Mio Debnam
A day in the life of an Astronaut Sample
Written by Mio Debnam
Training
A career as an astronaut is hard work.
Sample
You must persevere and spend years training until you can blast off from Earth!
Morning on the ISS
There are three to six crewmembers on the ISS. Their main work is research.
a.m.
Sample
They all cook, clear up, repair things and treat sick crewmates, too.
Sample
Cooking lunch
Most dishes are first cooked on Earth. On the ISS, liquid is added to the food. a.m.
Sample
To stop it floating, food is heated in bags.
Sample
Eating
Astronauts don’t need much gear, like plates, bowls … or chairs!
p.m.
They float and eat from the foil cooking bags, or enjoy the food inside a flatbread!
Sample
Cleaning
Astronauts can’t wash dishes or clothing. They may keep the same clothing on for weeks!
p.m.
Sample
When it needs a wash, clothing has to be thrown away.
Sample
Floating bits of rubbish inside the ship can ruin the systems and interfere with experiments, so astronauts clean them up.
Marks are washed off with wet wipes.
Sample
Keeping fit
Astronauts run or spin to keep fit.
p.m.
They put on a harness to avoid floating! treadmill
In 2007, an astronaut ran the Boston Marathon on the ISS treadmill!
Going to the toilet
The ISS has a toilet that sucks solids into a bag and stops them from floating back up. The bags are thrown away.
p.m.
Sample
A hose is used to suck the toilet liquid away.
The toilet liquid is collected and turned into clear, clean liquid for drinking, cooking and washing!
Sample
Rubbish
Unmanned rockets deliver things the astronauts need like food, oxygen and equipment.
p.m.
Sample
The rockets are then filled with rubbish and sent back. They burn up as they near Earth.
Sample
After work
Astronauts read or enjoy a film if they want to relax.
p.m.
Sample
They can use the internet, call their families or peer out at Earth!
Sample
Washing
Astronauts wash by squirting on liquid soap or shampoo and wiping with a moist cloth.
p.m.
Sample
By the time they get back to Earth they may stink!
Sample
Bed time
This far from Earth, there’s no feeling of up or down.
p.m.
Sample
A sleeping bag is attached to the wall of each room to stop astronauts from floating around.
Sample
Glossary
astronaut a person trained to work on a rocket or the ISS
crewmembers Three to six astronauts are members of the crew that is on the ISS all the time.
oxygen an important gas we need in order to stay alive
spin use a keep-fit bike
systems the equipment and the computers that control the ISS and the research
unmanned An unmanned rocket has no people on it. It is flown by remote control, using computers.
Index
cleaning 12–13, 14–15
cooking 8–9, 11, 21
cooking bags 11
crewmembers 6–7
food 8–9, 10–11, 22
relaxing 24–25
rubbish 14, 22–23
sleeping bag 29
toilet 18–19, 20–21
training 4–5
treadmill 17
washing 12–13, 21, 26–27
Sample
Sample
Published by Collins
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
The News Building, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF, UK
Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper, Dublin 1, D01 C9W8, Ireland
Browse the complete Collins catalogue at collins.co.uk
© HarperCollinsPublishers Limited 2025
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-00-878618-2
Phonemes covered: /ai/ ay, a-e, ey /ee/ ie, ea /igh/ i-e, i /oa/ o, ow, o-e /oo/ ew, ou, u, u-e /ar/ a /ow/ ou /or/ al, au /ur/ ear, or, ir /e/ ea /i/ y /ear/ ere, eer /oi/ oy /o/ a
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 5th Floor, Shackleton House, 4 Battle Bridge Lane, London SE1 2HX.
Without limiting the exclusive rights of any author, contributor or the publisher of this publication, any unauthorised use of this publication to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is expressly prohibited. HarperCollins also exercise their rights under Article 4(3) of the Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790 and expressly reserve this publication from the text and data mining exception.
Sample
Author: Mio Debnam
Publisher: Katie Sergeant
Product manager: Natasha Paul
Commissioning editor: Rachel Russ
Phonics consultant: Catherine Baker
Phonics reviewers: Rachel Russ and Jacqueline Harris
Proofreader: Sally Byford
Original edition designer:
2Hoots Publishing Services Ltd
This edition designer: David Jimenez
Production controller: Katharine Willard
Printed in the UK.
This book contains FSCTM certified paper and other controlled sources to ensure responsible forest management.
For more information visit: www.harpercollins.co.uk/green collins.co.uk/sustainability
Made with responsibly sourced paper and vegetable ink Scan to see how we are reducing our environmental impact.
Acknowledgements
The publishers gratefully acknowledge the permission granted to reproduce the copyright material in this book. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publishers will gladly receive any information enabling them to rectify any error or omission at the first opportunity.
Front cover NASA, back cover & pp4–5 NASA, p3 NASA, p4t NASA/David DeHoyos, p4bl & p4br NASA/James Blair, p5t James Blair/NASA/JSC, p5b NASA, pp6–7 NASA, p7t NASA, p8 NASA, p9t & p9b NASA/Science Photo Library, pp10–11 NASA, p10b NASA, p11t & p11b NASA, pp12–13 NASA, p14 NASA, p15 NASA, p16 NASA, p17 NASA, pp18–19 NASA, pp20–21 NASA, p22 NASA, p23 NASA, p24 NASA, p25 stock imagery/Alamy Stock Photo, pp26–27 NASA, p28t NASA Image Collection/Alamy Stock Photo, p28b NASA, p29 NASA/Science Photo Library, p31 NASA
Life on the ISS isn’t all research and work! Find out how astronauts cook, sleep and have fun.
