Zane Allender 7th Hour 12/3/12 Ms.

Wolf All About Space Missions Im coming back in and its the saddest moment of my life. Ed White expresses his feelings after the end of the first American spacewalk on June 3rd, 1965. (21 Inspirational and Historic Space Quotes You Need to Know) Im sure many other astronauts, cosmonauts, and other space adventurers feel the same way. Man has been interested about space for a very long time, we have had a lot of history up there, and we have found ways to live up there, and sadly we have failed a few times. Before we ever went to space, we decided to send up animals. We first started sending our furry friends in the nineteen-forties. Obviously we couldnt retrieve many of them from space, many of those we did try to retrieve from space died upon re-entry. So it was a tough time for almost all of the animals we cruelly sent into space. However, if we hadnt sent them up, we wouldnt know many of the effects that space and weightlessness have on our bodies. I guess they unwillingly sacrificed themselves for science. (DK Space a Visual Encyclopedia) After all of the animals went into space, the Russians sent Yuri Gagarin up. He was the first recorded human in space. It was an enormous accomplishment for all of humanity

and especially Yuri Gagarin. Americans needed a way to catch up to the Russians in the Space Race. One book that not only inspired American astronauts but every American across the U.S. was From the Earth to the Moon. At the beginning of the American space age, NASA only allowed military pilots to be astronauts. This decision was wise because until technology simplified flying, they needed highly professional pilots to become astronauts. The most famous space NASA missions were the Apollo missions. Overall, there were seventeen Apollo missions. They were mostly successful, with a few failures, but the missions ended up setting twelve men on the moon. The famous Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. Which means they beat the Russians on putting a man on the moon, this was a confidence boost, as the Russians had the first man in space. Later on, the U.S. put the oldest man into space, U.S. Senator John Glenn, at the age of seventy-seven. (DK a Visual Encyopedia) Since humans were new to space, we had to learn how to properly and safely live in space. In the beginning astronauts had to suck flavored paste like food out of straws. We have now achieved the ability to give astronauts solid foods. It is carefully contained, to keep organized astronauts keep their meals in order of when they are going to eat them. If an astronaut wants to eat steaks or any other meal during their space mission, they have to expose the meat to radiation on Earth. The radiation causes the meat to last longer in space. Should the astronauts want flavored drinks they have to be mixed with water and a special

drink mix. Since they have to rehydrate each meal, it usually takes about twenty to thirty minutes to rehydrate and eat an average meal. Eating schedules dont change much in space, spacemen usually eat three meals and a few snacks throughout the day. Sadly, you cant taste too much of your meals in space, because you cannot smell the food. To counter act this, men and women in space add liquid pepper and salt to add flavor. In the tragic case of an emergency, Astronauts pack more than enough food; they pack up to three weeks of extra food for each person. Hopefully that would give Mission Control and NASA to get them help. Space explorers have to stay very clean and germ free throughout their mission, after all germs multiply in space. They have two options on cleaning themselves; they can either take sponge baths, or take showers in a big cylinder that is covered thoroughly by a plastic sleeve that protects water from escaping. If they choose the shower option, as Im sure many of them do, and then they spray themselves with a nozzle, like we do on Earth, then they use a vacuum hose to suck up all of the water. Astronauts change every piece of their clothes two days, except pants which they change every week. They cant reuse clothes. To dispose of them they put the clothes in plastic bags and then throw them into a container which will hold trash until it is full, and then it will be released into space. After meals, they clean their utensils, but compact food containers in a trash compactor. Astronauts have chores in space much like we do. Each man/women takes their turn cleaning the ship.

Since everything floats away in space, Astronauts have to strap pretty much everything down. When they want to eat they strap their plates utensils on a table which is probably strapped on too. They even have to strap themselves to the toilet. The toilets are very special, as they cost $19 million to make one. They use air instead of water to get rid of waste. In space, to keep blood flowing, they will work out, so they have to strap themselves onto a treadmill. Floating while youre sleeping can be dangerous; you could float into equipment or other things. So yet again, Astronauts strap themselves down, when they sleep they do so by a ventilator. The ventilator provides air while they are sleeping. Obviously living in space is a very careful and organized process. (How do Astronauts Eat in Space (and) Keeping Clean in Space) Although man has had many good memories and successes in space, there have been a few failures, some were even embarrassing, but all were sad. Apollo 1 took off on January 27, 1967. Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Chaffe all died due to a tragic fire during takeoff. The name Apollo 1 was officially assigned in commemoration of the crew. Soyuz 1 on the other hand had a successful mission until re-entry. The spacecraft crashed due to a mechanical problem on April 23, 1967. The Soyuz missions were Russias missions during the Apollo missions. Apollo 13 was maybe the most famous failure of all time, On April 11, 1970 the crew was supposed to land on the moon, however an oxygen tank ruptured disabling the command center. All of the crew members survived, thankfully. There was a movie made later, starring Tom Hanks, who said the famous lines; Houston, we have a

problem. The original line, spoken by Apollo 13 command pilot John Swigert, was Okay Houston, weve got a problem here. Another famous space related accident was Space Shuttle Challenger on June 28, 1986. It exploded 73 seconds after liftoff over the coast of Florida. A teacher as well as all other members on board, died. A more recent accident was the Mars Polar Lander on September 23, 1999. NASA lost a $125 million Mars Orbiter due to a mix-up over measurements. (Apollo 13 and other Famous Failed Space Missions) Many famous quotes have been spoken in space and about space. Many people remember Neil Armstrongs words when he touched foot on the moon, but not as many people remember when he said I didnt feel like a giant, I felt very very small as he stood on the Moon on July 1969. Chinas first Taikonaut, Yong Liwei, said The scenery was beautiful, but I did not see the Great Wall. NASA flight director was supposedly overheard saying failure is not an option during the Apollo 13 rescue mission. It was later revealed that he never said that or anything like that. (21 Inspirational and Historic Space Quotes you Need to Know) Man has just started exploring our very very big universe. We have had a long history in space, many breakthroughs on how to live up there, a few tragic failures, and quite a few famous quotes in space. We will never lose our interest in what is above and we will continue to explore the great vastness of space.