When travelling to space, you have to pack light
Just over a year ago on 18 June 2016, Tim Peake, an astronaut with the European Space Agency, came back to Earth after six months on the International Space Station. He is the author of a book of
photographs taken in space, Hello, Is This Planet Earth? My View From the International Space Station.
“One of the interesting things about what astronauts pack is what we don’t have to pack,” Peake says. “We don’t have to pack any clothes or a wash kit. That’s all provided for us onboard the space station. Your clothing is chosen in advance, so they’ve got the right sizes. Your wash kit is chosen, as well, although you can tell them if you like a certain shaving gel or toothpaste.”
Carry-on restrictions onboard the Soyuz (the spacecraft that launches the astronauts into space) are even worse than a commercial airline. “The Russians give you a 1.5kg allowance that you can take in the Soyuz with you, and it literally sits inside the capsule as you launch into space.” Astronauts are also allowed to fill a small bag, just bigger than a shoe box, with personal items; it’s delivered to the space station in advance.
Here is what he took to space:
Mementos
“I’ve got two small boys who, at the time I left, were seven and four, and they each sleep with their own little blanket. My wife, unknown to me, cut a corner of their blankets out and snuck them in the bag. I brought photographs of family and friends for my crew quarters. I brought the watch that my wife gave me on our seventh anniversary and some coins commemorating the mission, which I gave as gifts when I returned.”
T-shirts
“I took up some T-shirts because, you know, that during the six months of your mission, there are some events you’ll want to celebrate onboard the space station. I’ve done a lot of educational outreach programmes for school kids. So I brought T-shirts for those programmes I wanted to support: Mission X, Astro Pi, Unlimited Space Agency and Raleigh International. A London Marathon vest because I ran the London Marathon while I was up there. And, being British, I decided to take a T-shirt that had a tuxedo on the front, because, I thought, there’s going to be an occasion where I need to be properly dressed. I got to wear it twice: once when I was asked to present an award to Adele at the Brit Awards; and I had a school competition running where school kids designed some of my space food, and they got to cook it with Heston Blumenthal. He did a television hookup with me at one point, so I wore it for that, too.”
Flags
“Being from the UK, I brought flags for St George’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, St Andrew’s Day and St David’s Day. I hung them up in the European science laboratory and just did a small video message to each country when it was their national day.”
Compression garments
“On the way up, you don’t have to wear a compression garment; you just wear your spacesuit. On the way back down, we wear it underneath our spacesuit. It goes around your calf muscles and you lace it up really tightly, and then there’s another garment, like a long pair of running shorts, and you lace it up really tightly, as well, like a corset, really. It’s almost like an antigravity suit; it helps with the G-loading for re-entry. And it helps with the blood pooling in your legs and your feet; it keeps the blood in your chest and your head.”
ipod Nano
“I listen to it on the journey up, while we’re rendezvousing with the space station. I love listening to the science podcast The Infinite Monkey Cage with professor Brian Cox. He can make things really easy to understand in a funny way. ” n