|
Personal
Habitat 2
Function:
Provide
Living Quarters for four crew
Sleeping Quarters
Washing Facilities
Toilet Facilities
Laundry
Bed Time
First
something to think about. In space simple things that you need
to do all the time become problems. List some (our list is
further down):
 Being
strapped to a board may seem a very uncomfortable way to spend
a night, but in weightless conditions this is the best way to
sleep. With no "right way up", you cannot "lie
down" to go to sleep. In order to simulate the usual sensation
of a bed, a board is used. Because there is no gravity pushing
you into it, it feels like a very soft mattress. You need to be
strapped in, because otherwise as you breathe out you will push
your mass across the cabin . So you will strap yourself
into a thin sleeping bag, attached to a board, with straps across
your head and chest to keep your head from moving and your arms
from floating out in front of you and accidentally knocking something.
You may want ear plugs to cut out the noise and an eye mask to
keep the light out - remember you will have 45 minutes of daylight
every hour and a half!
Would
you want to go to bed like this? Strapped in so you don't float
away. Skylab 3 Photograph
©
Image: NASA
Did
you come up with any of these?
Eating
Walking
Sleeping
Washing
Using the toilet
Getting dressed
In
this module you have been allocated your personal quarters, this
might have storage drawers, cupboards, a desk, and a bed - something
like a sleeping bag attached to one of the walls. You will experience
weightlessness on board the space station, so your body has no
real idea of "up" and "down" and all surfaces
can be used (walls, ceiling, floor are all as good as each other
for placing furniture). But remember this will also mean that
anything that isn't attached will float around. You have the choice
of a colour scheme to suit your own preferences.
Skylab
3: a hair cut - upsidedown or not? (top). Owen Garriott
trims the hair of commander Alan Bean. Note the vacuum hose to
collect the trimmings. Shaving: this is Commander Alan Bean on
Skylab 3 (lower). What happens to the floating stubble?
This was a problem because it floated around in the air for days
and got into everything! In the end the crews gave up shaving
- see image of the Skylab 4 crew with beards. But what if you
want a spacewalk? How well does a spacesuit fit a man with a beard?
Can you think of a solution to the shaving problem?
Women
are not exempt from the hair problems, either. Many women like
to have long hair. In space this floats at bizarre angles and
can become a work hazzard as well as just an inconvenience. Can
you come up with any solutions to the long hair problem, assuming
the lady doesn't want to wear a crewcut?
©
Images: NASA
Bath
Time
A bath
is out of the question, not only because of the amount of water
you would use, but also because it would float all around your
head as well as your body. You will take a space shower, which
uses much less water. These were developed for Skylab, the US
manned mission and require an enclosed shower cubicle which controls
the movement of the water droplets by blown air and vacuum pumps.
You require much less water to wash in under weightless conditions,
as the droplets stick to the skin better.
Even
the smallest room in space has to take into account weightlessness!
To go to the toilet there are two main points, keep yourself stuck
firmly to the seat (by using the seatbelt and handgrips) and make
sure the suction is working. There is no water flush, it is all
done by blown air and just the right amount of suction!
Each
habitat module has four crew quarters and a shared shower and
toilet.
What
does water do when it is not being held down by gravity?
Can you think of some problems washing and going to the toilet
could cause in the space station?
How do you think these have been solved?
 A
Space Toilet (right). Everthing must seal. The water is
recycled.
©
Image: NASA
A
Skylab Personal Hygiene locker with toothbrushes, electric razor,
toothpaste, and hand lotion. (left)
Project:
Make
a Space Washbasin
Make
a space washbasin from scrap materials. Try icecream tubs, plastic
drinks bottles, rubber gloves, atomiser sprays, clear moulded
packaging, duct tape.
Design
considerations:
- How
do you see what you are doing?
- How
do you get water in?
- How
do you get soap in?
- How
do you stop the water and soap spraying everywhere and drifting
away?
- How
do you collect the waste?
- How
do you dry your hands?
Remember,
you can't take your hands out and flick water everywhere. It would
drift around for days and may get into unwanted places such as
electrical systems.
Go
to Space Station 2020 Specification
Return
to title page
|
SPACE
STATION 2020 
