“Is it cold when you go to the toilet on the Space Shuttle?” asked a little voice at the back of the Victoria Girls High School hall. The questioner was doing following up NASA astronaut, Don Thomas’ explanation on how in the absence of gravity, large fans in the toilet bowl have to suck waste downwards. Otherwise . . .
Thomas said that in all the years that had been giving talks in schools and public events, he had never been asked that question – but no, the fans did not make it particularly cold. It was however, necessary to slip your feet under straps while sitting on the toilet to avoid floating upwards.
The American former astronaut, who had made four space flights on two different Shuttles, spoke at three different schools in Grahamstown about what it is like to live and work in space. On Wednesday evening he spoke at Victoria Girls High school and then on Thursday he addressed pupils at Oatlands School and Nombulelo Secondary.
A fascinating speaker who retains his enthusiasm and ‘wow’ feeling of someone who has just returned to our atmosphere even though he has delivered his talk hundreds, if not thousands of times over the last twenty years or so.
His talk was full of interesting vignettes like how everything you eat is freeze-dried and has to be ‘revived’ at an eating station, how liquids form a ball in the air that you can just gulp down or sip through a straw.
He told the rapt audience how in order to type on a laptop, you have to anchor your feet onto a vertical bar, or deal with your feet flaying around. Remember, every action has an equal and opposite reaction – so as your fingers act on a keyboard, your feet have an equal and opposite reaction.
Did you know that when astronauts sleep in space they cross their arms to stop them floating around and possibly entangling some equipment or blocking the passage? They just clip their sleeping bags to a flat surface, climb in and then fold their arms.
Did you know that astronauts and spacecraft make extensive use of Velcro – because you can’t just put something down? It will float away, so they stick everything down to a fixed surface or to their space suits with Velcro.
An unexpected story about life on the shuttle should not really be surprising. Thomas said that when they return to earth and the ground staff open the hatches they have to hold their collective breaths because after being in a confined space for about two weeks, their interior of the spacecraft stinks.
Who would have guessed.
Nombulelo learners ended the term with a big bang as former NASA astronaut, Dr Don regaled them with stories of his 4 visits to space and some of his struggles on route to becoming and astronaut, in his talk entitled “Overcoming obstacles and reaching for the stars.”
Dr Thomas also gave a public address at VG on Wednesday evening.
These talks were facilitated by Steve Sherman of the Living Maths foundation
Likhaya Mangcongo in grade 9 had a taste (or rather didn’t) of drinking in zero gravity.
