Astronauts & Space Life

Space Sickness Scale: Astronauts often suffer from space adaptation syndrome. They once jokingly used a scale of "1 garn," "2 garns," etc., named after Senator Jake Garn, who experienced extreme sickness.

Scratching an Itch: Astronauts can’t lift their visor to scratch their nose. They use a small foam block called a Valsalva device (which holds the nose to pop ears) to reach in and itch their nose.

No Showers: Astronauts cannot take showers in space because water would float away. They use special rinseless shampoo and wet wipes for months.

Moon Meals: The first meal on the moon included sugar cookie squares, bacon, peaches, and coffee.

Missions & Exploration

Record-Breaking Distance: The Artemis II mission is set to fly 250,000 miles away from Earth, surpassing the distance record set by Apollo 13.

Moon's Shape: NASA studies found that the Moon is not a perfect sphere, but is actually shaped slightly like a lemon.

Mars Timing: NASA plans Martian missions about every two years, when Earth and Mars are closest together to save fuel.

Solar Sailing: The MESSENGER probe was the first to use a solar sail for navigation in 2004.

NASA Culture

Astronauts in Bed: NASA and DLR once paid people to stay in bed for two months to study how the body reacts to long-term weightlessness.

Rocket Sizes: The Space Launch System (SLS) for the Artemis missions stands 30 stories high, making it taller than London's Big Ben clock tower.

Name Inclusion: Millions of people have sent their names to the Moon and beyond on memory cards aboard NASA spacecraft.

Hidden Figures: NASA's early "human computers" were trailblazing women who did all the complex calculations for orbital flights before electronic computers took over.