17. What do space hotels need that Earth hotels don't have? Is there anything fun or special to know about space hotels? (A K2S Question)
From The Space Library
Space hotels need many things that we take for granted on Earth, but cannot live without—like enough water; oxygen; air pressure; systems that regulate temperature, humidity and provide radiation protection; instruments that help with guidance and navigation; power generated from solar energy; and computers that process data and allow you to write e-mails or call home. Space hotels also need to have special designs that take advantage of the unique conditions in space, like weightlessness, and spectacular views of Earth, the Moon, and the stars. Guests will have to be considerate of other people—everything you put down will move around the space station. Guests will have to learn how to walk in the hotel by planning the trip and pushing off a wall, a piece of equipment or apparatus. The space hotel will be small and noisy, the air and temperature have to be moved around mechanically and odors will have to be filtered out. All of this creates noise. Space hotels will need life support systems; they will need special ways to remove garbage and waste—even human waste—and they will have scrubbers to remove moisture and carbon monoxide. They will have navigational, communication, and propulsion systems on board. Space hotels will be equipped with spacesuits for a walk outside the module.
Answer provided by Robert T. Bigelow
Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer
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