Psst, hey smartypants.
Welcome. Um, you mind closing that airlock behind you?
Thanks, that's better.
I take it you're not used to having special doors with airlocks.
After all, you probably don't live on the International Space Station, or ISS for short.
Which, as You may have guessed is where I'm very excited to be right now.
Oh Who could that be?
Hello, hello, hello, hello We saw you're listening online Listening ooh, it's bigger than I thought it would be come on Jim Um, do you mind closing the airlock?
Whoops? Amazing. Sorry I ain't used to airlocks.
Right. And then you are?
My name's Jim. This hair is my wife, Karen.
We're here for the open house.
Are you the broker?
Broker? I'm the trusty narrator.
Good enough. Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa! Whoa! Is every room like this?
Pretty much. So wait, how'd you get up here?
Easy. It was just a six -hour flight straight up for Merck.
We hitched a ride on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft. To be honest, it was a little uncomfortable.
I was told there'd be shuttle service.
Oh yes, space shuttles used to go back and forth to the ISS all the time, but that stopped when the shuttle program was discontinued back in 2011.
Now, anyone who wants to come here travels on the Soyuz.
See? I told ya. Okay Jimbo, you were right.
Hey, Trusty, you mind showin' us round?
Sure! I was gonna show the smarty pants around anyway so two uninvited guests won't make a bit of a difference.
Oh, goody. I've never been on a space station before.
Most people haven't.
But what exactly is the international space station?
How big is it and how fast does it travel?
What countries are part of it?
And most importantly, how do astronauts eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom?
Time for another whiff of science and history on...
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Now who's ready to make history?
Excuse me narrator before we get started do you mind if I ask why the current owners are selling?
Maybe the astronauts are looking for something with a little more… space?
Or more atmosphere!
Um, I don't know who told you the ISS is for sale, but it's not!
However, NASA did announce it would be de -orbiting the ISS in 2031!
Hey smarty pants, what do you think will happen when NASA de -orbits the space station?
Will they, A, blow it to smithereens, B, send it hurtling into space for all eternity, or C, crash it into the ocean?
If you said C, you're right.
The plan is to let the space station slow down and fall into a lower and lower orbit until it plummets towards the Earth, disintegrating on its way.
Whatever pieces that are left should fall harmlessly into remote part of the South Pacific Ocean.
At least, that's where they hope it lands.
Well, if it's gonna be gone in less than 10 years, we should be able to buy a rennet for pretty cheap.
Good point. Say, how many rooms does this space station have?
The ISS has 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Sounds roomy.
Well, more specifically there are six sleeping modules, and three toilets.
Oh, but it does come with a gym.
Ooh now you're talkin'!
Overall you're looking at 13 ,696 cubic feet of habitable space, and roughly a million pounds of total weight.
And of course, you can always add -on, which is exactly what they've been doing thanks to the 42 assembly flights that have arrived here since the first module was put in place back in 1998.
Put in place by who?
Who are the current owners exactly?
Great question. The ISS is a collaboration between five different space agencies.
Smarty Pants, any idea who they are?
I'll name a country and you call out if you think they're part of the International Space Station.
Ready? The United States, Japan, China, Australia, Canada, Russia.
That's four. One more.
Smarty Pants, is it A Brazil, B India, or C Europe?
The answer is C Europe.
Yep. Europe, which is represented by 11 member states.
There's Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the International House of Pancakes was exciting!
But while there are five agencies collaborating, the space station is actually divided into two main sections, the Russian Orbital Segment, or ROS, and the United States Orbital Segment, or USOS, which is shared among the other countries.
Oh, look! Is that the sunrise?
Ah, yes, the space station has an amazing, specially designed 360 degree bay window, So perfect for viewing the sun as it rises over the Earth.
But get this, the ISS is traveling over 17 ,000 miles per hour, or five miles per second.
Whoa. Which means we're currently circling the Earth every 90 minutes, so that makes how many sunrises per day, smarty pants?
Is it six, 16, or 26?
Wait, I got it. Sixteen!
That's right! 17 000 mph?
That sounds pretty fast. It is fast. We could go from the Earth to the Moon and back again in just one day.
Without traffic! speaking of, how is the traffic around these parts?
I'm just thinking about my commute here.
You don't have to worry about traffic jams up here, Jim.
There are only four cargo spacecraft that make occasional trips back and forth to the ISS.
Uh, y -you mind showing us the kitchen now?
Oh, you read my mind, Jimmy.
Sure. Step into the galley.
Mm, looks fancy, but how do you eat in space?
Great question! The answer, right after this quick break.
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This Start a business, share your ideas with the world, or finally launch your site about history's weirdest inventions!
What is the smartest way to do it?
Is it A. Shouting your message from the top of a volcano?
B. Training an army of synchronized skywriting parrots?
Or C. Building a sleek, professional website with Squarespace?
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And because social media runs the universe, Squarespace seamlessly connects your site to Instagram, YouTube, and more so your fans or future customers can easily find you.
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Now who's ready to make history?
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Now back to Who's Smarted.
Right now we're in the galley or eating area of the International Space Station.
Hmm, I'm not loving the cabinet space.
Where do you keep the canned goods?
Actually, there aren't any canned goods.
Cans are heavy, which makes them expensive to haul all the way up to space.
Plus, your sense of taste is reduced in microgravity, so astronauts stay away from preserved foods and use a lot of extra spices in their cooking.
I could sure go for a bag of potato chips right now.
Yeah, potato chips or any food that could make crumbs is a big time no -no up here.
Smarty Pants, any idea why you can't have crumbs on the space station?
It's because floating crumbs can get stuck in the sensitive space equipment.
It's not like astronauts can just pop into a store to buy replacement parts.
Makes sense. Well, how about something to drink instead?
That we can do. Liquids come in little pouches, like your juice pouch. Oh, I'll just have some water.
I'm proud to say that the water you're drinking is 100 % recycled.
Wonderful! Jim and I are all about saving the planet.
Even when we're not on it.
What exactly is this water recycled from?
Oh, astronaut urine.
What? Oh, and also the urine of any lab animals.
That's disgusting. Also, my recycled urine water is floating like a little bubble.
I know it sounds gross, but it's essential.
It's not like we can get fresh water deliveries up here.
But don't worry, it's perfectly safe to drink.
Speaking of... You know.
How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space?
Yeah, how do you pee in zero g's?
Great question. The bathrooms on the ISS are full of handholds and footholds, so the astronauts don't drift off in the middle of their business.
Eww. To pee, you can either sit or stand while holding a funnel tightly against you so that nothing leaks out.
Hey, what about, you know?
Oh, to poop, astronauts simply lift the toilet lid and sit on the seat, just like on Earth.
Well, enough about that.
Now where's that gym you mentioned?
Float this way, it's a pretty cool gym and you'll use it a lot.
Astronauts on the ISS work out for two and a half hours every day.
Two and a half hours?
Yep, they have to. Because one of the things that happens to your body when you spend a lot of time in space is that you experience bone and muscle loss.
Why do you think that is, smarty pants?
Is it because of A, weightlessness, B, space dust, or C, alien attacks?
Nope, it's not aliens.
It's weightlessness.
Whoa. Back on Earth, your bones and muscles get a workout every day, fighting against gravity just to stand up and move around.
But here in space, you float everywhere, so your bones and muscles get weaker from lack of use.
I like this treadmill, with the bungee cord and harness.
That's to keep you from floating away.
This exercise bike right here, she's pretty cool.
But how do you lift weights if everything up here floats in zero gravity?
Astronauts don't lift weights.
Instead, they use a special resistance machine to simulate lifting weights.
But you said something earlier that I want to clarify.
Ugh, but pooping in space?
No. Smarty pants – true or false?
There is zero gravity on the ISS.
Did you say true? Well guess what?
That is surprisingly...
false. The reason you float on the ISS isn't because there is zero gravity.
It's because the ISS is in constant freefall back towards the Earth.
At the same time, it's also hurtling forward at a fast speed.
17 ,000 miles per hour!
Oh! Nice remembering, Karen!
So the combination of constantly falling and zooming forward causes you to be weightless.
Whoa! This has been a great tour, trusting narrator.
But, before we go, I'd love to see the master bedroom.
Oh, well, Master Bedroom might be overstating it a bit, but here, take a look.
Um, it's just a wall?
Yes, but with plenty of room to hang your sleeping bag.
Hang your sleeping bag?
Yeah, that's right.
Space Station astronauts sleep vertically in sleeping bags instead of lying down like we do on Earth.
Some even Velcro their head to their pillow.
So it feels more like their bed back home.
And each sleeping quarter is equipped with a sunshade so you're not woken up by sunrises 10 times a night.
Well I really thought of everything, huh?
So we're very interested.
Now what's the asking price again?
Well like I said the ISS, it's not really for sale.
Come on, come on now, everything has a price.
Lay it on me narrator.
Well, the International Space Station is generally considered the most expensive single item ever constructed.
From 1998 until now, it's cost 150 billion dollars to build.
So, I'd say 151 billion should do it.
You know what, Jim?
Maybe we should think about renting somewhere first. Yeah, sorry, no sale.
Here, let me show you out.
A big shout out to my smarty friend, Wesley in Austin Texas.
It's this! I hear you love Who's Smarted because it's funny and teaches you cool facts.
Well that is just MUSIC to my ears Wesley.
Thanks for being such a great smarty pants.
This episode, International Space Station, was written by Steve Melcher and voiced by Jenna Hoban, Sheffield Chastain and Jerry Colber.
Technical direction and sound designed by Josh Hahn, Who's Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios, our associate producer is Max Kamaski, the theme song is by Bryan Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Texdavis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Texdavis and Jerry Colbert.
This has been an atomic entertainment production.
