Final Frontier

It was time for an autumn header for the blog. I took this one last fall at the Champlain Lookout out in Gatineau Park.

This is the space suit used by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield in his last voyage into the final frontier. He was on two shuttle missions, and later spent time on the International Space Station. These are the kind of suits used on the Soyuz during journeys to and from the ISS.

And this is a model of the station itself. The accompanying display has a Canadian touch, noting the comparative size of the station to five NHL hockey rinks.

NASA, the Russians, the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, and Japan's space agency send astronauts up, and collaborate in work and research. These days, you're up there for months. Everyone is a specialist in multiple areas, and you don't want to be stuck up there with someone who's a jerk.

The ISS is a maze of wires, consoles, and modules in which there is no up or down. 

And everything is a challenge, with problems posed that require solutions. 

This is a mock-up of an astronaut's sleeping quarters on the ISS. You sleep in the sleeping bag on the wall, and all items in the space are secured or strapped down.

Hair cuts and shaves, brushing your teeth, and washing your hair present their own challenges when you are living in a zero gravity environment.

A video display screen caught my eye, and I took several photographs.

The Cupola is one of the features of the ISS that lends itself to extraordinary photography. Astronauts spend some downtime in it, looking back at the Earth.

This includes a view of the Canadian east coast. More tomorrow.