Holiday in Outer Space

How much fun is it anyway?

Whilst aboard the ISS space, Shuttleworth will not have all the luxury-extras he might be accustomed to in a room on the French Riviera, with day to day life in being sparse given the restrictive environment.

Apart from the rigorous pre-flight training in Moscow, which includes an intensive medical check-up conducted by some 25 Russian doctors over three weeks and long sessions behind the flight simulation desk, Shuttleworth will face some interesting challenges during his 10-day visit.

Clean air and water are the most obvious challenges in a destination so far from the protection of the Earth, and on the ISS, almost nothing goes to waste.

Moisture lost by crew (and tourists) through sweat and exhalation is eventually captured, condensed and returned to the water supply and with the fully-fledged ECLSS Water Recycling System (WRS), waste water will also be reclaimed waters from the Space Shuttle's fuel cells, from urine (this includes contributions from any research animals who happen to be in tow), hand washing and oral hygiene.

Amazingly this high-orbit Perrier is expected to be cleaner than the water most of us drink on Earth.

The air-supply systems on board the ISS are also tightly controlled and although there isn't an all you can eat buffet in sight, meals on the ISS are nutritionally controlled and not as bland as might be imagined.

Salt and pepper is only available in liquid form because the floating crystals would cause havoc with the instrumentation (tortillas are preferred over bread for the same reason).

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