Can You Relate To The Life of an Astronaut?

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Space is pretty amazing right? I often find myself gazing up at the night sky, at the beauty of the stars and at the glow of the moon taking in its mysterious beauty. But have you ever wondered what it would really be like travelling into space and rather than gazing up at the moon, standing on it staring straight back at Earth!?

A pretty amazing thought, right? Which made me think what would life really be like as an astronaut and does my day to day life have any comparisons with that of an astronaut?

One thing I am sure I can relate to is the lack of sleep. Sleep is so important for both astronauts and us mums! We need to be in peak condition and health to tackle the tasks ahead and that starts with a good night's sleep. Of course to get a good nights sleep we have to be comfortable and a good mattress and pillow can make all the difference.

You may have heard of TEMPUR® for producing some of the most comfortable pillows and mattresses around but did you know that TEMPUR® was first created by Nasa in the 1970's to cushion astronauts during lift-off as they journeyed into space. Now of course TEMPUR® material is used to make mattresses and pillows that evenly distribute weight and pressure, ensuring a comfortable night’s sleep. 

TEMPUR® material lies at the core of all of their mattresses and pillows and is still the only mattress product recognised by NASA and certified by the Space Foundation. Now you just can't argue with that right? I mean if it's good enough for astronauts then it's got to be good enough for us parents who are desperately seeking a good night's sleep. 

(Photo credit to NASA)

Another thing I can definitely relate to is sticking to a tight schedule. Whilst I may not be in charge of an important space mission or controlling a space shuttle in zero gravity, I do have two children to keep up with every day and they definitely keep me on my toes! Between their cheekiness, their never-ending energy, swim clubs, school events, discos and their seemingly busier than mine social lives, keeping to a tight schedule is super important.

Astronauts have to keep to a tight schedule to ensure they stay on track of course. Since the International Space Station orbits earth roughly every 92 minutes it's really important that astronauts have a sleep schedule in play to ensure they get enough sleep. Did you know every 24 hours astronauts will see the sun rise and set around 16 times, which means they cant exactly rely on knowing when it's time to sleep by the sun setting.

They also have to deal with zero gravity and so astronauts often either strap themselves in to sleep or sleep in sleep bags attached to the walls to make sure they don't float away when they are resting and sleeping. They also use eye masks and shutters to cut out as much light as possible when trying to sleep. Evelyn is easily woken, especially by the sunrise (which we definitely found out camping last summer with the 5am wake up calls!) and a black out blind is a saviour in the summer to give us all a few more hours sleep!

(Photo credit to NASA)

After a camping trip last summer (and another few planned for this summer!) another thing I can kind of relate to is eating in space. Just like when you go camping and you have to ensure you have plenty of food with you and a way to cook it all. It also needs to be food that doesn't perish easily and can be stored with minimum hassle or leakages, which is fairly similar to an astronaut when in space.

As on Earth, space food comes in disposable packages. Astronauts must throw their packages away when they have finished eating. Some packaging actually prevents food from flying away. The food packaging is designed to be flexible and easier to use, as well as to maximise space when stowing or disposing of food containers. Astronauts have access to an oven to heat food on board but no fridge! 

An astronaut can choose from many types of foods such as fruits, nuts, peanut butter, chicken, beef, seafood, candy, brownies, etc. Available drinks include coffee, tea, orange juice, fruit punches and lemonade. I'm pretty sure both James and Evelyn would be impressed with the selection of food and drinks available and im not going to lie, so would I! 

Astronauts even have access to condiments such as mayonnaise and ketchup, which would please James for sure because he seems to eat his own weight in ketchup with his meals! They also have salt and pepper, although these come in liquid form to stop the small particles floating away and blocking air vents etc. 

(Photo credit to NASA)

I have to admit I absolutely love to idea of travelling into space! I imagine it to be so peaceful (not exactly something I get very often in our house!) and simply beautiful. I take my hat off to those brave astronauts who give up so much of their lives to do exactly that and whilst I am sure it is beautiful when up there I can only imagine the stress and physical demands of not only being up in space but the training before hand too.

My feet will of course be staying firmly on Earth, running around after my crazy children, seeking out that much needed good night's sleep and of course gazing up at the stars wondering just what it would be like to be amongst them.

It would be pretty awesome to experience zero gravity and look at the earth from above though right?

xXx


** This post was written in collaboration with TEMPUR®, I also received a fee for this post and my time. However all words and opinions are my own and I retain full control of this post.**