Unit 7 Section 1 Reading

Life in space

It was the proudest moment of my life. We were waiting for instructions from ground control. The minutes seemed like hours. Finally, we took off. We were travelling so fast—it only took about 10 minutes to get into orbit. At first, it was a shock to my body. I wasn't feeling great. However, I soon adjusted and felt better. At last, we reached the space station—my new home for a while! Let me tell you what life in space is like.

Eating in space

I used to worry about the food in space. But in fact we can choose from many types of food, such as fruit, nuts, chicken, beef and seafood. We have different types of tea, juice and soup as well. It turns out that eating can be a pleasure in space too!

Working in space

We are very busy every day. Being an astronaut is hard because you do not experience gravity when you are in orbit. Everything floats, including you, so simple tasks seem harder and take longer to do. When we go outside, we have to move very carefully. We can't afford to make any mistakes, so it can be stressful sometimes. However, it is an amazing experience to go outside the space station in a spacesuit. The view of the Earth is great!

Sleeping in space

Just like on Earth, I go to bed at a certain time. However, I sleep in a sleeping bag in a small room, and I have to stick my sleeping bag to the wall. This stops me from floating around the room and hitting something by mistake!

Exercising in space  

Exercise is an important part of our daily routine in space. When we live in space, we start losing muscle. Exercise can slow down the muscle loss. If we do not exercise, we will be very weak when we return to the Earth. Luckily, we have a small gym on the space station to help us stay fit. However, the exercise equipment is very different from what we use on Earth.