The Soyuz TMA-03M crew has now been in Baikonur for just over one week. Their days are filled with procedure reviews and refresher classes. Everything is focussed on getting every last detail ready for departure to the International Space Station next Wednesday.
Review of flight data
Image credit: NASA
André Kuipers, Oleg Kononenko and Don Pettit are staying in the ‘Cosmonaut Hotel’ where they have their crew quarters. To prevent them from catching a cold or a contageous illness in the lead up to the flight, the crew is quarantined. Only those people medically certified to be in good health are allowed direct contact with the crew.
Walking outside near the Cosmonaut Hotel
Image credit: NASA
There is also the physical preparation for their spaceflight. Each of the crew members spends some time lying head down on a tilt bed – see picture below. This helps the body prepare for the redistribution of fluid that is experienced once in space. Without the pull of gravity, fluids are no longer pooled in the lower part of the body. The effect is particularly strong on arrival in space, causing a stuffed nose, a puffy face and even headaches. Any preparation now can help reduce this effect.
Paolo Nespoli on the tilt bed
Image credit: ESA
For the same reason, the crew sleep with their heads slightly tilted downwards. No special technologies here though – the bed-tilt is achieved simply by placing wooden blocks under one end of the bed!
Wooden blocks placed underneath the bed
Image credit: ESA
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