Page 69 - Reading Success B3

An astronaut is a person who is trained by a human spaceflight program to
command or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. In Russia, astronauts are

called ‘cosmonauts’. Chinese astronauts are called ‘Taikonauts’.
Of course, you might ask, “How do they do everyday things like eat, sleep, and

go to the bathroom?” It’s important to note that astronauts do many of the same
things we do here on Earth. They still use the same soap and shampoo, but

sponge baths are more common than showers because it takes a lot of time and
effort to take a shower. They exercise a lot to stay in shape and they also eat

nutritious food. You might also be wondering how astronauts sleep at night. Well,
they don’t just float around in a room! Each astronaut hops into a sleeping bag

attached to the wall and sleeps there. Otherwise, they would constantly bump into
things! Which brings us to the interesting question of “how do they use the

bathroom?” Without going into too much detail, let’s just say there are bags that
collect the wastes. Also, there is a seat belt to keep you from floating off the seat!

Astronauts have many jobs during space missions. Most astronauts are
scientists, and in space they do experiments to study how the lack of gravity

affects plants, animals, and humans. Astronauts also study the Earth from
space; they can get a great view from up there! Being above the Earth’s

atmosphere also lets astronauts see the planets and stars better.
In 1990, the space shuttle took the Hubble Space Telescope into space, and

astronauts have repaired and improved Hubble since then. Astronauts on NASA’s
mission STS-115 recently took a solar panel and attached it to the International

Space Station. Fixing the space station will keep astronauts busy for a while
longer!

Main Idea

What is the main idea of this story?

a. the difference between an astronaut and a cosmonaut

b. what an astronaut is and does
c. the Hubble Space Telescope

d. how astronauts sleep at night

72_Reading Success B 3