ESA - Lessons online - Life in Space

ESA astronaut Frank De Winne shows how the astronauts living on the International Space Station start their day in space. From brushing their teeth to using to the toilet, everyday tasks are not quite so straightforward in space.

Credits: ESA

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Keeping clean

Credits: ESA

Personal Hygiene

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Hygiene is important, even on the ISS

Credits: ESA

Teeth

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Sharp teeth in the front of your mouth are called incisors. Pointed teeth next to them are called canines and the wider teeth with bumps are called molars.

Credits: ESA

Experiment: effect of fizzy drinks on teeth

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If you have a tooth that has fallen out – like a milk tooth – place it in a glass with cola or another fizzy drink you normally would drink. Keep looking at it everyday for a week. What happens to it?

Credits: ESA, human spaceflight

Going to the bathroom on the ISS

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Instead of a flush toilet there is a suction tube which carries the waste away in an air stream down a hole. The solid gets compressed and stored for disposal later. The urine is connected and later recycled.

Credits: ESA

Eating and drinking on the ISS

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From on board the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk talk about how and what they eat and drink in space.

Credits: ESA

Space food

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Credits: ESA, human spaceflight, education, health, food, nutrition

Experiment: compare browning or spoiling of ripe fruit with a chemical inhibitor and air

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Experiment: exposing perishable food to air

Credits: ESA

Exercise and Fitness

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Astronauts living on the International Space Station need to exercise every day to counteract the effects of living in weightlessness. In this video, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne shows how the astronauts exercise in space.

Credits: ESA