On a spring day in 1983, I excused myself from a college class I was teaching and went outside. Actually, the students went with me and stared in disbelief at their crazy teacher, a ham radio operator, who held a small two meter transmitter to her mouth and said, “Calling W5LFL, CQ W5LFL, from KA7ITT in Salem, Oregon.” The Space Shuttle Columbia was due to fly over Oregon in exactly two minutes and my voice was one of a chorus of “hams” trying to make contact with Owen Garriott, W5LFL. Their disbelief turned to incredulity though when the call came back that he had heard my call. The QSL (postcard) is still on my bulletin board.
What do astronauts do for fun in space? In the case of those like Owen Garriott, they often talk to school children all over the world, answering questions about space travel as casually as if they were in the classroom with them. There are no obstacles in space between the Shuttle or Sky Lab and earth so if the line of sight is there, transmission is direct. With the advancement of internet capabilities in the last decade, astronauts can also keep in touch with loved ones, post notes to blogs, or surf the internet. Hopefully, they don’t have time to play solitaire.
One astronaut once wrote that the conditions inside a space capsule are ideal for murder lots of people in cramped quarters. But astronauts are highly trained and highly screened individuals. They know how to get along with others and they all have jobs. For them, working is fun. Whether it is monitoring the rate of growth of plant seedlings or measuring their own physiology, they are professionals. They’re also human and so they delight in the effects of space as anyone would. Space videos show them somersaulting, capturing jellybeans in midair, and blowing on a floating juice bubble until it bursts in their faces.
The view from space is unique and astronauts do their share of photography to share with viewers back home. They post photos online that are often broadcast on news shows. They write viewing earth from outer space brings out the poetic tone of everyone. I’ve heard the musings of astronauts about the meaning of life and their perspective has often altered my own.
Astronauts do their favorite things such as listening to music, drawing, or reading. They also talk to each other. Even though, they’ve trained together, being away from earth in a small place is a good place to converse on all the things that are important to them. They exercise daily for long periods to keep their bones and muscles healthy and also to fulfill any experiments asked of them.
While space missions so far have been relatively short, what about the future if we decide to go to other planets? What will astronauts do for years in space? In Mary Doria Russell’s second novel, Children of God, a group of space explorers sets off for the planet of “Rakhat.” One married couple is obviously experimenting with trying to have sex in weightlessness, quite difficult if one considers the adverse effects of zero gravity. Their giggles can be heard throughout the space ship.
What astronauts do and will do for entertainment in space travel is limited only by their own imaginations and it was those same imaginations that got them into space in the first place.
