02. How does the crew know what activities and work assignments they have to do each day? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

In Mission Control in Houston, there is a console position manned by the flight activities officer (FAO). The FAO, together with staff support specialists, keeps track of mission progress as compared to the activities scheduled for the day or shift. The FAO coordinates with the principal investigators or scientists/technologists involved with various mission tasks or objectives as well as with the operations specialists for maintenance, repairs and tasks associated with keeping spacecraft systems functioning properly. In the olden days (Mercury, Gemini, Apollo—including Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz—and the early Shuttle), we got a printed list for each crewmember, listing his or her work schedule for the day. Also included in this scheduled list were mealtimes, exercise (if appropriate) and sleep periods. Nowadays, the crewmembers usually get electronic updates to their laptop computers. This is much more efficient than the earlier technique described above. Don't worry! The FAO will keep you busy.

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Answer provided by Col. USAF (Ret.) William R. Pogue

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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