Cheap Astronomy - Dear CA #086: Being in Space

When you need some space… - What’s the best solution to generate artificial gravity for long duration space travel?  The best, indeed the only current, solution to generate artificial gravity is to spin the part of your spacecraft that contains the crew. But to identify the ideal combination of engineering parameters such as spin rate, spin radius and the size of the spinning cabin you really want to build a combined medical and engineering laboratory in microgravity, so you can trial all the possibilities. - What is the smell of space?  It’s now widely acknowledged that after astronauts have closed the airlock and pulled their helmets off, they experience a faint whiff of something. Whether it’s the faint whiff of what space really smells like or just the smell of more earthly materials being rapidly reintroduced to an oxygenated atmosphere is yet to be decided. Being Cheap Astronomy you can probably guess where we sit on this debate spectrum.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].