5 ms·

The quest to help astronauts sleep better

44 points by pmcpinto 9y ago

chiph 9y ago
Why no pillows on the ISS? Weight? Fear of being smothered if it floats around and covers your nose & mouth? Can't be washed there?
- bad_alloc 9y ago
  Pillows help to keep the head elevated when lying on the back or on the shoulder. Since the astronauts are in zero-G, there's probably no real need for that.
omegaworks 9y ago
"Humanity moves towards a space faring civilization..." What a bubble. We can't even get clean water to all of the citizens in the wealthiest country on the planet. Space faring civilization guy has his head so far up his ass.
- bad_alloc 9y ago
  > What a bubble. We can't even get clean water to all of the citizens in the wealthiest country on the planet. You can be space faring while ignoring people. It won't help and it's unethical, but not a showstopper. Still, having people in need is not an argument against space exploration: If we figure out for example how to provide cheap water on Mars, we'll probably be able to convert undrinkable water on Earth to drinkable water much more easily.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  It seems entirely possible to have a space-faring civilization that tolerates inequality and mistreatment of its citizens. Star Trek's utopian ideal isn't the only model available.
  - andrewchambers 9y ago
    Well, star trek does have both the ferengi and the federation at totally ends of the spectrum.
- threeseed 9y ago
  > We can't even get clean water to all of the citizens Of course you can. Americans simply choose not to. "You get the politicians you deserve" - Barack Obama.
  - rexpop 9y ago
    Choice? What choice? The average American is so thoroughly inundated with propaganda it's almost guaranteed they'll vote against their interests. Our governance derives its power from manufactured consent OR the entire marketing / ad industry is a fraud.
    - jjt-yn_t 9y ago
      ... Misinformation, to more objectively state in my humble opinion, is one step away from an errata and valuable information. Continuing, propaganda is one step away from the usage of shredders for larger print and more compassionate versions remaining on smaller print. But this reply, 'manufactured consent' resonates well in my view, but 'our governance' equalled to that may be one step away from, continuing, more input and feedback from/before a law or regulation and/or its 'mandatory' application vs one re-judged by one's peers to be fair. ............... my .02. ............... And thank you for the post, rexpop. ...............
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  Read or watch The Expanse. You can have a space-faring civilization with all the contemporary problems present both on Earth and in space.
onmobiletemp 9y ago
Jesus i hate this style of journalism. S/he goes on and on with useless descriptions of what the room looked like and tries to make a novel of the fucking thing. Horrible.

44 points by pmcpinto 9y ago

Why no pillows on the ISS? Weight? Fear of being smothered if it floats around and covers your nose & mouth? Can't be washed there?

bad_alloc 9y ago
Pillows help to keep the head elevated when lying on the back or on the shoulder. Since the astronauts are in zero-G, there's probably no real need for that.

omegaworks 9y ago

"Humanity moves towards a space faring civilization..." What a bubble. We can't even get clean water to all of the citizens in the wealthiest country on the planet. Space faring civilization guy has his head so far up his ass.

bad_alloc 9y ago
> What a bubble. We can't even get clean water to all of the citizens in the wealthiest country on the planet. You can be space faring while ignoring people. It won't help and it's unethical, but not a showstopper. Still, having people in need is not an argument against space exploration: If we figure out for example how to provide cheap water on Mars, we'll probably be able to convert undrinkable water on Earth to drinkable water much more easily.
ceejayoz 9y ago
It seems entirely possible to have a space-faring civilization that tolerates inequality and mistreatment of its citizens. Star Trek's utopian ideal isn't the only model available.
- andrewchambers 9y ago
  Well, star trek does have both the ferengi and the federation at totally ends of the spectrum.
threeseed 9y ago
> We can't even get clean water to all of the citizens Of course you can. Americans simply choose not to. "You get the politicians you deserve" - Barack Obama.
- rexpop 9y ago
  Choice? What choice? The average American is so thoroughly inundated with propaganda it's almost guaranteed they'll vote against their interests. Our governance derives its power from manufactured consent OR the entire marketing / ad industry is a fraud.
  - jjt-yn_t 9y ago
    ... Misinformation, to more objectively state in my humble opinion, is one step away from an errata and valuable information. Continuing, propaganda is one step away from the usage of shredders for larger print and more compassionate versions remaining on smaller print. But this reply, 'manufactured consent' resonates well in my view, but 'our governance' equalled to that may be one step away from, continuing, more input and feedback from/before a law or regulation and/or its 'mandatory' application vs one re-judged by one's peers to be fair. ............... my .02. ............... And thank you for the post, rexpop. ...............
TeMPOraL 9y ago
Read or watch The Expanse. You can have a space-faring civilization with all the contemporary problems present both on Earth and in space.

onmobiletemp 9y ago

Jesus i hate this style of journalism. S/he goes on and on with useless descriptions of what the room looked like and tries to make a novel of the fucking thing. Horrible.