Astronauts stay on the ISS for up to 6 months to conduct various experiments. During their stay on the ISS they have to live in an environment which is very different from the Earth but they still have to do all routine activities such as eat and drink, keep clean, use the bathroom, exercise, and sleep. But due to zero gravity, astronauts do these activities in a different way than how it is done on the Earth!
The ISS gets resupplied every few months so astronauts have to use the supplies carefully. To take a bath, the astronauts squirt some drops of water on their skin and use no-rinse soap and shampoo. There is no water in the space toilets. The toilets use vacuum suction. Astronauts have to use leg restraints while using the toilets to make sure that they don’t float away. Getting water from Earth is very expensive so more than 90% of the water on board is recycled
The food sent to the space is dehydrated and packaged in special pouches which reduces its weight and preserves it for a long time. Even the beverages are packaged in pouches as dehydrated powders. Astronauts add water to the pouch through a special tube before drinking. In space, the salt and pepper are provided in a liquid form because in powder form it can simply float away!
Videos
Cooking in space:
Life in space:
Sleeping in space:
Shower in space:
Conversation Pointers
- How do you think the astronauts sleep in the space? Can they use our regular bed and mattress? (Answer: No, they sleep in a sleeping bag attached to the walls of the ISS)
- How do astronauts take bath in the space? (Answer: They use few drops of water and no-rinse soap and shampoo)
Curious Kids 
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