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**__ What do astronauts eat and drink and how is there food prepared? __**
==== When astronauts are in space, they must take non-perishable foods with them, meaning that the foods cannot rot, for there are no refrigerators in space. They must bring foods that won't be very messy, meaning that there cannot be any foods that leave crumbs around because the crumbs can get caught in equipment and even the astronauts' eyes. Since they will be in space for months, they must bring fresh foods into space with them such as fruits and vegetables, these foods are usually freeze dried, meaning they are dehydrated and sealed up, and when the astronauts wish to eat them, they simply add water to the foods to rehydrate them. ====

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==== Astronauts meals usually consist of fruits and vegetables like I mentioned before, and flour tortillas because regular bread would leave crumbs. Condiments, such as ketchup and mustard, are kept as they are, salt and pepper, however, are converted into a liquid form to prevent powder from floating around in the space craft. Astronauts can even eat beef, chicken, and turkey, they usually decide on their meals before the actual launch. ==== ==== Before eating some foods though, they must treat the foods to prevent bacteria from growing on the food. Fruits and vegetables are treated with radiation, and yogurts are heated up to remove bacteria. ==== ==== Since astronauts are in a zero gravity environment, their bones tend to become weaker, they lose about 1-2 lb of bone mass for each month, according to NASA, so they must have a calcium-rich diet and take vitamins every day. ====

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**__How do they bathe, sleep, exercise and use the washroom facilities?__**
Just like us back on Earth, astronauts have to keep themselves clean as well, but there are no showers in space. Instead, they give themselves sponge baths until they return to Earth, to take a real shower. When they use the washroom facilities (I'm talking about toilets here) they don't use water like we do on Earth to get rid of the waste, instead, they use air. Basically, when they urinate, they urinate into a funnel that is connected to a hose type device, and the air sucks the urine like a vacuum and throws it out into space, as for the fecal matter, they do that in a toilet, and then it is stored on board until they return to Earth to remove it. When the astronauts are in space, they are in a zero-gravity environment, so it prevents them from moving as much, but that does not mean they do not have to exercise. Just like back on Earth, they have treadmills, weight bars, and in their space crafts, they have a machine that acts as a vacuum, so for example, if you were doing squats, when you go down, the the vacuum would use air to try to bring you back up, and when you come back up, the vacuum will try to push you down, it is basically resisting you. Astronauts can set the resistance to feel like up to 600 lb. Now, the last question, how do they sleep? Well, they don't have beds in their space craft, instead, they have multiples ways of sleeping. One way is that the can strap their sleeping bags on to the walls to sleep vertically, or t hey can sleep on the ground horizontally. Another way is that they have a sleeping compartment, consisting of a pillow, sleeping bag, air vent, light, and a spot for personal belongings. A third way is that they can strap their body to the wall/ground, and let their arms and legs float freely while they sleep, but some astronauts find it uncomfortable. The last way is that some astronauts don't even strap themselves to secure themselves, they just float aimlessly until morning. Astronauts usually get about 8.5 hours a day to sleep,but some astronauts find about 6-6.5 hours is sufficient, and before leaving for space, the control center and the astronauts decide on one time zone to use to make things easier.

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