Astronaut Ideas, Tips & Guides

Space research can take you to some odd places. Siberia isn’t known for being a hospitable environment, and cosmonauts used to go into space with a gun in case something went wrong with their re-entry and they wound up having to defence themselves from bears in a Siberian forest. Even so, Russia has built a new spaceport there (Vostochny Cosmodrome), to reduce dependency on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan.

This is a really fun video (12:24 long) from Adam Savage’s Tested series, in which a chef tries to help astronauts on the ISS eat nicer meals by combining foods they already have in stock. Chris Hadfield is their astronaut guinea pig, and demonstrates very effectively why it’s so hard to prepare meals in space!

Just about the entire northern hemisphere is in the grip of a prolonged heatwave, with wildfires raging and people dying. There’s disagreement on how much climate change is to blame, but a consensus that damaging heatwaves will become more frequent, and we really ought to do some planning for that now – changing the way that houses are built, and planting (and retaining) more trees and green spaces, for a start. Personally, I don’t do at all well in the heat. This week I have almost become a hermit, venturing outside only when entirely necessary. Ryan and I take it in turns to water the garden in the evening, and that’s pretty much all the attention it’s getting. I planted up a bed or basil and parsley on 11th July, and have just managed to keep some of the plants alive – one or two even look like they might be getting the hang of life now – but I have some climbing pea seedlings that really want to be planted out, but would scorch in about 5 seconds.

Header image: Terrae Novae destinations: Mars. Credit: ESA–Olivier Pâques

Header image: What makes more sense: Sending a human or a robot to Mars? Credit: Juergen Faelchle/Shutterstock.com

I’m gradually building a library of books about space, so when Tim Peake’s autobiography Limitless was published last year, I asked mum and dad to get it for me for Christmas. They duly did (thank you!), but when Covid cancelled Christmas, it meant I didn’t get my book for a couple of months. These things happen. 

Header image: Glenn, in the NASA mailroom, received letters from fans of all ages. John Glenn Archives, The Ohio State University, CC BY-ND

Welcome to Gardeners Off World! The big news for Seed Guardians of the Galaxy this week is that the apple pips Tim Peake took to space during his Principia mission to the International Space Station (ISS) have been nurtured into saplings that have just been assigned their forever homes.

Header image: India-Pakistan Borderlands at Night, NASA Earth Observatory, 2011.

What kind of traveller are you? Do you prefer to lie in a hammock slung between two palm trees, reading the latest blockbuster novel? Or would I find you soaking up the local culture along with the sun? I’m more of the latter, and it helps to know a smattering of the local language if you go off the beaten track!

On Saturday, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer shared a taste of home with the rest of the crew of the International Space Station (ISS). Maurer is from Saarland, a forested, southwestern German state. Saarland is named after the Saar River, a tributary of the Moselle, and Saarland is considered part of the greater Moselle wine region.

Continuing my research into which of NASA’s African American astronauts are space gardeners, I turned my attention to the second name on the (alphabetical) list: Guion Stewart Bluford Jr.

Header image: Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the International Space Station. NASA

Ah… summer. When the days are long and the sun is relentless and I wish I was on the International Space Station (ISS), which has a space-age climate control system to keep it nice and comfy. 

Header image: This lettuce produces a bone-stimulating hormone that could help stave off bone loss in space and on Earth. Image credit: Kevin Yates

There’s growing evidence that gardening on Earth has both physical and mental benefits. However, so far there has been little research into the psychological benefits of gardening in space. In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener explores anecdotal evidence that suggests we should ensure long-duration space missions pack a greenhouse module, and takes a peek at an ongoing study into whether growing plants helps astronauts endure the stresses of space travel.

In December 2021, NASA announced its latest group of astronaut candidates. They picked 10 people from 12,000 applicants:

We all know that spaceflight is tricky, and after 18 months of hearing about some amazing astrobotany successes, in this episode, Emma the Space Gardener looks into some space plant experiments that didn’t quite go according to plan. An astrobotanical blooper reel, if you like. 

I don’t know about you, but at the end of the day I really enjoy getting into bed and letting my whole body relax, feeling the weight of the covers and getting really cosy! But sleeping in space – without gravity – is a different kettle of fish altogether.

I was sowing some brassica seeds for the hydroponicum recently. It’s a fiddly job, they’re tiny seeds and I’m sowing them into wet compost plugs. If my fingers get wet then the seeds would rather stick to me than the compost! At one point I dropped a seed packet down onto the table, so I could wipe my hands, and it occurred to me that this simple task – a ritual gardeners on Earth do so often – would be impossible in space.

Header image: The Artemis II mission will send four astronauts on a flyby of the Moon. NASA

The UK Space Agency has announced that Tim Peake is stepping down as an active European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and taking on an ambassadorial role for space.

In 2013, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins was on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Expedition 37/38. He’d launched in a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy. 

Header image: The Artemis II crew in an Orion simulator at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA/James Blair

Have you heard of the astronaut space salad? Hint: it’s exactly what you think it might be. This expertly designed combination of foods was created to offer space pioneers a balanced, nutritious meal while also being delicious. Learn what makes this salad unique, plus how you can reap its benefits at home (no spaceship required).