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Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut who was the first Canadian to walk in space. A former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot, Hadfield has flown two space shuttle missions. On 19 December 2012, Hadfield launched in the Soyuz TMA-07M flight for a long duration stay on board the ISS as part of Expedition 35. He arrived at the station on 21 December, as scheduled, and became the first Canadian to command the ISS when the crew of Expedition 34 departed. Cmdr. Hadfield was described as "perhaps the most social media savvy astronaut ever to leave Earth" by Forbes after building a considerable audience on social media, including over 500,000 Twitter followers As of March 2013, and has been enlightening many readers and viewers about what it means to live in space, including simple acts such as shaving, brushing your teeth or just crying. Here are some of the most fascinating lessons this astronaut floating above the sky has to show us! |
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Chris explains how a kitchen works on the International Space Station. |
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How do you clean spills in outer space? |
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How a simple act of brushing your teeth is quite different on the space station. |
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Can you cry in outer space? |
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Question: What time zone do you live by? Do you switch off the lights at "night"?
We live on Greenwich time, UTC, same as London, England. We shut of most lights at bedtime - it feels right to do it.
Question: How long does it take for you to orbit around the Earth?
ISS orbits the world every 92 minutes, so that makes it 8 km/sec, or 500 km/minute - 28,000 km/hr. Or about Mach 25.
Question: Have you done any space walks? If so, what was it like?
I was Canada's first spacewalker, doing two to help build the mighty Canadarm2 robot onto ISS. It was the most magnificent experience of my life. Alone in a 1-person spaceship (my suit), just holding on with my one hand, with the bottomless black universe on my left and the World pouring by in technicolor on my right. I highly recommend it.
Question: You tweet a lot. When do you find the time?
The priorities are crew health, vehicle health, work/science & then personal pursuits; I take photos, tweet & play guitar when I can!
Question: How long does the mission last?
I'm in orbit, working onboard ISS for 5 months, until mid-May 2013.
Question: What are your personal quarters like on the ISS?
I'm typing now in my 'Sleep Station', a small padded room with a door, completely private, like a bedroom without the bed, and phone booth sized.
Question: How often do you exercise on the ISS?
We work out 2 hours per day, every day, just to stay at a constant level of fitness to be ready to do a spacewalk, and to have strong bones and muscles when we come home.
Question: How long did it take you to learn how to maneuver in zero gravity? Are you much better at it now than when you originally came aboard the ISS?
I'm still learning! But sometimes now, I am graceful. I feel like an adapted ape swinging through the jungle canopy ... until I miss a handrail and crash into the wall.
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