Outer Space

Compiled by Muhammad Malik, R. Inguraidhoo School

Reviewed by ibatefl.com
Available @ibatefl.com Sharing makes a difference.

Contents
The Outer Space ............................................................................................................................................................... 2
Edwin Hubble ............................................................................................................................................................... 2
Out of this world the Hubble telescope ...................................................................................................................... 2
The Expanding Universe ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Mars Curiosity: Facts and information ........................................................................................................................ 4
Is There Life on Mars .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Fourth Planet from the Sun ......................................................................................................................................... 6
ASTRONAUTS ................................................................................................................................................................ 8
Animals in Space........................................................................................................................................................... 9
STEPHEN HAWKING.................................................................................................................................................... 10
Life on the International Space Station ..................................................................................................................... 11
How do astronauts sleep in space? ........................................................................................................................... 11
Listening Comprehension........................................................................................................................................... 12
Writing ........................................................................................................................................................................ 13

The Outer Space

Edwin Hubble
You need to know about Edwin Hubble. Not only was he arguably the most important
astronomer since Galileo, but he was also an athlete. And, what is more, he has the rare
distinction among scientists of having changed the way we think about the entire cosmos,
not only once, but twice.
Everything about Hubble, from his impressive height and athletic ability to his quiet selfconfidence, suggested he had a privileged background, but he came from a family of
farmers and so was, in many ways, a self-made man.
He became fascinated by a particular kind of bright cloud called a nebula. It was thought
at the time that the Milky Way galaxy was all there was to the cosmos. Hubble, working
long, cold nights with a new 100-inch telescope, proved otherwise. He showed there
were entire galaxies out there, not just our own Milky Way. He had discovered the
universe.
Many people would have left it there, but Hubble was not most people. He found galaxy after galaxy, and examined the
type of light they gave off. Every atom and molecule has a 'code' in terms of the light it emits. Hydrogen, which is plentiful
in galaxies, gives off a characteristic ultraviolet light. Hubble noticed that these codes moved towards the red, lower end
of the spectrum. When this happens, it generally means the object is moving away. Hubble found that the further off the
galaxy, the redder its light. Running this backwards, he realized that the whole thing must have started at a single point
and the universe must have had a beginning. Hubble had discovered the Big Bang.

1 Who does Ben say is perhaps the greatest scientist since Galileo?
2 Why is Hubble such a great scientist?
3 What did Hubble discover about the galaxy? ...................................................................................................................
4 How are those galaxies moving? ......................................................................................................................................
5 What other theory does Ben say Hubble discovered? .
6* Why do people want to explore the galaxies?

Out of this world the Hubble telescope

Read the following text about the Hubble Space Telescope. In your notebook,
write the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets.
[1]The Hubble Space Telescope (a) .. (launch) in 1990 by the space shuttle
Discovery and it orbits the earth about 610 kilometres above us. Scientists and star
gazers (b) .. (delight) by Hubbles pictures ever since its launch.
[2]The Hubble Space Telescope is as large as a school bus and looks like a five-storey
tower of silver cans. Each one of the cans holds important telescope equipment: the
mirrors, computers, imaging instruments, and pointing and control machines. Solar panels (c) .. (use) for
generating electricity, and antennas communicate with scientists on Earth.
[3]The 11,110-kilogram telescope collects starlight with a 2.4-metre-diameter mirror. The mirror, which (d) ..
(hide) inside a long, hollow tube that blocks the glare from the sun, Earth and the moon, (e) .. (slightly curve)
to focus and magnify light.
[4]Hubble is not like a normal telescope on the ground because astronomers cannot look through Hubbles lens to see
the planets and stars. Instead, Hubbles scientific instruments are the astronomers electronic eyes. By closely studying
the colours of light from a star, astronomers can understand the stars temperature, its movements, what it (f)
.. (make) of and its age.
[5]When Hubble collects pictures and data, information (g) .. (turn) into long strings of numbers that (h)
.. (transmit) as radio signals. This information, which (i) (send) back to Earth, (j) (stream) through a
2

series of satellite relays to the Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA, and then by telephone line to the Space
Telescope Science Institute, where the numbers(k) .. (turn) back into pictures and data.
[6]The information, which (l) .. (collect) daily by Hubble,(m) .. (store) on computer disks. A single
days worth of observations would fill an encyclopedia! The constantly growing collection of Hubble pictures and data is
a unique scientific resource for current and future astronomers.
Answer the following questions
a) When was the Hubble telescope launched? ...
b) Mention two ways that can be used to describe the Hubble telescope.
...
c) What is the weight of it and what is the diameter? ...
d) How can astronomers understand the stars? ........
e) How does it collect, information. ............................
f) What is the use of information collected by Hubble?
Now write a summary of about 70 words in your notebook about the Hubble Telescope.

The Expanding Universe

In 1925, an America astronomer Edwin Hubble, provided observational evidence that
all galaxies are receding from one another, which implies that the universe is expanding.
The expansion of the universe is now an established fact. This is what the Al- Quraan
says regarding the nature of the universe. With the power and skill Did We construct
The Firmament: For it is We Who create the vastness of Space. [Al-Quraan 51:47]
The Arabic word Musi'un is correctly translated as expanding it, and refers to the
creation of the expanding vastness of the universe. Stephen Hawking, in his book, A
Brief History of Time, says, The discovery that the universe is expanding was one of
the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.
The Quraan mentioned the expansion of the universe, before man even learnt to build
a telescope! Some may say that the presence of astronomical facts in the Quraan is not
surprising since the Arabs were advanced in the field of astronomy. They are correct in
acknowledging the advancements of the Arabs in the field of astronomy. However that fail to realise, that the Quraan
was revealed centuries before the Arabs excelled in astronomy. Moreover many of the scientific facts mentioned
above regarding astronomy, such as the origin of the universe with a Big Bang, were not known to the Arabs even at
the peak of their scientific advancement. The scientific facts mentioned in the Quraan are therefore not due to the
Arabs advancement in astronomy. Indeed, the reverse is true. The Arabs advanced in astronomy, because astronomy
occupies a place in the Quraan.
By: Dr Zakir Naik, Quraan and the modern science. Compatible or Incompatible. iPad version.

Mars Curiosity: Facts and information

[1] The Mars Science Laboratory and its rover (a) .. , Curiosity,
is the most (b) .. Mars mission ever flown by NASA. The rovers
primary mission is to find out if Mars is, or was, suitable for life. Another
objective is to learn more about the red planets environment.
[2] Curiositys large size allows it to carry many scientific experiments that
will be able to (c) .. , analyse and take pictures of any rock within
reach of its 2-metre arm. Curiosity is about the size of a small sports utility
vehicle (SUV). It is 3 metres by 2.8 metres wide, about 2.1 metres high and
weighs 900 kilograms. Curiositys wheels have a 50.8-centimetre diameter.
[3] Engineers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed the rover to roll over (d) .. up to 65 centimetres
high and to travel about 200 metres per day. The rovers power comes from a multi-mission power generator, which
produces electricity from the heat of plutonium-238s radioactive decay. The power supply should last a full Martian
year (687 Earth days) or more.

A complicated landing
[4]The $2.5-billion Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 26th
November 2011, and arrived on Mars on 6th August 2012, after a (e) .. landing sequence that NASA called
Seven Minutes of Terror. Because of Curiositys weight, the rover had to go through an extremely complicated
sequence of (f) .. to land.
[5]Firstly, from a fiery entry into the atmosphere, a supersonic parachute was needed to slow down MSL. NASA officials
said the parachute would need to (g) .. 29,480 kilograms to break the spacecrafts fall to the surface. Under
the parachute, MSL let go of the bottom of its heat shield, so that it could get a radar fi x on the surface and calculate
its (h) .. . The parachute could only slow the spacecraft to 322 kilometres per hour, which was still far too
fast for landing. To solve the problem, engineers designed the assembly to cut off the parachute and use rockets for
the final part of the landing sequence.
[6] Then, about 18 metres above the surface, MSLs skycrane was used. The landing assembly dangled the rover 6
metres below the rockets. Falling now at 2.4 kilometres per hour, MSL gently touched the ground at about the same
moment the skycrane (i) .. the link and flew away, crashing into the surface. NASA personnel tensely
watched the rovers descent on live television. When they received confirmation that Curiosity was safe, engineers
pumped fists and jumped up and down in jubilation. News of the landing spread through social media, such as Twitter
and Facebook, and traditional outlets, such as newspapers and television.

Primary mission: Can, or could, Mars support life?

[7] Curiositys main mission is to determine if Mars is, or was, suitable for life. While it is not designed to find life itself,
the rover carries a number of instruments on board that can bring back information about the surrounding
environment. Scientists were excited when the rover beamed back information showing that Mars had had (j)
.. conditions in the past. Powder from the first samples that Curiosity obtained included the elements of
sulphur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon, which are all considered building blocks or
fundamental elements that could support life. While this is not evidence of life itself, the find was still exciting to the
scientists involved in the mission.
A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment, stated
Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASAs Mars Exploration Program. From what we know now, the answer is yes. And
the search continues

Complete the gaps aj in the text using the words below.

altitude

ambitious

centrepiece

daring

habitable manoeuvres

obstacles

severed

withstand

zap

Answer these questions about the text.

A What are the two main objectives of the Mars Curiosity mission?
.
B Why is Curiositys large size an advantage? .
C What is the difference between a Martian year and an Earth year?
.
D How long did it take MSL to reach Mars? .
E Which word describes MSLs entry into Marss atmosphere? .
F What three things were used to slow down MSL before it landed on the surface of Mars?
.

Is There Life on Mars

The search for life on Mars started seriously in 1976. In 1976 two NASA spaceships, Viking 1
and Viking 2, flew from Earth to Mars and landed on the planet. In 1997 NASA returned to Mars
from Earth and it took over 20,000 photographs of the planet.
In the same year ESA (European Space Agency) decided to send their first spaceship to Mars
It was called Mars Express. A British space scientist, Dr. Colin Pillinger, heard about the mission.
He had an idea; he could build a robot to travel to mars inside ESAs spaceship. The robot could
land on Mars and look for life on the planet.
In 1998, ESA agreed with Dr. Pillingers plan. Pillinger chose the name Beagle 2 for the robot. After Charles Darwins
1831 ship, Beagle in which he travelled the Earth.
Beagle 2 needed to send the Earth a signal when it landed. The signal tells scientists on Earth that the spaceship landed
safely. Dr. Pillinger asked a famous pop group, Blur, to write a song the first pop concert on Mars!
Dr. Pillinger and his team spent $60 million on the robot. And in 2003 everyone was looking forward to hearing Blurs
song when the robot landed on Mars. The scientists waited and waited. But they didnt hear the song. The tried to
contact the robot, but they never discovered the problem. And now they know they never will.
Now Dr. Pillinger is talking about sending another robot to Mars in 2009 called Beagle 3, of course to travel inside a
NASA spaceship.
a)

Read the article and write the correct names

1.

NASAs first spaceships to land on Mars .

2.

Europes first spaceship to land on Mars .

3.

Dr. Pillingers first robot to go to Mars .

4.

The robot Dr. Pillinger wants to build next. .

b)

For questions 1 6 below, circle the best answer.

1.

How many space ships did NASA send to Mars in 1976?

a)

2.

c) Three

In 1976

b) In 1997

c) 1998

Who travelled on a ship called Beagle?

a)

4.

b) Two

When did ESA decide to send a spaceship to Mars?

a)

3.

One

NASA

b) Charles Darwin

c) Dr Colin Pillinger

Who wrote a song for Dr. Pillingers robot?

a)

Dr. Pillinger and his team b) A Pop Group

c) A scientist

5.

What happened to Dr. Pillingers robot?

a)

6.

We dont know

b) It crashed on Mars

c) It didnt take off

In which does Dr. Pillinger want Beagle 3 to go to Mars?

a)

Alone

b) Inside Mars Express 2

c) Inside NASAs next spaceship.

Fourth Planet from the Sun

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is the first of the "superior" planets, being further from
the Sun than the Earth. It has two very small moons - Phobos and Deimos. Like Earth, Venus, and
Mercury, Mars is a rocky planet, but is relatively small, being between Mercury and Venus in size.
Mars has many striking surface features, such as Olympus Mons (right), a giant volcano, three times
the height of Everest, with a base 600 km in diameter. An extensive valley complex, named Valles
Marineris, can be followed for a total length of over 4,500 km, and, in places, descends to 7 km
below the rim. Recently, a Smiley Face and a Heart-shaped feature have been imaged.
Whispy Atmosphere - The Martian atmosphere is mainly CO2 (95%), the rest being nitrogen and argon. The very low surface
pressure, at around 10 mbar (200 Pa), is due to the lack of depth of atmosphere. Most of its atmosphere was stripped away by
the Sun's solar wind. Under these conditions, liquid water cannot exist on the surface. However there is plenty locked up in the
polar caps, and probably underground.
Liquid Water on Surface? - Reportedly, liquid water has been discovered running on the surface of Mars in low canyons. The
possibility of water on Mars will spur us on to explore our neighboring world, on which life could once have started and may even
still exist today.
Out in the Cold - Mars experiences a wide range of temperatures. Away from the equator, maximum daytime temperatures reach
only -30C, while, on the equator, this can rise to over 22C. The thin atmosphere is a poor heat retainer, and night-time
temperatures fall to around -100C in even the warmest of places. The wide range of temperatures are the cause of extremely
high winds across the planet, producing fearsome dust storms which can be seen with telescopes from the Earth. Coupled with
seasonal changes at the poles, the surface appearance is constantly changing.
1. Why is Mars the first of the superior planets?

2. Mention any two striking features which Mars has.

3. What is the Martian atmosphere mainly composed of?

4. Why cannot liquid water exist on the surface of Mars?

5. Where has liquid water been discovered?

6. What will the possibility of water on Mars spur us on to?

7. What is the maximum daytime and night-time temperature?

8. What causes the wide range of temperatures?

9. Why is the surface appearance constantly changing?

Look at the following notes about missions into space. Use the notes to write a paragraph. Look at the example
first.
A early 1960s / many attempts made / USSR / reach Mars / but / all ended / failure / for different reasons
Example: During the early 1960s, many attempts were made by the USSR to reach Mars, but all ended in failure for
different reasons.
B first success / 1964 / USA Mariner 4/ sent back 21 images
C late 1960s / more USSR attempts / none successful / because / launch failure
D 1971 / USSR first success / Mars 3Orbiter-Lander / sent back data for eight months / and landed on Mars / but / only
20 seconds of data
E mid 1970s / USA Viking 1and 2Orbiter-lander / 16,000 images returned / large quantity of data and soil experiments
F 1980s and 1990s / mostly failures / USA, USSR, Japan
G 1985 / Sultan bin Salman Al Saud / join / international crew / on Discovery/ launch satellite / space
H early to mid-2000s / plenty of USA success / sending back enormous amounts of data
I 2012 / Chinese astronauts / eat / fresh vegetables / gardens / extraterrestrial bases in space

Read the article about astronauts, and then complete the notes below.

ASTRONAUTS
Astronauts are people who explore space in spacecraft, shuttles and space
stations. In Russia, they are called cosmonauts.
There are two types of astronauts commanders who fly the spacecraft
and carefully trained specialists who conduct scientific experiments and
carry out spacewalks to repair damaged equipment.
Astronauts have to pass a medical and have qualifications in a relevant
subject. They have to be willing to live an extremely small space and work
well with other people. Experiments can go dangerously wrong, risking the
lives of astronauts. They have to be able to react calmly in a difficult
situation as well as be prepared to work hard.
The very first human being to travel in space was a Russian cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin. He orbited earth once in
his spacecraft, Vostok 1, on April 12, 1961. Shortly after, an American astronaut Alan Shepard made a short space flight
in a Mercury space vehicle but did not go into orbit. That was left for John Glenn Junior to do on February 20, 1962.
The first woman in space was a Russian cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, who orbited Earth 45 times in 1963. The
first men to land on the moon were the American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on July 20, 1969. Their
Apollo II lunar module was called Eagle. Michael Collins orbited above in the spacecraft during the moonwalk.
The British astronaut was, usually, a woman most astronauts are male. Helen Sharman got the job after hearing an
announcement on the radio. There were 18,000 applicants and, luckily for Helen, she was chosen. She said that the
most amazing thing was seeing the earth from 120 miles into space.

Make short notes under each heading as a plan for your presentation.

Types of astronauts
*
*
Qualifications to be an astronaut
*..
*..
*..
*
Astronauts who orbited Earth
*..
*..
*..

Now use your notes, to write a summary of about 70 words.

Animals in Space
Match the words to the meanings and read the text. Notice the
words in action.
sacrifices
advancement
protective
stress
thrive
launch
unharmed
altitude
numerous
data
cabin
fatigued
dehydrated

an event to celebrate or introduce something

new
not hurt or damaged
tired
the development or improvement of something
information
giving protection
height above sea level
to give up something
develop or be successful
loss of water from the body
great worry caused by a difficult situation
the area where passengers sit in an aircraft
many

(1)The first men and women who travelled in

space, in the 1960s, depended on the
sacrifices of animals that gave their lives
for the advancement of human knowledge.
Scientists needed to find out about the
conditions in outer space, beyond Earth's
protective ozone Layer, about the effects
of weightlessness on Living organisms,
and about the effects of stress on behaviour.
Preparations for human space activities
depended on the ability of animals that flew during and after the 1940s to survive and thrive.

(2) Before humans actually went into space, scientists thought that humans might not survive long periods of
weightlessness. Because of this, American and Russian scientists used animals - mainly monkeys and dogs,
but also mice - in order to test their ability to launch a Living creature into space and to bring it back alive
and unharmed.
(3) As Long ago as June 1948, an American rocket was launched into space carrying Albert I, a monkey. In the same
month, a second rocket carried another monkey, Albert II, to an altitude of 134 km. The monkey was killed when
the rocket hit the. Earth on its return. Two months later, the first mouse went into space. Over the next four years,
several more rockets were sent into space carrying monkeys and mice.
(4) During the early 1950s, the Russians launched numerous rockets carrying mice, rats and rabbits as one-way
passengers for their tests. They needed to collect data to design a cabin to carry a human being into space
(5) ten years later, the tests continued, with mice, rats, fruit flies and plants travelling into space. In January 1961, Ham
became the first chimpanzee to travel in a spaceship. The original flight plan called for an altitude of 185 km and speeds
up to 7, 080 km/h. However, due to technical problems, the spacecraft carrying Ham reached an altitude of 253 km and
a speed of 9,426 km
(6) Ham performed well during his flight and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean 97 km from the recovery ship. He
experienced a total of 6.6 minutes of weightlessness during a 16.5 minute flight. A post-flight medical examination found
Ham to be slightly fatigued and dehydrated, but in good shape otherwise. The success of Ham's flight led directly to
the launch of Alan Shepard on America's first human space flight on 5 May 1961.
A What information can you find in paragraph 1? ..
B In which paragraph can you find three examples of verbs in the passive?
C Scientists wanted to bring animals back to Earth alive. What else did they want?
.
D How did Albert II die? ..
E What is a one-way passenger (paragraph 4)? .
F Which word in paragraph 5 tells you that something went wrong with the flight plan for Ham's journey?
.
G How high and fast did Ham travel? Why was Ham's space travel so important?
.

Read through the passage carefully before you attempt any questions. Answer all the questions.

STEPHEN HAWKING
Stephen Hawking
wrote
A
Brief
History of Time in
1988. Within only a
few
weeks,
it
reached the bestseller list. More than
five million copies
have been sold all over the world. Fan clubs were
organized in America. In Britain, the popularity of the
book and of Stephen Hawking was astounding. What
was so special about it was that it was a non-fiction book
about the creation of the universe. Physics dominated
the content of the book. Not many people foresaw the
success of it.

do them. When asked by his tutor for an explanation, he

pointed out mistakes that were in the textbook. He
continued to excel in his schoolwork, and went on to do
post-graduate work.

Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942.

Three hundred years ago on that exact same date, the
famous Italian, Galileo, had died. Galileo was noted for
his contributions to the study of astronomy and he was
the first to state that the sun was the centre of the
universe, not the earth, as was formerly believed. For
promoting this notion, he was persecuted. That
Hawking was born on the death anniversary of such a
great man as Galileo was a fact that fascinated him. He
would prove in the future that he too would make great
contributions to the world of science.

Yet gradually he pulled out of the depression. The

disease, while paralyzing his body, did not affect his
mind. He was able to continue working in his field of
theoretical physics. Over the years, Hawking moved
from using a walking stick to using a wheelchair. Then
finally, with the electric wheelchair, Hawking regained
some of his independence. With it, he could once again
express his emotions, like turning away from someone
abruptly if he was displeased, or even to run over
someones toes if he was annoyed by them.

Hawking was born a healthy, normal child. From a

young age, he demonstrated his intelligence. He was
always among the brightest students. Without having to
work hard, he still managed to do well. Eventually, he
ended up in oxford, studying mathematics and physics.
Even at such an advanced level, work was easy for him.
In one instance, when his class was given an
assignment from a textbook, he did not even bother to

Then suddenly, things began to go wrong. He slowly

became aware that he was losing the ability to control
his movements. He could not do even the simplest
things, like tying his shoelaces or pouring a drink.
Doctors diagnosed him as having motor neurone
disease. This disease was unfortunately incurable. Over
time, it would affect the spinal cord, until total paralysis
took over. Hawkings initial reaction was depression. He
was only twenty-one with a bright future ahead, but this
disease threatened that future.

Then in 1985, he developed pneumonia. Doctors said

that the only solution was to cut directly into his windpipe
and install a breathing device. However this meant that
he would lose his voice, another setback for him. Yet,
he was not beaten by it. He learnt how to speak by
typing into a computer, which would transmit the
message to a voice-synthesiser. Today, Stephen
Hawking is respected all over the world, not only for his
contributions to theoretical physics, but also for his
strength in the face of adversity.

From paragraph 1:
1.

a) What is a non-fiction book?

..
b) Why was the book not expected by many people to be a success?

c) Physics dominated the content of the book. Explain what you think this means in your own words.

From paragraph 2:
2. What was the significance of the birth-date of Hawking?

10

3.

a) for promoting this notion, he was persecuted. Explain what the notion was.

b) Why do you think Galileo was persecuted for promoting this notion?

c) What was the similarity between Galileo and Hawking?

From paragraphs 3 and 4:

4. What is the importance in the statement that Stephen Hawking was born a healthy, normal child?

5. a) How do you think Hawking demonstrated his intelligence?

b) things began to go wrong. What was it exactly that went wrong?

6. What do you think total paralysis in the paragraph means?

7. How was the disease a threat to Hawkings future?

From paragraph 5:

8. What would tell us that paralysis was not an immediate consequence for Hawking but came on gradually?

9. Why was Hawking unable to express his emotions before he had an electric wheelchair?

10.a) How was pneumonia another setback for Hawking?

b) ... for his strength in the face of adversity. Explain what this means in your own words.

Write a summary on Stephen Hawkings life and the difficulties he faced.

USE ONLY MATERIAL FROM PARAGRAPHS 3 TO 6.
Your summary should be in continuous writing and should not be longer than 70 words, including the words given below.
Begin your summary as follows:
Stephen Hawking was born healthy and normal.

10

Life on the International Space Station

Some people dream of travelling into space. However, Life in space is not very easy.
Here are some of the problems that people on the International Space Station (lSS)
have.
1 Having lunch on the lSS is very difficult because there is no gravity in space,
and things never stay where you put them. Food comes in plastic containers
because the food cant stay on a plate.
2 When they go outside, people wear special clothes, because there is no
atmosphere in space. lt is also very cold in space. Inside the lSS, people can wear
ordinary clothes.
3 You can't have a shower in space because the water doesn't stay in one place. People wash with a sponge with water
and soap.
4 People on the ISS cant sleep in normal beds, because their bodies don't stay in the bed. They use special sleeping bags
on the wall.
lf you want to have a holiday in space, remember that life there is very different from life at home. And if you don't
like it, you can't take a train or bus home.
Read the text. Mark the sentences T (True) or F (False)
I You can eat vegetables on a plate. ..

2 You can eat pasta from a plastic container. ..

3 You can wear jeans inside the ISS.. 4 You can have a shower
5 You can wash with a sponge. ..

6 You can sleep in a normal bed

7 You cant go home by train. ..

Read the article below about how astronauts sleeps in space and write a short summary of how they sleep in space. Your
summary should be at least 70 words.

How do astronauts sleep in space?

After a long days work, youre ready for a good nights sleep. But its a little different if youre weightless.
Theres no gravity in
space, so astronauts can
sleep almost anywhere.
But this weightlessness
means there is a risk of
drifting around and
bumping into things in
your sleep. To solve this problem, astronauts use sleeping
bags that can be attach to almost anything. If theyre in a
space shuttle, many astronauts attach the sleeping bags to
the wall so that they can feel pressure on their back or their
head, making it seem more like a normal sleeping
environment.
On the international Space Station, things are slightly more
luxurious the astronauts have their own box (quarters)
that they can sleep in. The sleep stations are located in a
couple of different modules on the International Space
Station, says Dr Laura Barger from Harvard Medical Schools
Division of Sleep Medicine in the US. She says that the
Russian sleep stations are in one module, while the US has
some stations in another.
However, there are a number of factors that might stop
them dozing off. We studied sleep aboard Space Shuttle
and International Space Station Missions and found there is
a vast amount of sleep deficiency among astronauts and a

widespread use of sleep promoting medications during

spaceflight, Barger says.
These can be as simple as being uncomfortable sleeping in a
free-fall environment without the pressure youd expect
against your back. The temperature can also play a role in
this discomfort some astronauts, like the famous Apollo
crew, say that theyre too cold, while others complain about
the heat. It can also be very noisy, depending on whats
happening at the time and sharing close quarters can disturb
people if their colleagues are up and about.
There is also the 90 minute light-dark cycle for every time
they orbit the Earth, which, according to Barger, can affect
the astronauts circadian clocks as the light brightens and
dims frequently. We think that theres an opportunity for
the clock to become misaligned with the 24-hour cycle that
theyre trying to keep.
There is a new lighting spectrum being planned to help
astronauts deal with this alignment. Shorter wavelengths of
light have been shown in laboratory studies more effectively
shift the circadian clock, Barger explains. This lighting
could potentially be used in flight to facilitate circadian
alignment when the astronauts sleep/wake schedules are
abruptly shifted.
And just in case youre wondering, it is also possible to snore
in space.
11

Listening Comprehension
Listen to the following past paper question aboutvoyage1 and fill in the missing blanks.
Voyager 1 and the golden disc

The space craft

1977: started its journey from Earth
2012: first space vehicle to travel so far .............................. km
Width: 3.7 metres Weight: 722 kilos
Size: similar to a .............................. ..............................
Knowledge gained: proof of .............................. on one of Jupiters moons
Very limited technology on board
Will send no more information after the year ..............................
The golden disc
Contains images: suggestions made by different people:
children: animals
young adults: .............................. older people: famous people from the past Contains sounds: music from
around the world
sounds from the world of nature, e.g. .............................. Purpose: for people in the future, to show the
diversity of life on Earth
The disc cover: made of metal
includes ..................................

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Writing
Recently it was announced that a travel company is taking tourists to space. You were selected as a lucky winner and
made your first journey to the outer space. Write a letter to your friend about the experience of travelling to the
International Space Station.

In your letter you should explain

how you won the lucky draw.
how you got to space and how it was like to live there
now that you are back what you plan to do next.
Your letter should be between 100 150 words.

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