How much down time do astronauts get?

Wake up, work, relax, sleep, repeat.
For many on Earth, this is a typical day—a nine to five job, some downtime in the evening ready for the day ahead, and two days off at the weekend.
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How much downtime do astronauts have?

An astronaut's schedule on the ISS consists of 8.5 hours for sleep. 6.5 hours for scheduled work tasks, 2.5 hours scheduled for required exercise, and 1 hour scheduled for lunch. A week consists of five and a half days scheduled for working nominal tasks with 1.5 days off. So, what do astronauts do on their downtime?
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Do astronauts get free time?

The astronauts spend their leisure time by reading their favorite books, listening to music, and looking at the Earth. The astronauts can bring some of their own belongings with them. They can spend their leisure time in the same way that they would on Earth by reading their favorite books, listening to music, etc..
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How much vacation time do astronauts get?

The schedule is designed to accommodate 8 holidays per year. So, that means each crew that stays for 6 months will have 4 holidays. Before launch, the crew gets together and decides which 4 holidays they want to have off.
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Is time slower for astronauts?

So depending on our position and speed, time can appear to move faster or slower to us relative to others in a different part of space-time. And for astronauts on the International Space Station, that means they get to age just a tiny bit slower than people on Earth. That's because of time-dilation effects.
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How Astronauts Get Home from Space



Is an hour in space 7 years on Earth?

The first planet they land on is close to a supermassive black hole, dubbed Gargantuan, whose gravitational pull causes massive waves on the planet that toss their spacecraft about. Its proximity to the black hole also causes an extreme time dilation, where one hour on the distant planet equals 7 years on Earth.
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How long is 1 second in space?

The light-second is a unit of length useful in astronomy, telecommunications and relativistic physics. It is defined as the distance that light travels in free space in one second, and is equal to exactly 299,792,458 metres (983,571,056 ft).
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Do astronauts get paid for life?

According to NASA, civilian astronauts are awarded a pay grade of anywhere from GS-11 to GS-14, so the income range is relatively wide. Starting salaries begin at just over $66,000 a year. Seasoned astronauts, on the other hand, can earn upward of $144,566 a year.
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Do astronauts get paid well?

According the US government's 2020 pay scales and a NASA job listing, a civilian astronaut in 2020 can earn between $66,167 and $161,141 per year.
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Do astronauts get a day off?

Just like us mere Earthlings, they work regular hours, with plenty of free time to unwind. They even get weekends off—barring any cause for alarm on the International Space Statoin (ISS) that requires immediate attention, like dodging space debris.
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Do astronauts have Wi-Fi?

There is wifi on the space station. You'll probably see pictures of the space station, you'll see astronauts with iPads or laptops not connected by cables. So they have wifi but it's not really connected to the internet as such.
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Can astronauts watch Netflix in space?

Yes, they can and do watch TV shows on the ISS.
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Do astronauts have weekends off?

Aboard the space station, crew members have many opportunities to relax and play. Like most people who work full time, astronauts get weekends off. On any given day, crew members can watch movies, play music, read books, play cards and talk to their families.
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How much do astronauts get paid?

The pay grades for civilian astronaut candidates are set by federal government pay scales and vary based on academic achievements and experience. According to NASA , civilian astronaut salaries range from $104,898 to $161,141 per year. Here are a few of the benefits offered to civilian astronauts: Health care.
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Do astronauts get bored in space?

Scientists tasked with making sure astronauts stay healthy on long missions have found that boredom can become more than just a psychological problem. Prolonged boredom can lead to astronauts not eating enough food. On an extended mission, this could lead to malnutrition and other health problems.
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What is the highest paying job in the world?

The highest-paying job in the world, in a traditional sense, holds the number one spot in this article: anesthesiologist. They are also the only job listed above $300,000 a year. The list, however, does not take into account mega-CEOs like Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos, who make considerably more than that.
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How do astronauts sleep for years?

The astronauts sleep in small sleeping compartments by using sleeping bags. They strap their bodies loosely so that their bodies will not float around. In the zero-gravity world, there are no "ups" or "downs".
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Do astronauts pay taxes?

Unfortunately for astronauts, the IRS doesn't consider international airspace, or international waters, or space, abroad. This means that they will have to pay US taxes on all of their income.
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Why do you age slower in space?

In space, people usually experience environmental stressors like microgravity, cosmic radiation, and social isolation, which can all impact aging. Studies on long-term space travel often measure aging biomarkers such as telomere length and heartbeat rates, not epigenetic aging.
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How much money was Neil Armstrong paid to go to the moon?

Neil Armstrong's Salary

At the time of the Apollo 11 flight in 1969, Neil Armstrong was paid a salary of $27,401 and was the highest paid of the flying astronauts, according to the Boston Herald. That translates to $190,684 in 2019 dollars.
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Why are astronauts salaries so low?

A lot of it has to do with supply and demand. There are thousands of applications per year for just a few openings. The “mission specialists” are considered “government service” employees and receive a GS-11 to G-14 rating, which would be in that pay range.
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What does space smell like?

A succession of astronauts have described the smell as '… a rather pleasant metallic sensation ... [like] ... sweet-smelling welding fumes', 'burning metal', 'a distinct odour of ozone, an acrid smell', 'walnuts and brake pads', 'gunpowder' and even 'burnt almond cookie'.
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How cold is it in space?

The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite has refined temperature measurements taken way back in 1964. According to data from the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, the temperature of space is 2.725K (2.725 degrees above absolute zero).
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