{"id":50174,"date":"2023-10-10T13:44:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T13:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/92a669f1-461d-4f0d-b683-1bc1d1a46123"},"modified":"2023-10-10T14:33:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T14:33:57","slug":"6-of-the-biggest-dangers-on-the-international-space-station","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/6-of-the-biggest-dangers-on-the-international-space-station\/","title":{"rendered":"6 of the biggest dangers on the International Space Station"},"content":{"rendered":"

What are the biggest threats posed to astronauts living and working on the ISS, and how do they avoid the risks associated with life in space? <\/p>

By Sean Blair\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 10 October 2023 at 13:44 PM<\/p>

\n\n

What are the biggest dangers facing astronauts on the International Space Station?<\/p>

Although life on the ISS is incredibly safe, there are more dangers than you may think.<\/p>

Flight is said to be the safest mode of transportation.<\/p>

But does whizzing around Earth at upwards of 7km\/s aboard the 747-sized International Space Station<\/a> count?<\/p>

Do real-life astronauts, living only a few sheets of aluminium away from hard vacuum, stress about worst-case scenarios?<\/p>

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir pictured during an EVA with fellow astronaut Christina Koch, 18 October 2019. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Steven Smith \u2013 NASA veteran of trips to Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> and the ISS \u2013 admits to occasional anxieties flying up and down, but that\u2019s it. \u201cOn orbit my standard emotion is joy,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s never any concern.\u201d<\/p>
No-one has yet perished in space, only getting to or from it. But that\u2019s not to deny there are some very real risks.<\/p>
Here are some of the biggest dangers facing astronauts on the International Space Station<\/p>
**Space Station dangers<\/strong><\/h2>**Radiation<\/h3>
$\"NASA$
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir prepares DNA samples for sequencing for the Genes in Space-6 experiment, 26 December 2019. The study explores how cells repair DNA damaged by space radiation. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
ISS astronauts are officially classed as radiation workers, and that makes radiation one of the biggest dangers on the Space Station.<\/p>
A single day on board the ISS could expose astronauts to up to one millisievert, roughly four months\u2019 worth of typical UK background radiation.<\/p>
Spacewalkers briefly experience higher exposures, as measured by crew dosimeters and a mannequin containing actual bones that was temporarily placed outside the ISS.<\/p>
Space radiation comes from two sources: energetic particles from the Sun, peaking at times of high solar activity, and galactic cosmic rays \u2013 atomic nuclei shot across the Universe by ancient cosmic explosions.<\/p>
$\"The$
The largest solar prominence ever observed in a single field of view including the full solar disc, as seen by Solar Orbiter, 15 February 2022. Credit: Solar Orbiter\/EUI Team\/ESA & NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Most radiation of both types is deflected by Earth\u2019s magnetic field<\/a>, which is fortunate for ISS crews as artificial shielding options are limited.<\/p>
Even so, parts of the \u2018dormitory\u2019 modules are lined with polyethylene plastic.<\/p>
This is a more effective radiation shield than metal, which is prone to triggering harmful secondary particle showers.<\/p>
More serious risks come once you leave Earth behind.<\/p>
Radiation from solar flares monitored between Apollo missions was strong enough to have incapacitated or killed moonwalkers.<\/p>
Galactic cosmic rays are more hazardous still, because these high-energy particles cannot practically be deflected today.<\/p>
Astronauts headed to Mars should expect every cell nucleus in their bodies to be struck during the trip.<\/p>
Drifting away<\/h3>
$\"Astronaut$
Astronaut Mark Lee tests the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER). Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cDuring a spacewalk, you might suddenly realise you\u2019re gripping tightly to a handhold for no conscious reason,\u201d recalls Smith.<\/p>
\u201cI think it\u2019s because you see nothing touching the bottom of your feet \u2013 and Earth is 400km away.\u201d<\/p>
But the nightmare of drifting away from the ISS is unrealistic.<\/p>
Spacewalkers stay tethered at all times and are equipped with a \u2018jetpack of last resort\u2019 called the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER).<\/p>
SAFER is an updated version of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), which was regularly used by Space Shuttle<\/a> crews to help salvage satellites in the 1980s, until Challenger\u2019s loss led to tighter safety rules.<\/p>
Astronauts do lose accessories, if not themselves: in 2008 a toolbox drifted away, but fortunately posed no collision risk.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><p class=\"p4\">What might happen in the case of a lost spacewalker was shown by the 2006 Suitsat experiment.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">A Russian spacesuit was turned into a radio beacon and jettisoned from the ISS.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">It floated ahead of the space station for seven months, after which it burnt up in the atmosphere.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">Spacesuits are not always reliable, either. ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano had his spacewalk aborted in July 2013 when water began to leak into his helmet, covering his eyes and nose.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">Other spacewalks have been terminated early due to damaged gloves \u2013 a particular weak point. <\/p><p class=\"p4\">Astronaut life insurance rates are five times higher if their mission includes extra-vehicular activity.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">\u201cSpacewalkers are in a dangerous situation, but make the work look easy and fun,\u201d says Smith.<\/p><h3 class=\"p1\" id=\"h-fire\">Fire<\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1464\" height=\"1036\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/02\/candle_comparison-76e5b9e.jpg\" alt=\"Two candle flames as they appear in a controlled experiment on the ISS (left), compared with how a flame appears on Earth (right). Credit: NASA\" class=\"wp-image-45507\" title=\"Two candle flames as they appear in a controlled experiment on the ISS (left), compared with how a flame appears on Earth (right). Credit: NASA\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Two candle flames as they appear in a controlled experiment on the ISS (left), compared with how a flame appears on Earth (right). Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p3\">Fire behaves differently in microgravity.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">It stays put rather than spreading, a plasma bubble that burns hotter and hotter, producing blinding smoke that can swiftly blanket a cabin.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">When fire broke out on Mir in 1997 it burnt for 14 minutes, and the six-man crew\u2019s fire extinguishers failed to put it out.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">Instead, Mir\u2019s blazing oxygen generator went on burning and spewing blobs of molten metal until finally burning out when all its fuel was exhausted.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">Fire may have claimed an entire space station already \u2013 Russia\u2019s Salyut 2, which broke up in 1973.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">The leading explanation as to why it depressurised in the first place is an electrical fire, which is thought to have burnt so hot that it melted the station\u2019s hull.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">Thankfully, no one was on board at the time.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">Flames are harder to spot in microgravity, burning bluer and dimmer.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">The ISS has a fire detection and suppression system to monitor for smoke, but as soot particles are larger in microgravity, it can be falsely triggered by normal dust.<\/p><h3 id=\"h-large-pieces-of-debris\">Large pieces of debris<\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1280\" height=\"876\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2019\/10\/Space-Junk-432b0b9-e1570447396123.jpg\" alt=\"A computer-generated image of space debris orbiting Earth. Credit: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office, photo gallery\" class=\"wp-image-41378\" title=\"A computer-generated image of space debris orbiting Earth. Credit: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office, photo gallery\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A computer-generated image of space debris orbiting Earth. Credit: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office, photo gallery<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p1\">Space junk is a growing problem, and could become one of the biggest dangers on the Space Station.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">The more than 20,000 items of orbital debris larger than 10cm can be tracked by ground-based radar.<\/p><p>This is often known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-missions\/space-junk\">space junk<\/a>.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">\u2018Collision avoidance manoeuvres\u2019 are performed if an object comes within a few kilometres of the Space Station and has a collision likelihood higher than one in 10,000.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">The ISS used to average one manoeuvre annually, but the frequency is growing: four were performed between April 2011 and April 2012.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">In 2011, the crew were ordered into their two Soyuz lifeboats when some debris came within 250m.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1125629273-72eb985-e1662623228355.jpg\" alt=\"Space junk is the name given to spent satellites and other debris in orbit around Earth. Credit: janiecbros \/ Getty Images\" class=\"wp-image-107204\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Space junk is the name given to spent satellites and other debris in orbit around Earth. Credit: janiecbros \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p2\">Debris comes mostly from defunct satellites, driven to explode by sunlight heating up their batteries or surplus fuel.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">Collisions are a growing source: NASA debris expert Don Kessler observed that, once past a certain critical mass, collisions will give rise to more debris in a chain reaction.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">This \u2018Kessler syndrome\u2019 is dramatised in the 2013 film <i>Gravity<\/i>, but is becoming reality.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">Debris levels in low-Earth orbit have increased by 50% since 2008, helped along by the 2009 collision of Russia\u2019s Kosmos-2251 with the US Iridium 33 satellite, plus China\u2019s 2007 missile test targeting its own weather satellite.<\/p><h3 class=\"p1\" id=\"h-deliveries\">Deliveries<\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/02\/iss061e070168-9924463-scaled-e1582552756480.jpg\" alt=\"The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship approaches the ISS. Credit: NASA\" class=\"wp-image-45509\" title=\"The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship approaches the ISS. Credit: NASA\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship approaches the ISS. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p3\">Docking the spacecraft that supply orbital stations with crews, foodstuffs and fuel seems a routine affair, but it can go badly wrong.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">In 1997, an unmanned Progress spacecraft went out of control as it approached Mir, crashing into one module.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">Crewmen felt their ears pop as air was sucked out of the resulting hull fracture, estimated to be about the size of a small coin.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">The damaged module, Spektr, was rendered uninhabitable and had to be cut off from the rest of the station. The accident was a result of an unfortunate experiment in manual control.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">ISS supply craft, Progress and Soyuz rely on the Kurs radar-based docking system.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">ESA\u2019s Automated Transfer Vehicle employs radio and optical tracking for its extremely precise automated berthing.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">While Japan\u2019s H-II and the commercial Dragon are both grappled to berths by astronauts controlling the ISS\u2019s robotic arm.<\/p><h3 class=\"p5\" id=\"h-shrapnel\">Shrapnel<\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/02\/iss040e103941_micro_meteor_orbital_debris-314f714-scaled-e1582552596848.jpg\" alt=\"An astronaut points to a micro meteor orbital debris strike on one of the space station's windows. Credit: NASA\" class=\"wp-image-45508\" title=\"An astronaut points to a micro meteor orbital debris strike on one of the space station's windows. Credit: NASA\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An astronaut points to a micro meteor orbital debris strike on one of the space station’s windows. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p3\">Even small objects can pose one of the biggest dangers to the Space Sation.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">The ISS is regularly assailed by tiny micrometeoroids and small pieces of orbital debris that are both natural and artificial in origin.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">Dust from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/a-guide-to-comets\">comet<\/a> trails and meteoroids mingles with paint flecks, frozen water droplets or particles from solid rocket exhaust, among other jetsam.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">Speed, not size, presents the real danger: even a 1mm metal fragment can strike with the force of a bullet.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">Natural micrometeoroids possess higher velocities still, but are comparatively rarer and less dense.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">Critical ISS modules are shielded to withstand objects up to 1cm in diameter as a minimum.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">Multiple aluminium \u2018bumpers\u2019, plus Nextel and Kevlar layers, absorb the impact energy of such objects before they reach the inner shell.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/02\/Impact_chip-1024x731.jpg?fit=800,571\" alt=\"Image showing a 7mm-diameter chip in the Cupola window on the International Space Station, gouged out by the impact from a piece of space debris. The image was captured by astronaut Tim Peake. Credit: NASA\/ESA\" class=\"wp-image-141497\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image showing a 7mm-diameter chip in the Cupola window on the International Space Station, gouged out by the impact from a piece of space debris. The image was captured by astronaut Tim Peake. Credit: NASA\/ESA<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p4\">These fragments do, however, still cause damage: one window of the ISS\u2019s Cupola was pockmarked in 2012, and a bullet-sized hole in a solar array was spotted in April 2013.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">Spacewalkers are also vulnerable, as some parts of a spacesuit have no shielding \u2013 the helmet visor, for instance.<\/p><p class=\"p4\">However, NASA calculates the odds of \u2018critical penetration\u2019 forming a hole larger than 4mm in the 14-layer spacesuit during a six-hour spacewalk as one in 31,000.<\/p><p><em><strong>Did you know that you can see the ISS from Earth with the naked eye? Read our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/how-see-international-space-station-iss-night-sky\/\">how to see the International Space Station<\/a> to find out how to spot it.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><em><strong>This article originally appeared in the October 2013 issue of <\/strong><\/em><strong>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong><em><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the biggest threats posed to astronauts living and working on the ISS, and how do they avoid the risks associated with life in space? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":50175,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"8"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/10\/6-of-the-biggest-dangers-on-the-international-space-station.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/10\/6-of-the-biggest-dangers-on-the-international-space-station-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/10\/6-of-the-biggest-dangers-on-the-international-space-station-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/10\/6-of-the-biggest-dangers-on-the-international-space-station-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/10\/6-of-the-biggest-dangers-on-the-international-space-station-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/10\/6-of-the-biggest-dangers-on-the-international-space-station-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/10\/6-of-the-biggest-dangers-on-the-international-space-station-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"What are the biggest threats posed to astronauts living and working on the ISS, and how do they avoid the risks associated with life in space?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/50174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}