS are solar panels for collecting energy from the sun above From space Earth can be a beautiful sight left Most astronauts say that the joys of space travel make all the risks worthwhile From space astronauts have a breathtaking view of Earth They can see swirling clouds vast expanses of blue oceans sprawling cities and varied land formations And astronauts in space become familiar with something that few humans ever experience weightlessness or zero gravity In space astronauts do not feel the pull of Earth’s gravity In space there is no up or down 8
This astronaut is having fun with some fruit in space Objects that would be impossible for a person to lift on Earth weigh nothing in space Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield who has made several visits to the ISS describes the magical experience You can move huge objects with the flick of a wrist hang upside down from the ceiling like a bat tumble through the air like an Olympic gymnast You can fly 9
