• Question: are doing everyday things like writing on paper harder in zero gravity?

    Asked by ThePyroMatt to Andrea, Charlie 🚀, Col Op, Kirsty, Vinita on 17 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Kirsty Lindsay

      Kirsty Lindsay answered on 17 Jun 2016:

      It is as easy to write on paper in space as it is on Earth.. eve normal pens work in space. It could get a little more difficult if you pen and paper floated off though….

    • Photo: Charles Laing

      Charles Laing answered on 17 Jun 2016:

      Hi ThePyroMatt,

      There is no gravity so special pens need to be used to make sure the ink flows down to the tip. However, you can always just use a pencil ✏😉

      A challenging part of zero gravity is making sure you don’t lose things as you can’t just put them down. For this reason everything is covered in Velcro and straps. Astronauts need to remember to stop things floating away!

      Charlie 😀🚀

    • Photo: Andrea Boyd

      Andrea Boyd answered on 20 Jun 2016:

      You have to think more about putting items down and also orientating yourself. Like if you put something down and don’t attach to velcro it will not be there a few minutes later!

      Then when you’re moving you have to remember that you will keep floating if you don’t hit something or hold on to something so it is tough to stay still to work on something with a steady hand. Even balancing the iPad on velcro of astronaut pants is pretty tough – it takes some weeks to master that skill!

      But eating and writing and doing most normal things is the same effort in microgravity.

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