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Every five minutes of the astronauts\u2019 day is divided up by mission control on Earth.<\/p>\n
They wake early. At around 06:30 GMT, astronauts emerge from the phone-booth size sleeping quarter in the ISS module called Harmony.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has the best sleeping bag in the world,\u201d says Nicole Stott, an American astronaut with Nasa who spent 104 days in space on two missions in 2009 and 2011.<\/p>\n
The compartments have laptops so crew can stay in contact with family and a nook for personal belongings like photographs or books.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The astronauts might then use the bathroom, a small compartment with a suction system. Normally sweat and urine is recycled into drinking water but a fault on the ISS means the crew must currently store urine instead.<\/p>\n
Then the astronauts get to work. Maintenance or scientific experiments take up most time on the ISS, which is about the size of Buckingham Palace – or an American football field.<\/p>\n
\u201cInside it’s like many buses all bolted together. In half a day you might never see another person,\u201d explains Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, commander on the Expedition 35 mission in 2012-13.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople just don’t go zipping through the station. It\u2019s big and it’s peaceful,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The ISS has six dedicated labs for experiments, and astronauts wear heart, brain or blood monitors to measure their responses to the challenging physical environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re guinea pigs,\u201d says Ms Stott, adding that \u201cspace puts your bones and muscles into an accelerated ageing process, and scientists can learn from that\u201d.<\/p>\n
If the astronauts can, they work faster than mission control predicts.<\/p>\n
Mr Hadfield explains: “Your game is to find five free minutes. I would float to the window to watch something go by. Or write music, take photographs or write something for my children.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Nasa<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nCanadian astronaut Chris Hadfield was commander of the ISS in 2012-13<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
A lucky few are asked to do a spacewalk, leaving the ISS for the space vacuum outside. Mr Hadfield has done two. \u201cThose 15 hours outside, with nothing between me and the universe but my plastic visor, was as stimulating and otherworldly as any other 15 hours of my life.”<\/p>\n
But that spacewalk can introduce something novel to the space station – the metallic \u201cspace smell\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Earth we have lots of different smells, like washing machine laundry or fresh air. But in space there\u2019s just one smell, and we get used to it quickly,\u201d explains Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut, who spent eight days on the Soviet space station Mir in 1991.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Objects that go outside, like a suit or scientific kit, are affected by the strong radiation of space. \u201cRadiation forms free radicals on the surface, and they react with oxygen inside the space station, creating a metallic smell,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
When she returned to Earth, she valued sensory experiences much more. \u201cThere\u2019s no weather in space – no rain on your face and or wind in your hair. I appreciate those so much more to this day now,\u201d she says, 23 years later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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In between working, astronauts on long stays must do two hours of exercise daily. Three different machines help to counter the effect of living in zero gravity, which reduces bone density.<\/p>\n
The Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) is good for squats, deadlifts, and rows that work all the muscle groups, says Ms Stott.<\/p>\n
Crew use two treadmills that they must strap into to stop themselves floating away, and a cycle ergometer for endurance training.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
‘One pair of trousers for three months’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
All that work creates a lot of sweat, Ms Stott says, leading to a very important issue – washing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don’t have laundry – just water that forms into blobs and some soapy stuff,” she explains.<\/p>\n
Without gravity pulling sweat off the body, the astronauts get covered in a coating of sweat – “way more than on Earth”, she says.<\/p>\n
“I would feel the sweat growing on my scalp – I had to swab down my head. You wouldn’t want to shake it because it just would fly everywhere.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Nasa<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNicole Stott was on the ISS for 104 days<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
Those clothes become so dirty that they are thrown out in a cargo vehicle that burns up in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
But their daily clothes stay clean, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn zero-gravity, clothes float on the body so oils and everything else don\u2019t affect them. I had one pair of trousers for three months,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
Instead food was the biggest hazard. \u201cSomebody would open up a can, for example, meats and gravy,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody was on alert because little balls of grease drifted out. People floated backwards, like in the Matrix film, to dodge the balls of meat juice.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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At some point another craft might arrive, bringing a new crew or supplies of food, clothes, and equipment. Nasa sends a few supply vehicles a year. Arriving at the space station from Earth is \u201camazing\u201d, says Mr Hadfield.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a life-changing moment when you catch sight of the ISS there in the eternity of the universe – seeing this little bubble of life, a microcosm of human creativity in the blackness,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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After a hard day\u2019s work, it is time for dinner. Food is mostly reconstituted in packets, separated into different compartments by nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like camping food or military rations. Good but it could be healthier,\u201d Ms Stott says.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favourite was Japanese curries, or Russian cereal and soups,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Families send their loved ones bonus food packs. \u201cMy husband and son picked little treats, like chocolate-covered ginger,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The crew share their food most of the time. <\/p>\n
Astronauts are pre-selected for personal attributes – tolerant, laid-back, calm – and trained to work as a team. That reduces the likelihood of conflict, explains Ms Sharman.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just about putting up with somebody’s bad behaviour, but calling it out. And we always give each other metaphorical pats-on-the back to support each other,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Ria Novosti\/Science Photo Library<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nHelen Sharman is the UK’s first astronaut<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/888a\/live\/07aa5d70-71f0-11ef-b282-4535eb84fe4b.jpg.webp\")
NASA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n![\"Ria](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/9bc1\/live\/70d545d0-729a-11ef-b282-4535eb84fe4b.png.webp\")