7-2-I-Search-Dorian

= = **Falling Down in Space** by Dorian Nousias Watch a special Powerpoint presentation on Space Food! media type="custom" key="802967" I have been wondering about all things space for about 4 years now. When I first got interested in space I had borrowed a book from the library called __Golden's Book First Book of Space__. I was completely drawn into the idea of exploring space. I wanted to learn more so when i went to Washington D.C. to see my relatives, I visited an air and space museum. I saw the space craft and all the space gear. I was fascinated. I then saw an Imax video about space and I became hooked. I then did many extra curricular researches. I have learned a lot, but only recently I have pondered the question "What is it like to be in outer space?" What does it feel like to float around with no restraints at all? What would be like to be in the vacuum of space? I want to answer those questions and more. I would like to find out how the astronauts train for the crazy ordeal of the travel up and out of the atmosphere. I also want to know how they work and survive in Zero Gravity. So: Zero-G, training, space, and astronauts. I think this will turn out to be a great I-Search paper.
 * Introduction**

        To start my I-search paper I wanted to find out what weightlessness actually is, so I went to Google.com and searched up weightlessness space astronauts training. It took me forever to find a good site because i didn't use    Boolean operators which i learned about later. I t was Wikipedia. Our teachers tell us not to use Wikipedia but it was credible information so I used it. It gives the true definition of weightlessness; Weightlessness is actually a free-fall while in orbit of the Earth (even though the spaceship will never hit the ground), in space when you are far from a planet or star, on an airplane in a parabolic flight, or in another frame of reference.("Weightlessness") But I also found out something very important. When you are weightless you are not in in Zero Gravity. You are still in gravity but you are free falling. You are just //feeling// weightless.("Weightlessness")
 * Search**

Next I went to my school library to find a book about what astronauts do in space. I went to the "Natural Science" __part of the library__. I looked at the __Space Encyclopedia__ and saw exactly what I was looking for. It had many pages about what astronauts do in space. __I took the book out__, went home, and read it. It told me about how astronauts bath. They take sponge baths and when the men need to shave they either grow a beard or shave with shaving cream. When they eat they need to put water into their dehydrated food. The food tastes nasty and it has a gel that keep crumbs from floating away. Astronauts need to exercise because without gravity muscles work less so they waste away. Astronauts are attached to a treadmill so they can run and exercise. Astronauts are held in place by a waist strap to sleep or they would just float around. To sleep they may also need earmuffs and eye shades if others are working nearby. When astronauts have to use the toilet they sit on the toilet seat and then turn on the vacuum so that nothing gets out and flies around the cabin. Solid waste is dried and treated so bacteria, that could make the astronauts sick, doesn't grow. Urine is put with wasted water and dumped into space.(HeatherCouper and Nigel Henbest 64-65) That is what astronauts do to live their daily lives but what do they do to work up there? Well the    <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">__Space Encyclopedia__     <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> has that answer too! Astronauts use microgravity to explore what it does to the human nervous system and to shrimp eggs, lentil beans, and bacteria. They also wanted to find out what happened to fertilized eggs'

development. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">(Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest 64-65) To get even more information I needed to do an interview. I asked my technology teacher for help and she told me that a teacher in my school was an expert. I went to the teacher, Mr.Hofer, and asked to interview him. He didn't have time so I e-mailed him the questions. I got back his response and I thought it was very good. I asked him how astronauts train for weightlessness. He told me that "    The main facility is at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. There NASA maintains large swimming pools in which the astronauts train underwater. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">  Their buoyancy in the water closely mimics the weightlessness condition." He also told me to google the "Vomit Comet." I also asked him " When astronauts get into space and their space stations, what do they do?" Mr.Hofer answered "They are given specific work tasks to carry out in the conditions of space. In addition, scientists are interested on how the body adapts and changes to spending a long time in weightlessness conditions." In addition to the questions of training and jobs in space i asked him what weightlessness is exactly. Mr.Hofer anwered " Weightlessness (also called "zero gravity" or "microgravity"). This condition happens when you are accelerating towards the Earth at 9.81 meters per second squared, falling around the Earth (i.e., in orbit) or travelling in space at a constant velocity between celestial bodies (i.e., planets, moons, stars, asteroids, comets, etc.). When such a condition exists, an object's weight becomes essentially zero. While one's mass (i.e., the quantity of matter you are made of doesn't disappear, your weight which depends upon your mass and gravity appears to disappear and you float." (interview with Mr.Hofer) I thanked Mr.Hofer through e-mailing and went to look up the Vomit Comet!

On Google I found another wikipedia page that had good information. It was for the Vomit Comet which Mr.Hofer told me to search. The article said that " Vomit Comet is a nickname for any airplane that briefly provides a nearly weightless environment in which to train astronauts, conduct research, and film motion pictures. Versions of such airplanes have in the past been operated byNASA's Reduced Gravity Research Program since 1973, where the nickname originated. NASA uses the nickname Weightless Wonder."(Vomit Comet) It also said that the plane creates the zero-gravity by flying in a parabolic flight. That means that the plane is flying in an arch. But if you were wondering why those planes are called the Vomit Comet, it is because w  hen people first feel zero-gravity they tend to puke!

**Conclusion**
<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> Because of this I-Search paper I have added a load of information to my bank of knowledge. I learned the exact definition of weightlessness, how astronauts train with the Vomit Comet, what kinds of experiments they do in space, and what astronauts do to live like eating, washing, and going to the bathroom. In this period of time we think going to outer space is nothing, but imagine if you lived 50 years ago you would be fascinated with the Sputnik launch and with space. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">

**Works Cited**
Couper, Heather, and Nigel Henbest. "Space Pioneers." __Space Encyclopedia__. New York City: DK, 1999.

Hofer, Gregory. E-Mail Interview with Athanasios Dorian Nousias. 20 Apr, 2008.

[|Parenthetical Citation] <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span class="EP8xU" style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25)"> "Vomit Comet-Wikipedia, the Free Encyclpodia -Mozilla Firefox." __Wikipedia__. 19 Mar. 2008. 14 Apr. 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomit_Comet>.]

"Weightlessness-Wikipedia, the Free Encyclpodia -Mozilla Firefox." __Wikipedia__. 12 Apr. 2008. 25 Mar. 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weightlessness>.]