Unlike many astronauts, Sally Kristen Ride did not dream of going into space since childhood. She was already in her mid-twenties, completing her Ph.D. in physics, when the idea dawned. NASA was recruiting women to apply to become astronauts for a spacecraft that had not yet flown: the Space Shuttle. She was well prepared to seize the opportunity to become a scientist-astronaut in a new role called Mission Specialist. She had the academic credentials and the spirit to decide to apply, and the rest is history. Selected with five other women scientists in 1978, Sally Ride soon became the first U.S. woman to fly in space in 1983, on the seventh shuttle mission. The Soviets had sent a woman into orbit twenty years earlier during the Space Race to claim the first, but Sally Ride’s flight was the start of something different—a steady queue of women going to work in space. She made her second flight in 1984 with the first U.S. woman to do a spacewalk. Since those historic missions, women have performed all roles in space as scientists, engineers, operators of the robotic arm (she was the first), spacewalkers, pilots, and commanders. Sally Ride’s career and legacy extended well beyond her missions in space. Twice she served on the commissions appointed to investigate the causes and recommend remedies after the tragic losses of the Challenger and Columbia crews. She led a strategic planning effort for NASA that yielded the 1987 report Leadership and America’s Future in Space, and she served as the first chief of the new NASA Office of Exploration. After leaving NASA in 1987, Dr. Sally Ride became a full-time educator, first at the University of California and California Space Institute in San Diego, and later through her independent initiatives as an author and founder of Sally Ride Science, an organization dedicated to improving science education and encouraging young people, especially girls, to study science. Sally Ride became a national icon of women’s achievement in science and space in 1983.

Astronauts also exercise in space to maintain their health! Without gravity working on your body, your bones lose minerals, with density dropping at over 1% per month. By comparison, the rate of bone loss for a person who is elderly on Earth is from 1% to 1.5% per year. Even after returning to Earth, your bone loss might not be corrected by rehabilitation, so you could be at greater risk of osteoporosis-related fractures later in life. If you don’t exercise and eat properly, you will lose muscle strength, endurance, and experience cardiovascular deconditioning since it does not take effort to float through space. That means bone-loss and the workings of your heart may be seriously compromised.

Exercise in Space is meant to stimulate the lower body, from running to squats and deadlifts, as the largest percent of bone loss occurs in the pelvis and femurs. Astronauts use the machines for two hours a day to compensate for the other 22 hours in which they aren't experiencing physical activity.

Our atmosphere and magnetic fields protect us from radiation, how is this different in space? Space radiation is dangerous and one of the primary health risks for astronauts. Radiation is a form of energy that is emitted in the form of rays, electromagnetic waves, and/or particles. In some cases, radiation can be seen (visible light) or felt (infrared light), while other forms—like x-rays and gamma rays—are not visible and can only be observed with special equipment.

Radiation can be created by humans (microwaves, cell phones, radios, light bulbs, diagnostic medical applications such as x-rays) or naturally occurring (the Sun and stars). Radiation can be used from everything to warming up our food in the microwave to destroying the cancer in someone’s body. But in space there are different types of radiation that are much more extreme than what we feel here on Earth. Protected by our atmosphere, the radiation is mostly filtered out. Ever get a sunburn? You’ve experienced some radiation from the sun. Imagine what that would feel like when you’re outside the protection of the Earth’s atmosphere! OUCH!

Temperature is another concern. It is either very hot or very cold in space - Consider, for example, the International Space Station (ISS). Without thermal controls, the temperature of the orbiting Space Station's Sun-facing side would soar up to 250 degrees F (121 C), while thermometers on the dark side would plunge to minus 250 degrees F (-157 C). NASA scientists have had to figure out how to protect astronauts both in their spacesuits when doing a spacewalk and inside their spacecraft from the extreme heat and cold.

Waste Collection Systems (WCS) have been important to every space shuttle mission, and have been located in the middeck area of the shuttle. These toilets are specially designed to work in a zero-gravity environment. The first onboard toilets appeared in the Russian Soyuz spacecrafts in 1967. The Skylab space station, used by NASA between 1973-1974 had an onboard WCS facility as well. When creating the WCS, engineers had to design them for use in a zero-gravity environment (which a student potentially mentioned during the Complexities share out). Due to this, these toilets use air instead of water.

• The WCS has fan separators to create a vacuum for the bowl, urinal hose, and trashcan. Fans provide air to move liquid waste to the waste water tank. When the commode is in use, it’s pressurized and air flow is provided by fans. When not in use, it’s depressurized.

• The WCS has two body restraints: one that is a lap bar and the second acting more as a backup with velcro straps for the thighs. There are also two foot restraints.

• The urinal assembly consists of a funnel and flexible hose; each astronaut has their own funnel. The commode has a bag liner for collecting and storing solid waste; solid waste is held in the commode. Liquid waste enters a rotating chambia via the fan separator. The mixture first goes through a rotating impact separator that separates air from the liquid waste. The liquid then goes to the waste water tank.

• The WCS has several controls: the commode control handle, mode switch, fan separator selec switch, fan separator bypass switches, and the vacuum valve switches.

What about astronauts who are not inside of a station with a WCS? For extra-vehicular activites, astronauts wear Maximum Absorption Garments. This particular piece of equipment might look a little familiar. You might have seen it on your baby brothers or baby sisters, or any other baby for that matter. Astronauts often have to wear this Maximum Absorption Garment because spacewalks typically last more than six hours without a break. These allow the astronaut to use the restroom and therefore helps to maintain that they are able to drink water throughout the mission to stay fully-hydrated.