Astronaut Chris Hadfield takes questions on Reddit before launch

[<a href="//storify.com/cbccommunity/canadian-astronaut-chris-hadfield-takes-questions" target="_blank">View the story "Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield takes questions on Reddit before launch" on Storify</a>]<h1>Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield takes questions on Reddit before launch</h1><h2></h2><p>Storified by CBC News Community · Thu, Dec 13 2012 13:15:31</p><div>Ahead of his mission next week to become the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/12/11/space-chris-hadfield-canada-soyuz-mission-international-station.html" class="">first Canadian commander of the International Space Station</a>, astronaut Chris Hadfield went on Reddit to take questions from its users in its Ask Me Anything format. <br></div><div>I Am Astronaut Chris Hadfield, Commander of Expedition 35. : IAmAHello Reddit! [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYM8xTQt3Bg) is an introductory video to what I hope will be a great AMA. My name is ...</div><div>Hadfield recorded an introductory video to YouTube to prove it was really him answering questions from quarantine at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and posted a link to the AMA on Twitter. <br></div><div>Reddit AMA IntroductiontGG8ucQgEJPeUPhJZ4M4jA</div><div>To those with questions, my reddit AMA has begun: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/14schr/i_am_astronaut_chris_hadfield_commander_of/I'm looking forward to answering as many as possible!Chris Hadfield</div><div>Before he started answering redditors' questions, Hadfield started with some answers to commonly asked questions about human space travel</div><div>To facilitate getting less repeat questions from the last AMA, what I've done is answered a number of the "standard" interview questions up front, including those sent to my son in PMs the other day. I will provide them below in individual posts.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Among other things, Hadfield anticipated questions on <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/14schr/i_am_astronaut_chris_hadfield_commander_of/c7fydpu" class="">sex</a> and <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/14schr/i_am_astronaut_chris_hadfield_commander_of/c7fye39" class="">going to the bathroom</a> in space, <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/14schr/i_am_astronaut_chris_hadfield_commander_of/c7fyejy" class="">what he'll miss most while on the International Space Station</a> and if <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/14schr/i_am_astronaut_chris_hadfield_commander_of/c7fyesn" class="">he's scared about the mission</a>. <br><br>Then he got into the specific questions from redditors, starting with specifics about the food. <br></div><div>Tell us about some of your favorite space foods!douring</div><div>Shrimp cocktail. Because the horseradish sauce has a really strong, sharp flavour that survives rehydration.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>What country has the best all around food in your opinion?perezidentt</div><div>I think I like Russian space food the best. It has the most natural flavour and it is more like the comfort food that I grew up with.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>There were many questions about the experience of being an astronaut. <br></div><div>Has any astronaut ever passed out during take off? Did someone have to wake them up or did they wake up on their own?perezidentt</div><div>No. The reason is that the blood doesn't drain to your feet. You're lying on your back so you don't black out.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Has anone ever shit themselves?lethargicwalrus</div><div>Ha! No. We're not beginners, and we're not unprepared. We train for years so that we're ready to do our job properly.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Sorry for asking such an asinine question. I feel bad now.lethargicwalrus</div><div>A redditor asked, "What is your biggest fear associated with embarking on a mission?"<br><br>Hadfield answered, "That someone I know and love on Earth will get hurt or die, and I won't be able to help or be there."<br></div><div>How well does the giant swimming pool (NBL) simulate weighlessness? Can I just skip Zero G? rv49er</div><div>Pretty well. The advantages are full-size, tools and equipment being just right. The disadvantages are that there is drag in the water, and your blood rushes to your head when you're upside down.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>How bright are the lights on Earth when you are in orbit at night? How does it compare to the stars we see on the surface of Earth? rv49er</div><div>Yes, it looks like stars from the surface of the earth, but not nearly as bright as the moon. The brightest things are lightning storms. You can see lightning storms at night for thousands of kilometers. Regular lights just look like stars from the earth. Big cities stand out as one big local glow.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Do you think we will go to Mars (manned missions) anytime in your lifetime?obiegeo</div><div>I sure hope we go to Mars in my lifetime. We have satellites orbiting it, rovers driving around and sampling it, and are learning on the Space Station how to build spaceships that we could trust to go that far. ColChrisHadfield</div><div>How much dedication and time did you spend to "qualify" as an astronaut, let alone actually being sent to space?pentakillace</div><div>I decided to become an astronaut when I was 9, the day Buzz and Neil walked on the Moon. I have been working towards being one ever since. ColChrisHadfield</div><div>He went on, "My education, my experience, the skills I gained from 9 until 32 all were key in getting me selected. And in the 20 years I have been an astronaut, I have studied and prepared pretty much every day. Being an astronaut is not really my job. It is more a definition of who I have turned myself into."<br></div><div>I imagine that your job is pretty high-stress, what do you do at home to relax and unwind? Hobbies?pizzak</div><div>I try and manage my stress at work, not at home. I think that's an important thing to note. Stress normally occurs when you can't solve a perpetual problem or you can't get comfortable with a certain idea. When you can't control your own destiny. I try not to let myself be that way. I try to truly accept the things I cannot change.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Another redditor asked, "Are you mentally at work all the time during the mission, or will you feel like you can 'get away' for a break now and then?"<br><br>Hadfield replied, "I will deliberately mentally get away. Play guitar by the big cupola windows and steal some time to truly appreciate what is actually happening - to me, and in history."</div><div>With the retirement of the shuttle progam, how can NASA (and the space program in general) remain relevant to the US populace?d-nj</div><div>The shuttle program was only one of many NASA programs. It was a way to get to space and back, and the purpose of spaceflight is not to launch and land. It is what you do when you get there. With all of the unmanned vehicles, and with the space station that we've built, the relevance for the populace is huge and permeable. As well, the US is working on building follow on vehicles.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Thank you for being an envoy of all mankind (UN Outer Space Treaty). What's the strangest thing you've seen up there?workacct20910</div><div>A huge meteorite burn up between me and Australia.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Elsewhere in the thread, <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/14schr/i_am_astronaut_chris_hadfield_commander_of/c7g1j4x" class="">Hadfield wrote</a>: <br><br>"During my first spacewalk I was riding on Canadarm2 as the Space Station was coming across the Indian Ocean in the dark, at 8 km/sec. I shut off my spacesuit lights to let my eyes adjust, so I could see the lights of Australia.<br><br>"But instead, I saw ... the Southern Lights. Thousands of miles of greens and reds, yellow and orange curtains billowing and flowing with light, pouring up out of the Earth under my feet. I couldn't believe it.<br><br>"Could this really be the Earth I knew? How could this always be happening and I had never known it?<br><br>"It gave be a new-found wonder at our ignorance, and really showed me our planet as a ball going around a star, just another planet, but an immensely beautiful one. Made me love our Earth even more."</div><div>What does zero gravity feel like?Onikouzou</div><div>Like magic, like a genie touched your head and said "Fly!"ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Elsewhere in the thread, Hadfield answered a question about the best part of being on the ISS. "The best part is being weightless forever. It is like magic. It is like having a superpower where you can fly. You can fly forever," he wrote.<br></div><div>What does it feel like to go from being weightless for months, back to your normal weight on earth? Must seem incredibly weird...dibshi</div><div>It feels so ... unfair! Even your ARM is heavy. It takes about 1 day on Earth for every day in space to readapt.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>How hard was calculus for you in the university?GullibleBee</div><div>I find theoretical math hard, but also useful. It's like using a complex machine to do something you couldn't do any other way, like a backhoe or a fly rod. Once you see the purpose of it and learn how it works, though, it gets easier. It just takes dogged work and repetition to figure it out. Also true for spaceships. ColChrisHadfield</div><div>A Grade 6 class from an elementary school somewhere in Saskatchewan wrote a series of questions for Hadfield. It was the highest rated question in the AMA. <br></div><div>Hello Mr.Hadfield,room6b</div><div><p>"We are a grade 6 class from Saskatchewan Canada and we are studying space. Our class was excited to hear that you were going to be answering questions about anything! Our class got together and thought of some questions that we would really like to know."<br><br></p><b>room6b:</b> How does your body feel after being in space for 6 months?<br><br><b>Hadfield:</b> Adapted. You feel like a spaceling. You feel completely normal, and don't even remember that you're flying. There is no up or down. You are really no longer an earthling, but a spaceling.<br><br><b>room6b:</b> Are you excited to meet the ISS robot: Humanoid Kino Bot in 2013?<br></div><div><p><b>Hadfield:</b> I know of Robonaut on board, but I'm more excited to see Canadarm 2 again. It is a much more capable robot.<br></p></div><div><b>room6b:</b> How did it feel when your saw earth from space for the first time?<br><br><b>Hadfield:</b> It feels like someone's revealing a secret to you. Like you're getting to see something magic for the first time. It feels like an honour. Like a huge privilege.<br></div><div>There were several questions from redditors about the day-to-day life aboard the space station. <br></div><div>How do you properly trim your moustache on a mission?RapMaster5000</div><div>I'll trim my moustache with scissors and a vacuum cleaner.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Shaving is similar, though you can't rinse your razor, so we use them up faster. We use disposables.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>What is it like to sleep in a weightless environment?HitByShortbus</div><div>Sleeping with no gravity is wonderful - you can relax EVERY muscle, you don't need to roll over, you don't need a pillow - VERY comfortable!ColChrisHadfield</div><div>What games do you play while in space?I suppose playing poker doesnt require a tabledrcuetogomez</div><div>I invented a form of darts - with a heavy metal knob that had a velcro sticker on it, a long zip-tie as the haft, and a handkerchief parachute to slow it down, all duct-taped together. I aimed at Vecro on the walls, threw it slow and straight - worked great!ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Is there available exercise opportunity on the space station? The effect of long-duration time periods in microgravity must have an impact on your body when you return to Earth. I once saw a picture of a treadmill that straps you into it with resistance bands, does that still exist on the space station? Do you or other astronauts suffer from orthostatic intolerance, muscle wasting, bone mineral density loss once returning to earth? Is there a specific amount of pre-flight exercise training to boost your fitness to combat any potential loss of muscle? Thanks, and good luck!Cinnamon_J_Scudworth</div><div>We have the ARED - Advanced Resistive Exercise Device - like a big squat machine, and work out 2 hours per day. With that, we have largely beaten osteoporosis. ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Will you be celebrating Christmas up there?KKN50</div><div>Since we are an international crew, we chose which annual holidays to celebrate. We agreed on 25 Dec Christmas, January Orthodox Christmas, and New Years, so we'll celebrate all three!ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Someone in the AMA wondered about the smells in space. <br></div><div>The Station has no distinctive smell - it is clean and well-maintained, like being inside an airliner, maybe.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>When we come in from a spacewalk the airlock has a distinct smell, like gunpowder or ozone - that is the smell of space.ColChrisHadfield</div><div>And another wondered if he'd be able to repeat the AMA when he was on the station. <br></div><div>Can you reddit from space? How? If so, what are the speeds like? newmexico</div><div>I'm not sure, our connection is intermittent and slow, but if I can do an in-space AMA, I will!ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Are you really Canadian? Reauboat</div><div>I am a true Canadian, yes, born, raised, Leafs fan, Tim Horton's maple dip lover, have lived in 6 provinces and visited them all, Rick Mercer advocate, speak 3 languages including French and English, know all the Stan Rogers tunes by heart and feel great pride in our home and native land. Thanks for asking. ColChrisHadfield</div><div>Eventually, Hadfield had to call it a night. <br></div><div>Dear Redditors - it is late, and my flight surgeon just came in and told me to get to bed. We have lights-out here in Quarantine in 30 minutes, and I have to get back to my building and get to sleep. ColChrisHadfield</div><div><p>He went on: <br><br>"Tomorrow we go get into our Soyuz spaceship. It's our final look inside before our launch on the 19th. We'll check where everything is in its final configuration, and make sure we're happy that it's ready for us to go to space.<br><br>"A pretty exciting time in anybody's life, and hugely so for me.<br><br>"Thanks for the great questions and dialogue, and for giving me a chance to try and <br>share this incredible new human experience.<br><br>"Goodnight from the Baikonur Cosmodrome<br><br>"Chris Hadfield CSA Astronaut"</p></div><div>One last thing - huge thanks to my son, Evan, who encouraged me to do this AMA, taught me how to use Reddit, and set it up for all of us. ColChrisHadfield</div><div>He finished, "Thanks, son! Love, Dad."</div>

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