There are a number of daily chores, activities and trifles that require a distinct amount of care and attention when in space that are inversely proportional to the care the same activities require back on Earth. In a recently released video Chris Hadfield, the commander of the Expedition 35 crew now living aboard the International Space Station (ISS), explains just how astronauts manage to brush their teeth in zero gravity.
Zero gravity actually doesn’t refer to a null gravitational force, but is actually an apparent weightlessness occurring when the centrifugal force on a body exactly counterbalances the gravitational attraction on it. Still, zero gravity can be a real hassle to humans, especially for those living for long period of time in this condition like astronauts aboard the ISS. Loss of muscle tissue, bodily fluids abnormalities and loss of vision are just a few effects of long term zero gravity exposure. You can’t even cry…
ISS astronauts have also showed us in the past how water ballons behave in zero gravity or how to play baseball with yourself.
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