HREE decades ago, man set foot on the moon, in the process severing the umbilical cord that had kept him tied to Mother Earth ever since he came into existence. And now mankind has undertaken another equally momentous leap. Earlier this month, one American and two Russian astronauts inhabited the International Space Station (ISS) some 370 km above the earth for a four-month stay, an endeavour which may eventually lead to a permanent human presence in the heavens. The ISS will be the ideal springboard for future mission to the moon and Mars. Small wonder that the event is being described as “independence day” for space flight. This was the culmination of many such experiments during the past three decades. The Soviet Union has maintained manned space stations for long and the USA had Skylab in the early 1970s. What makes the International Space Station different is that it is truly permanent in nature, is much larger in size and scope and is an
international project with one-time rivals America and Russia and 14 other nations taking part. These include Canada and Japan and 11 participating member nations of the European Space Agency - Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Brazil and Italy have signed on as payload participants. Rotating crews will remain aboard the station for at least 15 years. During this period, cutting edge research will be carried out that could lead to the colonisation of space within 20
years. Hopefully, these chosen men will continue to work up there in total harmony, no matter what happens on the earth.
American commander William Shepherd (51) and Russian Yuri Gidzenko and Sergein Krikalev trained for nearly five years for this pioneering project. Their Expedition One mission was delayed by more than two years because of Russia’s economic problems.
The 13-storey structure is a marvel of 21st-century technology. It was assembled bit by bit over the past several years. Construction in orbit began in November, 1998, with the launch of Zarya, the functional cargo block from Russia, on a Russian Proton rocket. About 45 launches - 36 by US space shuttles and nine by unmanned Russian rockets — will be required to complete the facility by 2006. By then it will have a wingspan (end-to-end width) of 108.5 metres (356 ft), length of 88.4 metres (290 ft) and a height of 43.6 metres (143 ft). It will be powered by almost an acre of solar panels and may weigh as much as 4,53,600 kg. There will be living space for up to seven astronauts and scientists. The largest man-made structure in space circling the earth every 90 minutes will be one of the brightest objects in the night-time sky.
Basically it is a complex of six state-of-the-art laboratories in the weightless environment of earth orbit. To give it the feel of a home, Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalev named it “Alpha” within a few hours of moving in, despite the fact that the NASA administrator had only recently announced that the station did not need a name, at least not yet. (In a naughty move, they sought permission to call it Alpha only on reaching there, with hundreds of space officials listening in.)
Life in the outpost may appear glamorous but it is anything but that. The total area is equivalent to a pair of football fields placed side by side. The pressurised volume of the station is no more than 1303 cubic metres (46,000 cubic ft), roughly equivalent to the space inside two Boeing 747 jumbo jets. Day-to-day life there can be a cramped, claustrophobic affair. The dwelling space in the $ 60 billion station is smaller than a one-room apartment. There is only one tiny bathroom, which does not offer the inhabitants the luxury of shower but they do have soap - which lathers up pretty good and you have to simply wipe it off.
NASA says the bathroom also contains a urinal, an odour and bacteria filter and a vacuum vent. The commode has a “single multilayer hydrophobic porous bag liner” for collecting and storing solid waste. The urinal assembly is a flexible hose with attachable funnels for males and females.
Since there is no washing machine abroad, used trousers - changed weekly — socks, shirts and underwear — changed every two days — are sealed in airtight plastic bags. So are garbage and trash. Non-recyclable items will be put on either a Russian return vehicle, which will totally disintegrate on re-entering the earth’s atmosphere, or one of US shuttles, which will bring it all back to earth for disposal.
There is no home cooking in the space dwelling. Astronauts add water to the dehydrated food and heat it with a food warmer and not a food cooker. Half the food available is Russian; served in a can. Half is from the USA and is served in a bag. The meals are rotated. Many US astronauts had never tasted borscht before going on the mission. If it is any consolation, the Russian astronauts had never eaten pudding before. The US programme does not offer wine with dinner. An unofficial rumour is that at least the Russian do have some vodka with them.
During the first few weeks, the crew has a tremendous amount of unpacking to do, like a typical family which has moved house. Tons of supplies and hardware clog the narrow corridors of the station. The three astronauts had to eat their first meal by hand because they could not locate forks, spoons or knives.
Station crews can watch movies and listen to music. Soon enough they will be able to phone home.
But living in weightless conditions poses a litany of problems, which go way beyond mundane affairs like your food and personal hygiene. Weightlessness makes human body lose muscle and bone mass rapidly. Thighs and calves get thinner because fluid redistributes itself. Faces get puffy. Then there is space adaptation syndrome, a form of motion sickness found only in space flight. At least two hours of strenuous exercise is absolutely essential to ward off the ill effects. The reward for all the hard work? Fantastic view of the earth from the window and experiencing 16 sunrises a day.
Even more daunting are psychological challenges. Living in close proximity with strangers for four or more months can bring about tremendous stress. Isolation, loneliness, bickering and habits of colleagues get on your nerves. Teams can become divisive, even hostile. Anger, jealousy, anxiety and depression evolve, which in extreme cases can even compromise mission goals. It will be closely watched how the astronauts unwind themselves and cope with mood variations. Incident-ally, Gidzenko is a replacement for a veteran Russian cosmonaut who refused to work under Shepherd who has no space experience. Krikalev is one of the world’s most experienced spacemen.
Nature poses big challenges. Last week, a severe solar radiation storm prompted NASA to order the astronauts to take shelter in a heavily shielded Russian-built section of the station. Such storms do not pose a health risk to people on the ground but can do so beyond earth’s magnetic field and its atmosphere. Many such hazards await future space travellers.
Most of the experimentation aboard the space station is aimed at gaining insight into intricacies of deeper space exploration in the future. But in the initial stages the focus will be on gathering hands-on information on maintaining the mission itself. Scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs will get a chance to perform complex, long-duration and replicable experiments in a unique environment. Above all, it will be a sociological experiment, a “city in space”, which will learn to live and work “öff planet”.
At the same time research will be undertaken in many fields like geophysics, fluid physics and biotechnology which can yield many practical applications. Better drugs could be developed. Ways may be found to achieve cleaner combustion, less soot and healthier air.
On February 2 next year, the crew will be replaced by a team of two Americans and a Russian commander. Crew command will continue to pass between the two nations throughout the construction phase of the station’s life.
