0:00:07 > 0:00:12Now this looks like fun, and it is...
0:00:13 > 0:00:16..but it's just one of the many threats that astronauts face
0:00:16 > 0:00:17when they're living in space.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22With British astronaut Tim Peake up on the space station right now,
0:00:22 > 0:00:27we're going to find out how to survive...in space.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44APPLAUSE
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Thank you. Thank you.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56This is mission control for us
0:00:56 > 0:00:59here at the Royal Institution for the next 60 minutes
0:00:59 > 0:01:03and we're getting live information and pictures from the space station
0:01:03 > 0:01:07and this is exactly what astronaut Tim Peake can see.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11And, right now, we're going to see something very beautiful.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13We're going to see, up on that screen,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17sunrise as the astronauts themselves see it.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21And it is very beautiful, but it is very brief.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23And it's brief because it's brought about
0:01:23 > 0:01:27by the motion of the space station as it hurtles around the Earth
0:01:27 > 0:01:29at 17,500 miles an hour
0:01:29 > 0:01:32and that speed alone makes it dangerous,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35before you even consider what this really is.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38This is a machine inside which people live
0:01:38 > 0:01:42and an artificially-crafted bubble of life support,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46upon which the crew depend for every second of every day
0:01:46 > 0:01:50in the impossibly hostile ocean of space.
0:01:51 > 0:01:57Now, welcome back to the 2015 Christmas Lectures.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00I am Dr Kevin Fong and I used to work with NASA
0:02:00 > 0:02:03trying to protect astronauts as they went about the business
0:02:03 > 0:02:06of exploring space.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09But Tim Peake's up there right now, living that,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12and we're just going to take a second here
0:02:12 > 0:02:16to have a look at how he's getting on.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Hi, Kevin, and hello to everybody in the theatre
0:02:18 > 0:02:20in the Royal Institute Christmas Lectures.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22I hope you're having a great time
0:02:22 > 0:02:25and welcome onboard the International Space Station.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Now, remarkably, we've managed to get some questions up to Tim
0:02:30 > 0:02:34and one in particular, which was poised by someone in the audience,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37so I know that Lowry Howard is here somewhere.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Where are you, Lowry? Lowry, what was your question for Tim?
0:02:40 > 0:02:43What does it smell like on the International Space Station?
0:02:43 > 0:02:45So let's see what Tim thought of that.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Tim, what does it smell like on the International Space Station?
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Really, it's an interesting smell. It's not a bad smell at all.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56It smells almost metallic and also almost chemical-y,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58but not in a bad, not in a strong way.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00We'll be hearing more from Tim later,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03but right now I've come up to space or at least what counts for space
0:03:03 > 0:03:05here at the Royal Institution,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08so I'm going to give a wave back down to Planet Earth.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10It's good to see you all so well down there.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14This is our replica of the International Space Station.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17It's a remarkable piece of engineering.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21It was built by 18 member nations over 15 years.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26It is the brightest object in the night sky when you can see it
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and just up there on the screen, you can see how we built it,
0:03:29 > 0:03:30block by block, in time-lapse.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Every single one of those modules was put there by a rocket
0:03:34 > 0:03:35and someone walking in space.
0:03:35 > 0:03:41To build the space station, we had to turn space into a building site.
0:03:41 > 0:03:42It's quite remarkable.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Now, the other thing you can see on our mission control screens
0:03:45 > 0:03:46is the orbital tracker.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Now, the orbital tracker there shows us
0:03:49 > 0:03:52the track of the space station as it's going across the Earth.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55And right now I'm just going to lean out and see where it is.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57It's just heading off the edge of the map, there,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01just off the east coast of Australia, heading out over the ocean.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04And it has a funny shape, that orbital track
0:04:04 > 0:04:06and I can explain to you why.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09So, this is the Earth rotating from west to east
0:04:09 > 0:04:13and Space Station orbits around it,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15but it doesn't orbit around the Equator.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18It orbits at a kind of funny angle,
0:04:18 > 0:04:23so each orbit goes over a different part of the Earth.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27And let's just go to a bit of a video to see how Tim's getting on in space.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31As you can see, right now I'm in the US laboratory.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Here on the International Space Station,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35we have a number of modules where a whole range
0:04:35 > 0:04:38of different scientific experiments are being conducted.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41In fact, over the six months of my mission,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44about 265 experiments are going to be going on,
0:04:44 > 0:04:49ranging from fluid physics, biology experiments and, of course,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53human physiology experiments - learning more about our body,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56how it adapts to space flight and how it can benefit future
0:04:56 > 0:04:59space exploration and also people back on Earth.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02So great to see Tim there. APPLAUSE
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Although he had his feet under a bar, you could tell he was floating.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15So there's a question for you - why is he floating? Why is he weightless?
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Now, Isaac Newton told us that the force of gravity
0:05:19 > 0:05:23was the attraction between two objects that depended upon
0:05:23 > 0:05:26how massive those objects were and how far apart they were.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Now, if you go from the surface of the Earth into space,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34you're only travelling another 250 miles up and the gravity,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37the force due to gravity, hasn't changed that much.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40In fact, if you measure the force due to gravity in low Earth orbit,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44it's only gone down to about 92% of what it is here on Earth.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48So why are they weightless? It isn't because of zero G.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52We call it zero G, but it's not because of zero gravity.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Now, how many of you have ever been weightless before?
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Really? I think you're wrong. All of us have been weightless before.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03All of us have been weightless every time we jump or every time we fall.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Every time you jump or fall, you leave the ground
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and you are weightless until the moment you hit the ground again.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13I'm going to get off this because I think I'm going to kill myself.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17OK, whoa. Um, all right. What is weight?
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Weight is just the reaction of the ground
0:06:19 > 0:06:21against our bodies as we stand on it.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Right now, I weigh something cos I'm pushing on the ground,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25the ground's pushing on me. When I jump,
0:06:25 > 0:06:30I am weightless, and if you want to be weightless for longer,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34you just have to find a machine that makes you fall for longer.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Now, you could do that by getting in a lift and cutting the cable
0:06:38 > 0:06:41and you'd be weightless and you'd float like an astronaut
0:06:41 > 0:06:45until you hit the floor. That would really spoil the ride, I think.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49So the question is, can you find a machine
0:06:49 > 0:06:51that makes you fall for longer
0:06:51 > 0:06:54without the ground spoiling everything.
0:06:54 > 0:06:55And the answer is, you can.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57And let's just have a quick look at that machine.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00It's a humble plane, except that this plane's about to do
0:07:00 > 0:07:01something very strange.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04It's cruising along now, pulling up some speed
0:07:04 > 0:07:08and it's about to push into a very steep climb.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12It's about to push its nose up and over the top
0:07:12 > 0:07:16and, as it gets over the top, you become weightless for 23 seconds
0:07:16 > 0:07:19and it prescribes the shape of a parabola.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21That's why this is called a parabolic flight
0:07:21 > 0:07:27and now you're floating around inside and now you're on your way down.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30And this is pretty incredible when you're inside
0:07:30 > 0:07:34and it's about to come down to the bottom of its dive.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36There it is, it's screaming down at 45 degrees
0:07:36 > 0:07:39and, as it pulls out, you don't go back to your normal weight.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42You go to twice your weight for a brief second
0:07:42 > 0:07:46as it pulls out that dive. You weigh twice as much as you do normally.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49It goes up and down and up and down for about an hour and a half.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54It's called a parabolic flight but it's so violent with its oscillations
0:07:54 > 0:07:58that astronauts who train in it more fondly call it the Vomit Comet.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01And I had a go. Let's have a look at that.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08So there's my friend, Sundeep Dhillon,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12who is an intrepid mountaineer, who's terrible on a flying carpet.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Can you see him there? Dreadful. But he thought he'd give it a go.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Look, he's fallen off, it's terrible.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25And that's zero G, or at least that's a zero G flight.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28That's... You're weightless cos that plane's falling.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33Now, weightlessness makes things...pretty strange
0:08:33 > 0:08:35and to show you how strange,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38I'm going to need three special volunteers.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Oh, OK, I think, you. Come on down. Er, OK, go on, we'll have you.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44And I'm going to go right up to the top here
0:08:44 > 0:08:49and I think I am going to take...you.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50There you go, there you go.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53All right, round of applause for our volunteers.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57OK, so... Just face the front.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- Now, your name is?- James. - James.
0:09:00 > 0:09:01- And your name is?- Alex. - Alex.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- And your name is?- Rosella. - Rosella.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07OK, James, Alex and Rosella.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09So, Alex, let's start lifting that weight and you come
0:09:09 > 0:09:12and stand here, next to me. Come over here.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16So just keep doing some bicep curls. All right, here we go.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19So in and out and keep going until I tell you to stop. That's great.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24OK, uh... Now, James, you stand over that side. We'll play ping pong.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26And, Rosella, what you're going to do
0:09:26 > 0:09:28is eat this tea with the chopsticks, OK?
0:09:28 > 0:09:31So there you go. All right. So.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Um, now, let's see what happens
0:09:33 > 0:09:35if you do these things on the Vomit Comet.
0:09:35 > 0:09:41Um, so, let's see what it's like to lift weight in weightlessness.
0:09:47 > 0:09:48'So it's much easier to...
0:09:48 > 0:09:51'There's a bit of an awkward moment here where I lose the weight
0:09:51 > 0:09:53'and gravity's coming back.'
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Um... Oh, dear.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58So, it's...
0:09:59 > 0:10:02It is much easier to lift weight in weightlessness.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- Are you getting tired yet?- Yes. - All right, I'll let you off.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09So, because the weight doesn't weigh anything any more,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12it doesn't become effortless to move it, because it has some inertia
0:10:12 > 0:10:15because of its mass, so it's hard to move around,
0:10:15 > 0:10:16but as long as you don't lose it
0:10:16 > 0:10:19and it doesn't fall on you, it's much better.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22So, Alex, thank you so much for joining us. Good to see you.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24APPLAUSE
0:10:26 > 0:10:28So, James and I are going to carry on with ping pong.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31So, now, I'm rubbish at ping pong.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35James is much better than me, but this gets much trickier
0:10:35 > 0:10:37when you take gravity away, so let's have a look at that.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48OK, game on.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51'Now, I had to have quite a lot of ping pong balls for this,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55'because I kept losing them and you keep losing them cos you're floating,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58'the balls are floating and they just don't do what they do on Earth.'
0:10:58 > 0:11:01I don't... I'm not entirely sure... LAUGHTER.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08I have no idea. OK? So the ball doesn't behave like this.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10The laws of physics are the same but the physics of your situation
0:11:10 > 0:11:13have changed, so everything is more difficult.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15Alex, should we have a quick game? Yeah?
0:11:18 > 0:11:21All right, then. APPLAUSE
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Well done. Take your seat. Thank you for doing that.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Now, how are you getting on with eating that tea?
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Not very well. So it's my fault,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38cos it is obviously impossible to eat tea with chopsticks.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Unless...you're weightless. Shall we have a look at that?
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I'll let you off with that. Let's have a look, Rosella.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50'So this was very tricky. That is tea, despite what it looks like.'
0:11:54 > 0:11:57'And you have to remember to open the bottle if you want to eat the tea.'
0:12:01 > 0:12:03'I was very pleased with myself.'
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Mr Miyagi...eat your heart out.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Deserves a round of applause - I ate some tea!
0:12:11 > 0:12:14APPLAUSE Thank you!
0:12:19 > 0:12:21So to find out more about the challenges of living and working
0:12:21 > 0:12:26in space, let's talk to someone who's lived there for 132 days.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30It's my great pleasure to introduce my friend and colleague -
0:12:30 > 0:12:34twice flown in space, former astronaut - Dan Tani.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37APPLAUSE
0:12:37 > 0:12:39Great to see you, mate. Good to see you.
0:12:39 > 0:12:40Great to see you.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Thank you.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Now, Dan, you know all about life support, but let me introduce you
0:12:51 > 0:12:54to some of mine. Have a seat, I'm going to hook you up here.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- All right. - This is my life support machine.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58- I'm going to plug you in here. - Yeah, plug me there.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00And we'll have a look at you in a minute
0:13:00 > 0:13:02and make sure you're all right. I'll leave you there.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Now, this machine is the machine I use at work.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07This is a life support machine.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11I am trained as an anaesthetist and an intensive care doctor
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and we need to use machines like these to keep people alive
0:13:14 > 0:13:18and this thing has to provide
0:13:18 > 0:13:21the elements of a breathable atmosphere,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24so, first of all, you need some oxygen.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Now, this machine does for one person
0:13:26 > 0:13:29what the International Space Station has to do for a crew of nine.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32It has to keep them alive and monitor them,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35but this is how I take my oxygen. So there's about 700 litres of oxygen.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37If you open the valve there.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And that's not a very good way to take oxygen up
0:13:40 > 0:13:42to the International Space Station, because...
0:13:44 > 0:13:47..it's in some reinforced steel, there. It's under high pressure.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50There's about 200 times greater pressure inside that bottle
0:13:50 > 0:13:53than there is outside, so there's an explosive risk here.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56So it's heavy and it's not a very efficient way of storing oxygen,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00so how do you take oxygen with you up into space?
0:14:00 > 0:14:02What you do is you take that oxygen
0:14:02 > 0:14:08and you park two hydrogen molecules near it and you take it up like this.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12This is how you take oxygen safely up to the International Space Station
0:14:12 > 0:14:16and how you store it. You store it as water.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17Now, you're going to ask,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20"How, then, do you get the oxygen out of that water?"
0:14:20 > 0:14:23And the answer is you have to give it some energy.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26And the energy that you give it comes from electricity.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Now, there's not much electricity on Space Station either,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31so that electricity has to come from the sun,
0:14:31 > 0:14:36or at least by converting the solar energy into electrical energy
0:14:36 > 0:14:37so the demo team here...
0:14:37 > 0:14:39There's no sun in this lecture theatre,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43so they put this on the roof all day, they charged this battery
0:14:43 > 0:14:47and that's passing electricity into this arrangement here, which is
0:14:47 > 0:14:50an electrode which is passing current through the water,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52splitting hydrogen from the oxygen.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55And the bubbles that you saw there just popping up and down
0:14:55 > 0:14:57are bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01On Space Station, they vent the hydrogen overboard, they keep
0:15:01 > 0:15:06the oxygen and that is the safest way for you to take oxygen into space.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Now, that's not all. You don't want to take more water up there
0:15:10 > 0:15:13than you need to, so, to try and make your use of oxygen
0:15:13 > 0:15:15as efficient as possible,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19you need to try and re-breathe some of your own exhaled air.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Now, Dan, I'm going to need your help for this.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24I'm going to try and put you literally on some...
0:15:24 > 0:15:27- a bit of life support here, yeah. - Very good.- OK, all right.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29I'll take all that I can get.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34I'm going to ask you to take some gentle breaths on that,
0:15:34 > 0:15:35if I can get that going.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37So you can see this monitoring his vital signs here.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42And just breathe gently for me, Dan, to prove that you're alive.
0:15:42 > 0:15:48That would be nice and I'll just dial down that a little bit. All right.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50This machine is allowing Dan
0:15:50 > 0:15:53to re-breathe the air that he's breathing out.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56When you breathe in, there's 21% oxygen in the air that you breathe.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01When you breathe out again, there's still 15% oxygen left
0:16:01 > 0:16:03and you could use that again... MACHINE BEEPS
0:16:03 > 0:16:06..only here's the problem... Oh, dear. Here's the problem...
0:16:06 > 0:16:10That air has got carbon dioxide in it and you don't want to breathe that.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14If you breathe enough carbon dioxide, eventually, you will feel sick,
0:16:14 > 0:16:19feel confused, eventually get drowsy, become unconscious
0:16:19 > 0:16:21and later you die, so you don't want to do any of that.
0:16:21 > 0:16:27So, what you do is you try and re-breathe your own gas.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Now, this circuit here is doing exactly that for Dan.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32He's breathing out through this limb of the circuit.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34MACHINE BEEPS He's breathing in through...
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Just ignore that, Dan, it's all right.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Breathe in through that limb of the circuit and it allows him
0:16:40 > 0:16:42to re-breathe his own air.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45I can add just tiny bits of oxygen and keep him topped up.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47But how do I get rid of the carbon dioxide?
0:16:47 > 0:16:49And the answer is right here.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Down here in this canister is some sodium hydroxide.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59So this is a chemical which, when it reacts with carbon dioxide,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01absorbs the carbon dioxide and removes it from the circuit.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Now, right now, you can see Dan's...
0:17:04 > 0:17:08This number here is measuring how much carbon dioxide there is
0:17:08 > 0:17:11at the end of Dan's breath. It's 5.2.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13It's going up now, cos I've taken out the thing
0:17:13 > 0:17:16that absorbs your carbon dioxide, Dan.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19KEVIN LAUGHS And it's going to keep going up.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Now, Dan might start to feel a little bit like he's short of breath,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24cos the thing that makes you feel short of breath is not being short
0:17:24 > 0:17:26of oxygen, which he's got plenty of.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29It's having too much carbon dioxide on board.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Now this is exactly how Space Station gets rid of carbon dioxide.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34I'll get to you in a minute, Dan.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Space Station takes the carbon dioxide you breathe,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41puts it through a scrubber, removes the carbon dioxide and gives you back
0:17:41 > 0:17:43the oxygen so that you can breathe it again
0:17:43 > 0:17:46with top-ups of only a little bit. You're nearly at six now, Dan.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50I'm getting a bit worried, so I am going to get you
0:17:50 > 0:17:53back on a scrubber, so we should see that number fall again.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56OK, so just let's watch that number.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59So it was six and it happens instantly.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Every time he takes a breath, it removes the carbon dioxide...
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Ehh! It does work eventually.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08I wouldn't kill my friend... on television.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10LAUGHTER, MACHINE BEEPS
0:18:10 > 0:18:12And we're going to see it dropping now
0:18:12 > 0:18:14and that's exactly how Space Station works.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Dan, I'm going to take you off that, cos I might kill you here. All right.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Thank you very much, Dan Tani. Thank you.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Now, Dan, I'm going to let you get back to your seat
0:18:27 > 0:18:30- and I will see you later, I hope.- Great!
0:18:30 > 0:18:31This is just like a space suit.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33It works just like a space suit, it's awesome!
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- Er, your space suit doesn't look as big as this.- No, yeah, it's smaller.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37DAN LAUGHS All right.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40I'll see you later, Dan. Cheers. APPLAUSE
0:18:44 > 0:18:47So, I've told you how you get oxygen up to Space Station,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50I've told you how you store it safely, I've told you how you scrub
0:18:50 > 0:18:54the carbon dioxide out so you can only top up your oxygen a little bit.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57But the problem with a carbon dioxide scrubber is it doesn't work
0:18:57 > 0:18:59if your carbon dioxide never gets to the scrubber.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Now, John is doing a bit of chemistry here,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05with some pretty simple reactants.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08So this is citric acid and bicarbonate of soda, right,
0:19:08 > 0:19:10which makes carbon dioxide.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Quite a lot, and it's gathering in that cylinder.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17And to help us see how this is going to behave, I need a volunteer.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23I'll go all the way up here, shall I? And...how about....you?
0:19:23 > 0:19:25APPLAUSE
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- Come and stand here and face the audience. What's your name?- Caitlin.
0:19:31 > 0:19:32Caitlin. Caitlin, OK.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37So, Caitlin, I'm going to show you that gases are affected by gravity.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Now, we don't really think of them as being affected by gravity,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42but they really are. So John is going to do something here.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Can you see him pouring that stuff into that beaker?
0:19:46 > 0:19:49- You can?- Yeah.- I can't see him pouring ANYTHING into that beaker.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52- Oh.- And can you see what's in that beaker?- No.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55There's nothing in that beaker. John, what are you doing, you crazy person?
0:19:57 > 0:19:59But there IS something in that beaker.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02There's carbon dioxide in that beaker and...
0:20:02 > 0:20:05You don't believe me, but there really is and because carbon dioxide
0:20:05 > 0:20:08is heavier than air, I'm hoping that it sits in that glass.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Now, Caitlin, I'm going to light these candles for you and...
0:20:12 > 0:20:15you're going to take that seemingly-empty beaker in a second
0:20:15 > 0:20:18and I just want you to pour it all over these candles.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25- Are you sure you're done pouring, John?- Yeah.- OK, cool.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28So, Caitlin, pick up that beaker, just gently, and pour it
0:20:28 > 0:20:29on those candles, all the way across,
0:20:29 > 0:20:31all the way, keep going, keep going, keep going, yes!
0:20:31 > 0:20:34APPLAUSE
0:20:41 > 0:20:45I love that one. Now, here's the thing...
0:20:45 > 0:20:50Gravity held the heavier carbon dioxide in the glass.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52But what it also did was clear it away,
0:20:52 > 0:20:54because I can relight these candles.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56That carbon dioxide doesn't sit on those candles,
0:20:56 > 0:21:01and it doesn't because convection takes it away again,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04so, as soon as the carbon dioxide hits the candles,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08it falls down and cold air and heavy air sinks and hot air rises
0:21:08 > 0:21:12and it mixes up and it ventilates the whole system, so, Caitlin,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14that's why you could put it out
0:21:14 > 0:21:17but why the carbon dioxide isn't there any more.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Caitlin, thank you so much. Take your seat. Thank you.
0:21:19 > 0:21:20APPLAUSE
0:21:23 > 0:21:27So, on the space station, there is no gravitational force.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Everything is weightless, so hot air cannot rise, cold air cannot sink,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35and so there's no mixing, there's no convection and there are no draughts,
0:21:35 > 0:21:39so you cannot get your air, your exhaled air,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42to the scrubbers, unless you have an artificial draught.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45On Space Station, the draught, like everything else
0:21:45 > 0:21:48upon which you depend for your life, the draughts are artificial.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50They're generated by fans that hum all the time.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53That's the humming sound you can always hear in the background
0:21:53 > 0:21:55when Tim speaks to us. John, thank you so much, thank you.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57APPLAUSE
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Now, when we first started sending people into space,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07we started to think, "Well, what's going to happen to them?"
0:22:07 > 0:22:10And, almost immediately, we realised that their muscles would waste.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Now, anyone who's even looked at a gym knows that if you don't use it,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18you lose it and so your muscles waste very rapidly in space.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21And it's not just your muscles.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23It's the things your muscles are attached to.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24Now, this is my friend, Juliet,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28and she doesn't look like this because she's gone into space.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32She's here to explain the effect of space flight on bones.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Now, you might think of bones as being one of those solid,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39inert objects that one caveman might once have hit another caveman with,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42but actually they're very dynamic tissues.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44They remodel themselves constantly
0:22:44 > 0:22:47along the lines of force that you apply to them.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50That's why it's important, at least at your age, to do lots and lots
0:22:50 > 0:22:51of exercise so you can make sure
0:22:51 > 0:22:54that your bones think you need lots of bone for later in life.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Now, your whole skeleton doesn't bear the same
0:22:58 > 0:23:00sort of weight as you're standing up.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03In fact, the weight-bearing bones, the principal weight-bearing bones,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05the bones that bear the most weight are here -
0:23:05 > 0:23:08this is the calcaneus, your heel -
0:23:08 > 0:23:11here, the neck of your femur,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14and here in your lower back.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16So I'm going to spin Juliet round.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Down here, the bones of your lower back.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21So those are the areas that bear the most weight.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22And when you go into space,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24those bones don't need to bear any more weight
0:23:24 > 0:23:29and your body says, "Well, why do I need to carry around this excess bone
0:23:29 > 0:23:31"if I'm not going to use it?"
0:23:31 > 0:23:34And the rule applies - if you don't use it, you lose it.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36So your bones begin to waste.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40And that's a problem, because when bones start to waste,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43they start to lose their mineral density, they become weaker.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48Now, to show you what that bone looks like up close, uh, we've taken...
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Imagine, at least, that we've taken a speck of bone
0:23:51 > 0:23:53from the neck of that femur there,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57perhaps just slightly less than a centimetre cubed, and made a model.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00And that's exactly what we've done.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05So this is a model of bone.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09This is that tiny speck from here - from the neck and the femur -
0:24:09 > 0:24:13blown up maybe 400-500 times,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16to give you an idea of the structure.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Now, you might find yourself a bit
0:24:18 > 0:24:21surprised to see that it is full of holes.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23You might have expected it to be solid.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26But it's not, because it has to be strong but also light.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29So it's got a very interesting structure that makes it
0:24:29 > 0:24:30behave like that.
0:24:30 > 0:24:35And the strength of the structure depends on the way that this
0:24:35 > 0:24:42network of bone is laid down, but also how much bone we have in it.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46So to show you how important it is to have the right amount of bone
0:24:46 > 0:24:49so that your bones don't break, I'm going to need a volunteer.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Let's see... Let's have you.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01APPLAUSE
0:25:01 > 0:25:06- Come and stand here. What's your name?- Luka.- Luka.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Luka, when astronauts go into space, their bones waste.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11At least their heels, and the neck and femur,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15and their lower back wastes at about a rate of 1-2% per month.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19Now, what we have done is we have taken this model of the bone
0:25:19 > 0:25:23and we have simulated what would happen if we put it in space.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25If we put that bone in space, Luka, it would
0:25:25 > 0:25:29have wasted and it would have lost some of its density.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34It's exactly the same structure, but it has wasted,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38because maybe this person has a disease, or they have been to space.
0:25:38 > 0:25:44All right? Now, to show you how weak a bone gets
0:25:44 > 0:25:47when it starts losing some of its density, we've got this crusher box.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Bone is remarkably strong for the amount of material that's in it,
0:25:50 > 0:25:56- and this is normal bone. How much do you weigh, Luka?- 40-50 kilos.
0:25:56 > 0:25:5940 or 50 kilos. All right, let's see what this is like.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03So if you very gently climb up on there. All right.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07And stand on that... Now, this model of bone is made of plaster.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11It's printed by a 3-D printer. So let's see how strong it is.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13OK, ready, steady, go. All right.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15So, that's pretty good.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19Let's take you down, Luka. Let's come back down. Step down.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21And let's try and do the same thing with the weaker bone.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Now, this bone, as I've told you, simulates what would happen
0:26:25 > 0:26:31if you sent an astronaut to space for 14 months
0:26:31 > 0:26:33and you let the bone waste.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38Now, if you lose maybe 10-15% of the density in that bone,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42you don't just get a 10% or 15% reduction in its strength.
0:26:42 > 0:26:43It becomes incredibly weak.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45Now, Luka, I'm going to ask you to try and stand on this one
0:26:45 > 0:26:47and we'll see how we go.
0:26:47 > 0:26:48All right, very gently on.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52OK. Now, let's have a quick countdown.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Someone get a countdown for this one.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57OK, three, two, one, go!
0:26:57 > 0:27:01Oh! OK. Luka, down you get.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Luka, thank you so much for helping us. That's fantastic.
0:27:05 > 0:27:06APPLAUSE
0:27:06 > 0:27:09So that is what happens if you go into space. This is bad news.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14If you are an astronaut coming back to Earth or visiting Mars,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17what you don't want is to get off your spacecraft and have you
0:27:17 > 0:27:20break both your bones because they have become as weak as this.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23And that is another problem. Thank you very much, John. Thank you.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30So that's muscle and bone.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And that's what happens to them when you unload them
0:27:32 > 0:27:36and you stop them having to deal with weight.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39In the end, all your systems are affected.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42And that same thing that pulls the fluid out of your head and
0:27:42 > 0:27:46pushes it into your legs on Earth - that is gravity - is absent in space.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49And so the fluids in your body behave rather peculiarly,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52and that's exactly what Tim Peake has been finding out.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57So let's go and find out how he's getting on the space station.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59My head feels a little bit full.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04All the fluid in my body has shifted up into this central area
0:28:04 > 0:28:06and so it's almost a little bit of a stuffy feeling,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09as if you've got a bit of a blocked-up nose.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12And so let's have a look at a picture of Tim now, on the right,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14and him just before flight, on the left.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Now, can you see his face is much rounder, much puffier?
0:28:17 > 0:28:20And that's not because there's an enormous module full of pies
0:28:20 > 0:28:23up there, it's because the fluid has pushed up
0:28:23 > 0:28:25from his legs into his head.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27And that's why he feels that stuffiness.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31They very technically refer to this shift in fluid from the lower body
0:28:31 > 0:28:34into the upper body as "chicken legs" and "puffy face".
0:28:34 > 0:28:37- Did that happen to you, Dan? - A little bit, yeah.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41I've seen pictures of you. You had a really puffy face! All right.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46You can protect yourself from some of these changes by going to the gym.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51And astronauts have to do that. They have to go to the gym a lot.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54They spend about two hours in the gym. We're going to see a clip here.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58This is Scott Kelly on something called the ARED.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01This is a machine that looks like a weightlifting machine,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03and they work out on the space station.
0:29:03 > 0:29:04It allows him to do some exercise.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06It's not because these guys are fitness freaks.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09They're all very fit and healthy,
0:29:09 > 0:29:12but it's because it's like the Alice In Wonderland story.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15This is all about doing as much running as you can do just
0:29:15 > 0:29:17to stay in the same place.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20All of these people have to do two-three hours of exercise a day
0:29:20 > 0:29:24just to maintain the standard of health that you do, to maintain
0:29:24 > 0:29:27their muscles and bones and, to a degree, their heart as well.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31Otherwise, they will just waste away and have real, real trouble
0:29:31 > 0:29:32when they come home.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Tim is up on the space station right now,
0:29:36 > 0:29:38and he's going to go to the gym pretty much every day
0:29:38 > 0:29:41for two-three hours, which means that he thinks he's going to be able to...
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Well, I'm told he's going to run
0:29:43 > 0:29:46the London Marathon on the treadmill. Whereas most of his colleagues
0:29:46 > 0:29:52will run about 26 miles, he'll run about 20,000 while he's up there.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56So there are other systems that are affected.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Now, not just your bones.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Not just your muscles, not just your heart,
0:30:01 > 0:30:06but there is the apparatus that senses where we are.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10Now, let me explain that. We are used to having mobile devices these days
0:30:10 > 0:30:15that know where they are. This one has a quite lovely app on it.
0:30:15 > 0:30:16It knows wherever it is.
0:30:16 > 0:30:21So wherever I turn this app, the device knows where it is.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25And that's because it's got a really impressive bit of
0:30:25 > 0:30:28sensory equipment in it. It's called an accelerometer.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30It detects acceleration
0:30:30 > 0:30:34and that's how the device knows where it is in space.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38Now, this is impressive, but you have your own system of accelerometry,
0:30:38 > 0:30:40and it's much more sensitive.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44And that system of detecting acceleration is in the inner ear.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46Now, that's the outer ear.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49There's the middle ear down here,
0:30:49 > 0:30:53that does most of your hearing or amplification. And then here...
0:30:55 > 0:30:59..you have the semi-circular canals in which you have cells that do
0:30:59 > 0:31:01exactly what that switch does -
0:31:01 > 0:31:04sensing acceleration as you shift around.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08So if these semi-circular canals, that are orientated at right angles,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11sense your rotational acceleration as you spin around, there is
0:31:11 > 0:31:15a small swelling just below them that contains two other accelerometers
0:31:15 > 0:31:18and they detect acceleration on the linear plane.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22So forwards and backwards in the horizontal plane, and up and down.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27Now, the problem with all of that when you go to space is that
0:31:27 > 0:31:30your inner ear, your system of detecting acceleration,
0:31:30 > 0:31:35seems to need gravity as some sort of reference to calibrate itself.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38When you are in space, that all changes.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41If you are floating in a module, there's no pressure on your feet,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43there's no load on your joints for you to detect.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46Your inner ear says, "I have no idea what is going on here."
0:31:46 > 0:31:48There is no load going on.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52And your eyes say to calm down, you're in a spaceship, it's fine.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55And somehow, that's OK, but it's still a bit funny.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57You feel a bit wobbly up there.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01Astronauts who go to space for the first time feel sick
0:32:01 > 0:32:04or are sick for the first 48-72 hours.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06Dan, the first time you went space,
0:32:06 > 0:32:10- what were you like for the first 48 hours?- I didn't feel very good.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12It felt like my whole stomach was in my throat
0:32:12 > 0:32:14and it was a very unpleasant feeling.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16But, boy, I tell you - I woke up on the third day
0:32:16 > 0:32:19and I felt 100%. It's amazing.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22But for the first couple of days, I just didn't feel very good at all.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24Were you sick in space?
0:32:24 > 0:32:27- I always had an air sick bag with me, but I never had to use it.- OK.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Well, I believe you. Now...
0:32:30 > 0:32:33To show you just how disorientating it is
0:32:33 > 0:32:37if your eyes tell you something that your ear is not feeling,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41I'm going to need a volunteer who is very good on fairground rides.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44Let's have you. Thank you.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47APPLAUSE
0:32:51 > 0:32:56- Come and stand here. What's your name?- Bryn.- Bryn.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58Bryn, come and have some astronaut training with me now.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02This is a chair that's used in astronaut training, Dan, right?
0:33:02 > 0:33:06- This is a chair that we've... The Russians use it.- Yeah.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09- Did they put you on one? - No, I never got to ride one.- OK.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Well, let's not spoil the surprise. So, Bryn, this...
0:33:13 > 0:33:17- If you want to be an astronaut... Do you want to be an astronaut?- Yeah.
0:33:17 > 0:33:18Yeah? OK, all right.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21You sound less sure about that than you really should be.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24So I'm going to ask you to close your eyes
0:33:24 > 0:33:27and put your left ear on your left shoulder. That's brilliant.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29Don't do anything until I say, "Three, two, one, up."
0:33:29 > 0:33:33And then we'll see how we go. And I'm going to need some blockers here.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36OK, here we go, Bryn. Ready? So right now,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39I am telling Bryn's inner ear that his head is rotating on a
0:33:39 > 0:33:43plane that's not really rotating, because his ear is over to the side.
0:33:43 > 0:33:44So it's not sure what is going on.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48He's getting a bit of information from being on that seat,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51but not much, and his feet are off the ground.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55His eyes are closed, so he can't use that as a source of information
0:33:55 > 0:33:57and so, at the moment, his body is saying,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00"What have you volunteered for?"
0:34:00 > 0:34:03And in a second, I'm going to stop him.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06- Three, two, one up!- Ugh!
0:34:06 > 0:34:09CROWD GASPS
0:34:09 > 0:34:11- Are you all right?- Yeah.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13LAUGHTER
0:34:13 > 0:34:15You're not sure about that either, are you?
0:34:15 > 0:34:18Now, Bryn, just describe for me what that was like.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20That wasn't just dizziness, was it?
0:34:20 > 0:34:25- Erm... That was... - And what did you experience?
0:34:25 > 0:34:26Did you feel like you were tumbling?
0:34:26 > 0:34:29It was like you're in a hurricane or something.
0:34:29 > 0:34:30- Like you're in a hurricane.- Yeah.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Yeah, I've never been in a hurricane, personally.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37But it feels, I'm told - because I do this to other people,
0:34:37 > 0:34:40but I don't do it myself - like you're tumbling head over heels or
0:34:40 > 0:34:43think the world is spinning around at a funny angle.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47And that's all that fluid calming down, but giving you a
0:34:47 > 0:34:50really, really, really incorrect set of inputs.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53- So, Bryn, are you all right getting back to your chair?- Yeah.- You sure?
0:34:53 > 0:34:55All right. We will help you back to your chair. You might need this.
0:34:55 > 0:35:00This is our very own - donated to us by Dan Tani -
0:35:00 > 0:35:01space sick bag.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05It's great because, you know, you're sick in there
0:35:05 > 0:35:07and you can seal it all up. And there's a little towel
0:35:07 > 0:35:09for you to wipe your face with.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12So that's what you get for doing that. Thank you so much, Bryn.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Thank you.
0:35:14 > 0:35:15APPLAUSE
0:35:20 > 0:35:22So that's what happens to you on the space station.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26We are just going to see some video from the space station
0:35:26 > 0:35:28and see how Tim's finding all of that.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32When I first came on board, it was all a bit disorientating
0:35:32 > 0:35:34and your body feels a little bit dizzy.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37If you can imagine that your brain is trying to work out
0:35:37 > 0:35:41the difference in what your ears are saying as opposed to your eyes.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45Your vestibular system is all a bit messed up in zero gravity
0:35:45 > 0:35:47and we have to rely on the information from our eyes to
0:35:47 > 0:35:50try and make sense of our orientation.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54And so it is best not to move your head from side to side too much.
0:35:54 > 0:35:59Like that. Or up and down. Instead, move your whole body.
0:35:59 > 0:36:04However, I've been amazed at how quickly the body has adapted
0:36:04 > 0:36:06to space already. In just two days,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09I'm feeling a lot more comfortable in this environment.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Today, I was unpacking cargo, changing orientations
0:36:12 > 0:36:15and really feeling a lot more comfortable.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18So this is Tim a couple of days in space, doing a somersault,
0:36:18 > 0:36:20but this isn't how you show off in space.
0:36:20 > 0:36:21THIS is how you show off in space.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24So that's Scott Kelly, who's been on board for months now.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28And he can really throw himself around. So fantastic to see that.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Despite all of that, the International Space Station is
0:36:33 > 0:36:38still a relatively safe place to be, so long as you stay inside.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41The problems come when you want to go for a walk.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45I know someone who has gone for a walk outside the space station,
0:36:45 > 0:36:47and he is right here with us in the audience.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50I'm going to ask Dan Tani to join me back here. Dan.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52APPLAUSE
0:36:58 > 0:37:01Now, Dan, I understand that when you go for a walk,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03you need to dress properly.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05You need a space suit, because you've got to protect
0:37:05 > 0:37:08yourself from the environment of space, absolutely.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Yeah, and how much is your space suit?
0:37:10 > 0:37:13I don't know how much the whole thing is altogether.
0:37:13 > 0:37:18I do know that one glove that we wear is about a million bucks.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20- 1 million?! - For each. And we wear two.
0:37:20 > 0:37:222 million for a pair of gloves?!
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Yeah, and we bring in three sets just in case.
0:37:25 > 0:37:30- So a backup set and a backup to the backup.- 6 million for the gloves?
0:37:30 > 0:37:34Maybe 30 million, 50 million for the whole suit.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36I don't have to buy it!
0:37:36 > 0:37:38Dan, I think your tailor is taking you for a ride.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41I think we here at the RI could build a better spacesuit,
0:37:41 > 0:37:46and to show you how, I think I'm going to need a volunteer.
0:37:46 > 0:37:47Who would like to volunteer?
0:37:49 > 0:37:51OK. Let's have you.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53APPLAUSE
0:37:59 > 0:38:03- Face the front. Now, what's your name?- Molly.- Molly, Molly.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08OK, Molly, Dan bought a suit for 50 million. It's ridiculous.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Now, Dan, we can definitely do better.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13So, Molly, we're going to get you the Royal Institution spacesuit
0:38:13 > 0:38:15that's going to be much better than Dan's 50 million suit.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19So, Dan, just tell me what we need here to get Molly ready for space.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Let's see. The most important thing is something that holds pressure.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25- Something that holds pressure. A pressure garment.- Yeah, yeah.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28Let's apply some pressure to you, Molly. All right.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31- What else do we need, Dan? - You need to protect yourself from the environment,
0:38:31 > 0:38:33- the thermal environment. - Thermal environment, OK.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37So we need something that reflects the heat back into you.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40You know what? Your body gets hot.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44- You need to cool the body down. - So you need a cooling garment. OK.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47All right. You need a cooling garment. What else do you need?
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Those expensive gloves and a helmet.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Those expensive gloves, and a helmet.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54I'm going to put those in there, Molly. OK, and a helmet.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Molly, we're going to get this helmet on you.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00We're in that thing for, like, 8 or 10 hours... We wear a nappy.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04We need a nappy, a nappy. OK. All right.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07OK, we'll just put that in the top with everything else.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13- And a portable life support system. - You need oxygen, of course. Yeah.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17So that's brilliant. And what on earth is that?
0:39:17 > 0:39:19That there's a bit of Kevlar, isn't it?
0:39:19 > 0:39:22- Well, that's very important, because you need...- A bulletproof vest?
0:39:22 > 0:39:25You need to protect yourself from micro meteorites.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29- OK, well, let's stick it on. - There we go.- All right.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31How are you feeling, Molly?
0:39:31 > 0:39:34- Very, very covered in everything. - Very, very covered in everything!
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Well, the real space suit weighs about 300lbs.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40- So this is quite a light one, actually.- That's a light one, yes.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Molly, this is our space suit that we have made for you.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45It does all the things that Dan said.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49- Would you be happy to go into space in this?- No!
0:39:49 > 0:39:51No, I don't blame you.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54Maybe we should spend money on space suits. Molly, thank you so much.
0:39:54 > 0:39:55Molly.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57APPLAUSE
0:40:01 > 0:40:06But I don't understand why you needed to have a bulletproof jacket
0:40:06 > 0:40:09in that suit. Why did you need a bulletproof jacket?
0:40:09 > 0:40:11Well, you're going 17,000 mph
0:40:11 > 0:40:13and if you run into something going that fast,
0:40:13 > 0:40:17even a fairly tiny speck of maybe a piece of paint
0:40:17 > 0:40:21or some part of an old rocket, it could go right through you
0:40:21 > 0:40:23and so you need some protection.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27Now, it's a bit weird to think of small objects as being harmful,
0:40:27 > 0:40:29but we can show you that they really are.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33And to show you, I'm going to need a volunteer.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Here, why don't you come down?
0:40:35 > 0:40:38APPLAUSE
0:40:43 > 0:40:45- And what's your name?- Viraj.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48Viraj, small objects travelling very quickly can cause a lot of damage.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52Now, to prove it, I've got some orbital debris here that we
0:40:52 > 0:40:56have specially brought up so that may look like a carrot to you.
0:40:56 > 0:41:01Now, Viraj, I'm going to tell you that this carrot can go through
0:41:01 > 0:41:06this cardboard, OK, which they've decided to put a picture of me on.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08All right, so, Viraj, I want you to try
0:41:08 > 0:41:11and throw that carrot through that figurine.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13Ready? Give it your best shot.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16No. LAUGHTER
0:41:16 > 0:41:18Let me try, let me try.
0:41:19 > 0:41:20Dan?
0:41:21 > 0:41:24It's quite therapeutic, this, actually.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26But we're not going to get it through.
0:41:26 > 0:41:27We need to move it a bit faster.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30Now, this may look like some copper piping and a bicycle pump
0:41:30 > 0:41:33but it is an orbital debris simulator and what we're going to do is
0:41:33 > 0:41:37give those carrots enough energy to get through this.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40So, we're going to get some safety glasses on.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44You better put those on and I better put these on
0:41:44 > 0:41:50and we're going to show you the power of the carrot here as we load it up.
0:41:50 > 0:41:55Now, the energy that we're using is kinetic energy and kinetic
0:41:55 > 0:42:00energy, as you know, is half times the mass times the velocity squared.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03- You definitely knew that, didn't you?- Yeah.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05And so the important component is the velocity,
0:42:05 > 0:42:06how fast the thing is moving.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08And so if you get it moving fast enough,
0:42:08 > 0:42:11it can have some surprising consequences.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16So, Viraj, you come round here and just, in a minute,
0:42:16 > 0:42:17I'm going to help you.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19If you put your hand down there and you tell me, Dan,
0:42:19 > 0:42:21when you're ready to go.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27- Go.- Three, two, one, go! Whoo!
0:42:27 > 0:42:31CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:42:31 > 0:42:34- High five.- Good job.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46Now, look, there is the hole in the...
0:42:46 > 0:42:48LAUGHTER
0:42:49 > 0:42:54I'm very upset right now. I'm going to have a bit of an emotional moment.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58So in case you didn't know, carrots are dangerous.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01Carrots moving at high speed are dangerous.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03Never, ever, ever try and do this at home.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05It's not a joke,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09stuff travelling fast enough will take your eyes out pretty easily.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11And so, Dan, that's just one of the hazards you face
0:43:11 > 0:43:13when you go on a spacewalk.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15So what's that like?
0:43:15 > 0:43:18When we're doing a spacewalk, we're out there to do a task -
0:43:18 > 0:43:21fix something or move something.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25And we are very lucky here to have this spacesuit.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27Now, you have trained on these spacesuits
0:43:27 > 0:43:30and we're not allowed to touch them so you can grab some gloves.
0:43:30 > 0:43:31Thank you.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34Now, tell me about this spacesuit, Dan, because this is an actual...
0:43:34 > 0:43:36This isn't like the spacesuits that you launch into space in,
0:43:36 > 0:43:39this is a suit for a spacewalk, right?
0:43:39 > 0:43:42For doing spacewalks. This is called an Orlan spacesuit.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45It's the Russian version of the spacewalking suit.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Just take me through some of these features.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50These always look very complicated so just some of the stuff here.
0:43:50 > 0:43:51Now, this is a Russian suit,
0:43:51 > 0:43:53some of the stuff is written in Russian, right?
0:43:53 > 0:43:55All of it's written in Russian, yeah.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57So you have to learn Russian to be able to walk in it?
0:43:57 > 0:43:59Yes, exactly right.
0:43:59 > 0:44:00And the spacesuit is its own machine,
0:44:00 > 0:44:02it's a very complicated machine
0:44:02 > 0:44:05and so this here selects what kind of oxygen you're going to be
0:44:05 > 0:44:08breathing, either from your umbilical or from your tank.
0:44:08 > 0:44:12This is a regulator for temperature so if you're getting too cold or
0:44:12 > 0:44:16too hot, you move this and it will regulate the temperature inside you.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19And I don't speak any Russian but this looks like it's written
0:44:19 > 0:44:22backwards to me, this stuff round here. Why is that?
0:44:22 > 0:44:24Well, it is because your eyes are up here
0:44:24 > 0:44:26and you're never going to see what's on here
0:44:26 > 0:44:28so we have a mirror that we have on our spacesuits
0:44:28 > 0:44:31and so to see parts of your spacesuit, you use the mirror
0:44:31 > 0:44:33and just like the front of an ambulance or a fire truck,
0:44:33 > 0:44:36it's written backwards, this is written backwards so that
0:44:36 > 0:44:39when you look at it in the mirror, it'll look the right way.
0:44:39 > 0:44:45And then up here, gold? Gold sunglasses? What's that about?
0:44:45 > 0:44:46Well, it's very bright.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50Without an atmosphere to protect you, it's extremely bright
0:44:50 > 0:44:55and so you need the protection for your eyes and you would get
0:44:55 > 0:44:58awful sunburn if you didn't have this kind of protection.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00Wow, that's pretty impressive.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03And this does all the stuff that we tried to get Molly's suit to do
0:45:03 > 0:45:06- earlier on, it keeps you alive. - Exactly right.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08I just want to look round the back cos round the back here,
0:45:08 > 0:45:11I'm going to spin it round. So, this is a Russian suit.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15Now, I've tried to put on one of your American spacewalk suits.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17It's pretty hard, it's like a fibreglass T-shirt,
0:45:17 > 0:45:19you've got to wriggle inside,
0:45:19 > 0:45:21I nearly dislocated my shoulder.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22The Russian suit has just got a door,
0:45:22 > 0:45:24you just climb straight in at the back.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27It's very popular with astronauts when they train in it
0:45:27 > 0:45:29because it's very easy to get in and it's very cleverly designed
0:45:29 > 0:45:33so that you can close up and seal the suit all by yourself.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35It's a one-person-donning suit.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38And what's your scariest moment on a spacewalk, Dan?
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Well, when we say spacewalk, we're not walking with our legs,
0:45:41 > 0:45:42we're walking with our hands
0:45:42 > 0:45:45and I remember going down the space station
0:45:45 > 0:45:47and I think I got a little overconfident
0:45:47 > 0:45:51because there was one moment where I was going to grab onto one handrail
0:45:51 > 0:45:54and let go of the other but it turns out I wasn't even on that handrail.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57I let go of this one and I started floating a little bit
0:45:57 > 0:45:59and realised I didn't have it and I was able to quickly grab on
0:45:59 > 0:46:03but that one second was a little terrifying for me.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05Did you nearly fall off the space station, Dan?
0:46:05 > 0:46:09- Almost lost the space station, yeah. - Wow, that's pretty frightening.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12Now, I think what all of us want to know is what does it feel like?
0:46:12 > 0:46:15What is the best thing about walking in space?
0:46:15 > 0:46:18The best part is when you open that hatch,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20there's nothing between you and the Earth
0:46:20 > 0:46:22and so you float out of the space station
0:46:22 > 0:46:25and you're holding on but you look down at your feet
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and under your feet, 250 miles below you is the Earth
0:46:28 > 0:46:32kind of rolling by you and maybe it's the coast of California
0:46:32 > 0:46:33and here comes Ireland
0:46:33 > 0:46:36and it's just unbelievable to have that experience.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39It sounds incredible and you've done that six times?
0:46:39 > 0:46:42Six spacewalks in my career, I've been very fortunate.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Dan, thank you so much for sharing that with us.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46- It's been great to see you. - Thank you.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48APPLAUSE
0:46:54 > 0:46:56So, you take a lot of precautions up there
0:46:56 > 0:46:58but what if something goes wrong?
0:46:58 > 0:47:01What if you get seriously injured or seriously ill?
0:47:01 > 0:47:02What do you do?
0:47:02 > 0:47:06Well, I know what I would do here on Earth - I would call
0:47:06 > 0:47:11my colleagues and friends from the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13So that's what I'm going to do now.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16I would like to introduce you to my friends
0:47:16 > 0:47:20and crewmates from Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance,
0:47:20 > 0:47:25Dr Marwa El-Zanfaly and Karen Clarke, our paramedic.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27APPLAUSE
0:47:36 > 0:47:38So, guys, this is...
0:47:38 > 0:47:40We fly together, don't we,
0:47:40 > 0:47:43on the back of a helicopter delivering medical care.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46This is our kit, tell me a bit about how this all works.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48So what we try to do is we use the helicopter to get
0:47:48 > 0:47:50to our patients as quickly as possible
0:47:50 > 0:47:53and we like to think that we can bring some of the emergency
0:47:53 > 0:47:56department and the intensive care department with us to deliver
0:47:56 > 0:47:59enhanced care where the patient needs it the most
0:47:59 > 0:48:01- so in their home or the side of the road.- All right,
0:48:01 > 0:48:04so this is the kit that you bring to scene to deal with an emergency.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06You're probably proud of that kit.
0:48:06 > 0:48:11I want to show you another kit, a kit from the International Space Station
0:48:11 > 0:48:15and to show it to us, I want to introduce you to my very good friend,
0:48:15 > 0:48:18who is not only a doctor, he is also an astronaut.
0:48:18 > 0:48:19Flown in space twice
0:48:19 > 0:48:22and one tour aboard the International Space Station.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25I'd like to introduce you to Dr Mike Barratt.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27APPLAUSE
0:48:29 > 0:48:31- Good to see you.- Nice to see you.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41Now, you have a helicopter emergency medical kit.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45Mike here has the International Space Station's medical kit
0:48:45 > 0:48:48and I think, given that it's holiday time and Christmas,
0:48:48 > 0:48:50we should have a game of medical kit trumps,
0:48:50 > 0:48:53see who's got the best one, and there's two of you so I'm going
0:48:53 > 0:48:56to take the International Space Station medical kit.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59All right, so let's get it on. Looking forward to this.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01What is your anaesthetic capability, helicopter?
0:49:01 > 0:49:05So we can deliver a number of different anaesthetics depending
0:49:05 > 0:49:09on the situation so we've got some drugs here and here to do that.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12We also carry all the necessary equipment to deliver a safe
0:49:12 > 0:49:16anaesthetic as well so I think I'm going to give us an eight.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20- Eight out of ten, yeah.- Eight? You can give a general anaesthetic?
0:49:20 > 0:49:22- Pretty safely, yeah.- OK.
0:49:22 > 0:49:27Mike, helicopter, eight out of ten for anaesthetic capability.
0:49:27 > 0:49:28International Space Station?
0:49:28 > 0:49:30So, on the International Space Station,
0:49:30 > 0:49:32we would have only local anaesthetic,
0:49:32 > 0:49:34a little injection of lidocaine that can deaden the skin
0:49:34 > 0:49:37so that we can repair a cut, a laceration if you will,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40but that's all we have so I would probably give us a two.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44- Two out of ten?- I think a two out of ten.
0:49:44 > 0:49:49But they won that one. All right, OK, OK. Intensive care capability.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52Helicopter, what is your intensive capability?
0:49:52 > 0:49:56Well, we have a ventilator, we have all the equipment to monitor
0:49:56 > 0:49:59something who's been given a general anaesthetic.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02We have the ability to give a blood transfusion
0:50:02 > 0:50:05and plasma to somebody who's lost blood.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07- You can give a blood transfusion? - We can.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09Drugs to support the heart as well.
0:50:09 > 0:50:14I'd probably say 7 or 8 for that as well.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18Intensive care capability, 7 or 8.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22Don't disappoint me here, what's our intensive care capability on the International Space Station?
0:50:22 > 0:50:26So on the International Space Station, we can put in a definitive
0:50:26 > 0:50:29airway but we have a very limited supply of oxygen we can use,
0:50:29 > 0:50:32because you release all that oxygen into the atmosphere
0:50:32 > 0:50:34while somebody breathes it,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37and the oxygen concentration gets too high and we worry about fire,
0:50:37 > 0:50:40so we can't really ventilate someone too long.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42We can put in a large intravenous line
0:50:42 > 0:50:46and we would have normally three big bags of saline here,
0:50:46 > 0:50:49but then when that's done we're done,
0:50:49 > 0:50:51so I would probably give us about a two.
0:50:51 > 0:50:532/10!
0:50:53 > 0:50:56Two-nil. We've got one more category.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59I think we can take this category.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03Helicopter, I would like to challenge you on your surgical capability
0:51:03 > 0:51:05and before I do, I would like to explain to you
0:51:05 > 0:51:08this is Mike Barratt, current astronaut,
0:51:08 > 0:51:09former NASA flight surgeon,
0:51:09 > 0:51:14and I am going to get you to challenge us on surgical capability.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16What is your surgical capability?
0:51:16 > 0:51:19In my humble opinion, I think our surgical capability is pretty good.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22We can do a surgical airway
0:51:22 > 0:51:27and we also are able to perform emergency chest surgery,
0:51:27 > 0:51:30and that includes open heart surgery where necessary.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34So I think probably about 6-7.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38Mike? This is a bit awkward.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41They can do chest surgery on the motorway.
0:51:41 > 0:51:45What is the International Space Station's surgical capability?
0:51:45 > 0:51:48We can do laceration repair, pretty deep wounds.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51We can do a chest drain, so we actually train people to do that
0:51:51 > 0:51:54because we worry a lot about pressure changes and injuries.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56But that's about where we stop.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59One of the most important things we don't have to go with
0:51:59 > 0:52:02the surgery kit is a surgeon or anybody trained to do such surgery,
0:52:02 > 0:52:06so I'd like to give us a little bit better than two,
0:52:06 > 0:52:08so I will advance us to a three.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12We lost, Mike.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14Darnedest thing.
0:52:14 > 0:52:19OK. We are going to have to talk about this.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22Why is their kit so much better?
0:52:22 > 0:52:25I would have thought a helicopter would not have as good a kit.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28I thought you'd have a whole Star Trek-type sickbay up there,
0:52:28 > 0:52:29why don't you have that?
0:52:29 > 0:52:32That's an excellent question and mostly it's because
0:52:32 > 0:52:35the patients we have to deal with are very different
0:52:35 > 0:52:38from what Marwa or Karen would have to deal with.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41If you take some of the forces that cause the injuries
0:52:41 > 0:52:45that you respond to - falls, motor vehicles, we don't have that.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48You can't fall up there, we don't have any cars,
0:52:48 > 0:52:52so a lot of those energies that cause those injuries are gone.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54Gunshot wounds, stab wounds, we tend to be an affable group,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57we get along quite well with each other,
0:52:57 > 0:52:59so we don't have those types of injuries.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02I'm really disappointed to lose that game, I chose the wrong side.
0:53:02 > 0:53:07Ladies and gentlemen, it's my great pleasure to say thank you to Mike Barratt.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10APPLAUSE
0:53:10 > 0:53:14And my colleagues from Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance,
0:53:14 > 0:53:17Karen and Marwa. Thank you very much.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19APPLAUSE
0:53:26 > 0:53:30So what we've learned is that in space, like everywhere else,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33prevention is always better than cure,
0:53:33 > 0:53:36and they are very good at doing that on ISS,
0:53:36 > 0:53:38but what do you do if the worst happens?
0:53:38 > 0:53:41What you do is you come home in an awful hurry
0:53:41 > 0:53:44and the way you do that is aboard the Soyuz capsule.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47That's the way Tim, one way or another, will have to come
0:53:47 > 0:53:50home at the end of his mission.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53The problem with that as a lifeboat, as a thing that gets you
0:53:53 > 0:53:57off the station, is that when it comes home eventually,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59it needs to pass through the atmosphere
0:53:59 > 0:54:02and when it passes through the atmosphere, it gets very hot.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Why does it get hot?
0:54:04 > 0:54:07I used to think that it was because it hit the atmosphere
0:54:07 > 0:54:11and there was loads of friction and as it came through that's why it heated up,
0:54:11 > 0:54:12but that's not true.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15The reason it heats up is the same reason that this
0:54:15 > 0:54:18tube of air is going to get hot.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22If you imagine the end of this is the Soyuz capsule coming through
0:54:22 > 0:54:24a column of air in the atmosphere,
0:54:24 > 0:54:29then this capsule is going to compress the air as it comes through.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32The air molecules just don't have time to get out the way,
0:54:32 > 0:54:35and I am going to try and...
0:54:35 > 0:54:36go!
0:54:37 > 0:54:40APPLAUSE
0:54:40 > 0:54:43The piston didn't touch the cotton, it just compressed the air.
0:54:43 > 0:54:45The air got hot enough to light the cotton.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48You can start a fire like that, it's an ancient way of starting a fire.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51It's a better way of starting a fire than rubbing sticks together,
0:54:51 > 0:54:56but that is exactly why Soyuz gets so hot as it comes through the atmosphere.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59The way to defend against that for the Soyuz
0:54:59 > 0:55:03is to have a very clever type of shielding called an ablative shield.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07As it burns, this shield releases gases that literally push
0:55:07 > 0:55:12the flames and the heat away, protecting the capsule and her crew.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16That's how Tim will keep alive as he comes back at the end of his mission.
0:55:16 > 0:55:21And to show you just how good this material is at getting rid of heat,
0:55:21 > 0:55:24I'm going to need some help from my colleagues.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28What we have in here is the material that protected the space shuttle,
0:55:28 > 0:55:30but you can't get it very hot
0:55:30 > 0:55:32if you just play a blowtorch over it for a few seconds.
0:55:32 > 0:55:38You have to put it in a kiln and that kiln has to be about 1,000 degrees,
0:55:38 > 0:55:42what's that? 1,100 degrees. Right there, you can see that.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45We are going to open that in a second
0:55:45 > 0:55:49and when it comes out, this material is going to be red hot,
0:55:49 > 0:55:50you're going to see it,
0:55:50 > 0:55:54and I'm going to pick it up without any gloves.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58OK, so let's get that kiln open.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01Why do you have gloves and I don't?
0:56:01 > 0:56:04Let's not go there right now, all right, all right.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09OK. That's pretty hot!
0:56:15 > 0:56:18So this material is made mostly of air.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20It's silica, actually, woven,
0:56:20 > 0:56:24and so if we get the lights down a little bit, you can see that glowing.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26That is going to stay hot for hours.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29That's been baked for hours. You can see that's glowing red hot.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31If I'm right about this and its properties,
0:56:31 > 0:56:34it rejects heat very quickly so it cools from the outwards in,
0:56:34 > 0:56:36the furthest bits from the centre, the corners,
0:56:36 > 0:56:38so I should be able to pick it...
0:56:38 > 0:56:40I really actually don't want to do this.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46I don't think that's going to help, is it, licking my fingers!
0:56:46 > 0:56:48Oh, my God.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53Wow!
0:56:53 > 0:56:55APPLAUSE
0:57:08 > 0:57:11I am as amazed as you are, actually.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15That only works because that is how this material was made.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18It doesn't hold heat, it's got a very low specific heat capacity.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20It gets rid of that heat as soon as it comes out the kiln.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22The centre of that is still very hot
0:57:22 > 0:57:24but it's losing that heat immediately,
0:57:24 > 0:57:27so even a couple of seconds out of the kiln, I can pick it up,
0:57:27 > 0:57:30and that is how you survive re-entry.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32Thank you.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35APPLAUSE
0:57:42 > 0:57:45And we're going to finish as we started
0:57:45 > 0:57:48with sunset as it happens on the space station.
0:57:48 > 0:57:5245 minutes after sunrise, and that is what we're seeing here.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55You can see the darkness spreading across the Earth,
0:57:55 > 0:57:58the Soyuz on the right there, that very beautiful sunset,
0:57:58 > 0:58:0145 minutes after the sunrise,
0:58:01 > 0:58:05and that brings us to the end of this lecture.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08We have found out how to live and work in space,
0:58:08 > 0:58:11and if we can crack that, where else might we go next?
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Perhaps back to the moon or onwards to Mars
0:58:14 > 0:58:18or perhaps to more exotic destinations,
0:58:18 > 0:58:20and we've just heard some exciting news.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23There might be a space walk, an unexpected space walk
0:58:23 > 0:58:25happening in the next couple of days
0:58:25 > 0:58:28and we'll be covering that live in the last lecture
0:58:28 > 0:58:32in this series, but for now, I am Dr Kevin Fong
0:58:32 > 0:58:36and this has been how to survive in space.
0:58:36 > 0:58:38APPLAUSE