Life at 28,000 km/h

The International Space Station circles Earth roughly every 90 minutes, meaning its crew sees about 16 sunrises and sunsets every day. Yet despite this extraordinary backdrop, life aboard the ISS is structured around surprisingly routine schedules — because routine, it turns out, is essential to staying healthy and productive in one of the most hostile environments humans have ever inhabited.

The Daily Schedule

A typical ISS crew day is planned in detail by Mission Control teams in Houston, Moscow, and other partner nations. Here's how a standard workday is broadly structured:

  1. Wake-up (~6:00 AM GMT): Astronauts are woken by an alarm — or increasingly, gradually brightening lights designed to mimic sunrise and support circadian rhythms.
  2. Morning hygiene (~6:00–7:00 AM): No showers aboard the ISS. Crew use rinseless shampoo, no-rinse body wipes, and carefully designed brushing kits to manage water droplets that would otherwise float dangerously through the cabin.
  3. Breakfast and morning planning (~7:00–8:00 AM): A daily planning conference with ground teams reviews the day's tasks, any technical issues, and schedule adjustments.
  4. Work period (~8:00 AM–1:00 PM): Scientific experiments, maintenance tasks, and equipment checks dominate the morning.
  5. Lunch (~1:00–2:00 PM): Often a social occasion — crew gather to eat and decompress together.
  6. Work period (~2:00–6:00 PM): More experiments, EVA (spacewalk) preparation if scheduled, or educational outreach activities.
  7. Exercise (~2 hours daily, built into the schedule): Non-negotiable — explained in detail below.
  8. Evening meal and personal time (~7:00–9:30 PM): Crew have personal time for video calls home, reading, photography, or simply watching Earth pass beneath them.
  9. Sleep (~9:30 PM–6:00 AM): Astronauts sleep in small individual cabins, strapped into sleeping bags to prevent drifting.

The Two-Hour Exercise Imperative

Every astronaut on the ISS is required to exercise for approximately two hours every single day. This isn't optional recreation — it's a medical necessity. Without it, bone density and muscle mass deteriorate rapidly in microgravity, making return to Earth physically dangerous.

The ISS is equipped with three main exercise devices:

  • ARED (Advanced Resistive Exercise Device): Simulates weight training using vacuum cylinders that mimic up to 272 kg of resistance for squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.
  • COLBERT treadmill: Used for running, with a harness system that presses the astronaut down onto the belt to simulate weight-bearing exercise.
  • CEVIS (Cycle Ergometer): A stationary bike pedalled without a seat, providing cardiovascular conditioning.

Eating in Microgravity

ISS food has evolved considerably from the early days of paste squeezed from tubes. Today's menu includes over 200 items — thermostabilised, freeze-dried, or irradiated for long shelf life. Meals are rehydrated or warmed in a food warmer, and eaten using utensils with Velcro or magnetic attachments to keep them from floating away.

Crumbly foods are avoided because loose crumbs become an inhalation hazard. Salt and pepper come in liquid form. And the lack of smell-carrying convection in microgravity means many astronauts report that food tastes blander than on Earth — which is why spicy sauces are perennial favourites aboard the station.

Unexpected Challenges

Beyond the well-known issues of bone loss and muscle atrophy, astronauts routinely report unexpected quirks of orbital living:

  • Stuffy heads: Fluid redistribution gives a permanent sensation of mild head congestion.
  • Back pain relief: The spine elongates in microgravity (astronauts grow 2–5 cm), which can actually relieve some chronic back pain — temporarily.
  • Altered proprioception: The sense of where your limbs are in space becomes unreliable, requiring conscious effort in the early days.
  • The smell of space: Astronauts who conduct spacewalks report that their suits carry in a distinctive sharp, metallic smell — described variously as welding fumes, gunpowder, or charred steak.

Coming Home Is the Hard Part

After months in orbit, readapting to Earth's gravity is genuinely arduous. Returning astronauts are often unable to walk unaided immediately after landing, experience dizziness and balance problems, and must undergo months of rehabilitation. The journey to space is dramatic — but the return to normal life takes far longer.