Thse insights have been pulled from the individual experiences of astronauts and cosmonauts recorded in published first person accounts — journals, diaries, debriefs, and post-flight reflections.As this database includes the personal, subjective experiences from a diversity of flyers, they may sometimes contradict, but together they provide a more holistic, if messy, picture of life in space. To learn more about how these categories were developed, please see this related publication.
“Woke with no headache today after putting a sleep bag in front of vent. Tonight I sleep in a crew quarter, which will be a great improvement in living conditions and convenience.”
“SLAMMD weigh-in. Says I’m 180-186 lbs (about 10-12 lbs more than Russian scale). I trust their scale more than ours. SLAMMD varies considerably depending on how tight you hold the fixture.”
“I slammed HARD into something with the top of my head and stopped instantly. I quickly looked around to see what unknown obstacle I hit and there was X, also rubbing his head… We slammed into each other head-to-head – we had a mid-air collision.”
“I have heard that [sleep shifts] can be painful and the scheduling is not always the best. It is now 2130 and just now getting to my quarters.”
For a first time flyer, space sickness started after overzealous flying on the first day in microgravity led to nausea. Motion sickness injections were used but it took a few days to recover.
It's easy to get bored of food when there are limited options. However, eating to stay healthy is important, and is akin to "sport eating."
A self described "people person" misses the company of his crewmates who have departed for Earth, but is grateful they've arrived safely.