Final Project

Preetha K.

Legislator:  Talmadge L. Heflin, Representative

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The cameras flashed rapidly as I crossed the boardwalk leading into the space shuttle. As I approached the entrance, I turned around and gave the crowd one last confident wave and irresistible smile. And then before I knew it, Mission Control was cackling over the intercom, running over last minute instructions and starting the pre-flight drill. As the countdown started, my mind wandered back to when NASA was trying to pick the first kid to go into space. "Astronaut must be in excellent physical condition, must have a bachelor’s degree in science, math, or engineering and have at least 1000 hours of experience in a jet aircraft." My resume read (to the disgust of the NASA administrator) does ok in high school, really liked physics, and has lifetime experience playing jet video games. With qualifications like that, its no wonder I got picked. I never realized how much time and effort was devoted to training before the flight. Particular importance was placed on how I would far psychologically in space. Concerns they stressed upon me were loneliness and boredom. “I’ll be fine,” I said, a bit exasperated.  It’s not like I was going on some boring road ship. I’m leaving the planet for goodness sake!  

"3,2,1 LIFTOFF!" Five minutes later, I was in space. Wow, I thought to myself as I caught my first glimpse of Earth. I, like the astronauts before me, was captivated by the excellent view of our planet from the window. As I stared awestruck at the blue glob that was my home, I faintly recalled how mortified I was when the NASA administration had informed me that one of the sacrifices involved in going on this mission was to go without a TV. "Well gosh," I pleaded with a crazed look on my face. "If we left some of the food on Earth or a couple for those pesky experiments, I'm sure we can squeeze in a TV!" This view, I grudgingly admitted to myself, might be just a little better than TV. I passed an hour or two of my life just staring at our wonderful planet, noting the different colored continents, the lightening flashes that would light up the clouds, all the countless fires and even the Northern Lights. One thing that was real obvious from up here was the effect/impact humans have been having on the planet Earth, for example the effects of pollution and erosion. My favorite part of the whole experience was watching the sunsets and sunrises. Even if by some odd luck you should blink and completely miss the sunrise, never fear because it occurs every 45 minutes. It was not soon after seeing 3 such sunrises that I became personally acquainted with the monotony of space. “It’s not all that it’s cracked up to be,” I muttered to myself. While in space, astronauts are responsible for tending to any onboard experiments as well as performing basic household tasks. To the astronaut, even picking up trash is a fun-filled, adventurous task. Sighing to myself, I realized that I would have to find some way to amuse myself quickly or else this spaceship would turn out to be the cleanest looking one in the galaxy. As my eyes scanned the perimeter, an exercise bike caught my attention. As if struck by some divine inspiration it dawns me that perhaps I should exercise.

After all, I reasoned to myself, those NASA people said something about it being good for you or something. Oh yes, I said as I recalled the effects of zero gravity on the body. Apparently (at this point in the flight it seems that I had adopted the practice of carrying on lengthy conversations with myself) the lack of gravity takes quite a toll on the body. It can result in bone, muscle, and red cell loss. I shuddered as an image of Slimer, the Ghostbuster ghost, flooded my mind. This particular exercise bike served a dual purpose. Pedaling it, of course, strengthened the cardiovascular system. Pedaling the bike was also turning a circle, which was creating, through a centrifugal effect, a light form of gravity. This gravity provided resistance for the muscles. As I was biking I happily imagined that I was biking through the Amazon and that the fate of the world rested on whether I could complete 5 miles. 3 miles later, I once again got bored and looked around for something else to amuse myself. Another innovative machine that caught my attention was the horizontal treadmill, which used vacuum pressure to make the lower body feel heavier than its Earth weight. This wonderful contraption exercised both the muscles and the cardiovascular system and brought the blood and fluids to the lower body.

Hmm, maybe in a hour, I thought as I passed up the treadmill. NASA had earnestly pleaded with me to adopt a new language or take up a study course while on the mission. I had passionately objected to any ideas involving schoolwork of any kind. They seemed oblivious to my loathing of learning however, and had forced me to take some reading on a favorite subject of mine, Greek mythology. Thankfully, I grabbed a book and curled up in my most comfortable floating position and got to reading. An hour or 2 later,

I was once again on the search for something fun and exciting to do. I could write letters to my family, I mused to myself. After all I don’t want to get the Russian asthemia where I become all anti social and introverted and such. As I fished around for a pencil, a videotape caught my eye. Awww I thought as I read the title. My family, upon NASA’s request, had made a film featuring themselves in the event that I got homesick. As I played the tape, I happily gazed at an hour’s worth of my family’s many goofy antics, realizing right then that I missed them more than I had wanted to admit.  Now don’t get me wrong. My brother was doing some pretty embarrassing things that made me thankful for the 20,000-mile distance between us. But generally speaking, I missed them like crazy.

Suddenly I heard a doorbell ring, signaling that I had arrived at Mars.  Whew, I thought relieved to be out of the crapped spacecraft. Thank goodness the trip only lasts a day. I don’t know what those people back in the day were thinking if they actually thought they could survive a 6-month trip to Mars. Thank goodness we’re not so primitive and that our technology can get us to Mars within a day. I leaped around and played for a while on the Martian surface. The planet was getting ready to house a colony and water and oxygen were already being produced. A second doorbell signaled that my frolicking time had drawn to an end and that now it was time to return to Earth. Returning to Earth is sometimes harder and easier than actually leaving for a mission. In one respect, you’re excited about your upcoming destination. Leaving Mars meant that the mission/adventure was over. In another respect, leaving also meant that you’re coming back home and returning to family and friends. I was of course thankful for the opportunity to embark on this daring adventure. But as I stared at the green plant that NASA had specifically said would help keep me “rooted” and listened to my “Earth music” I realized that no matter how far I travel, no matter where in the universe I venture to go, there really is no place like home.

Sources:

http://tv.cbc.ca/national/pgminfo/space/livingspace.html

http://tv.cbc.ca/national/pgminfo/space/livingpsych.html

http://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/kids/L&W/window.htm

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/qanda.html

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/ops/crew/letters/linenger/index.html

Last Updated: 09/07/01