06. Before going to space, how could we prepare ourselves for survival in the space environment? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

To prepare for going into space, we need to make sure we are in good physical condition, healthy, and familiar with all the technologies and systems aboard our spacecraft. This means training, training, and more training. It also means simulations. Much of the training astronauts go through involves simulations of the micro-gravity of space. For example, astronauts train in a special airplane called the "vomit comet" which can create 30 to 40 seconds of near weightlessness at a time. This way they can get a little taste of what space travel will feel like and how different it will be to live and work there. They also train for spacewalks in the world's largest swimming pool, called the neutral buoyancy laboratory in Houston, Texas. This pool is about the size of a four-story building. In it, astronauts neither sink nor float, but can work hovering in the water, somewhat like hovering in the micro-gravity of space.

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Answer provided by Brad McLain & Liv Arnesen

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

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