Climate change, war and fascism got you down? Wish you could buy a ticket on the Europa Clipper spacecraft that’s on its way to check if there’s living slime on a Jupiterian moon? Before you decide to leave Earth behind and move to outer space, consider the life of an astronaut on the International Space Station.
Imagine cohabitating with eight other people in an enclosed area the size of a large airplane. You live on a strict schedule broken into 15 minute increments, using a red marker on a computer tablet to keep pace with the daily routine of experiments and maintenance all on an average six hours of sleep. You never shower, and instead rely on wet wipes for personal hygiene. Every human odor remains trapped around you in a cloud of stench that U.K. astronaut Tim Peake has compared to “a barbecue that’s gone wrong.” You drink processed urine. Things only get more uncomfortable from here.
