When I worked at #KSC, I was always asked by members of the public, "When can I go into space?"
That era has begun. Today is the second purely private American crew flight to #ISS. #AxiomSpace will launch a crew of four with #SpaceX from Pad 39A. The crew will be led by former #NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, now an Axiom employee.
@WordsmithFL when i was young, i was fascinated by the idea of space travel.
now that i've watched enough space movies about all the permutations space travel could take, may take, & all the fucked up ways you could die in space, etc. i'm like 'nah, i'm good'.
@singlemaltgirl It's no different from the earliest sailing ships set out to explore the oceans, when pioneers set out in covered wagons, or barnstorming aviators first tried to cross the oceans. We need to go thrown the "painful growth" period to get to the point where it becomes routine. It's okay to let others go first. 😉
@WordsmithFL i'm def not the beta tester. i'm waiting till they've figured shit out. in the meantime, i'll be over here on my lily pad sucking on a 
or eating some 🍰.😜
We do get something like "space scurvy." Long-time exposure to microgravity cause a loss of bone density and muscle mass. The body urinates out much of the calcium in your system.
We're just now starting to grow food on the #ISS, but we're a long way from growing lemons and oranges and whatnot.
@WordsmithFL i'd heard about the bone density. there was just a study released too, that women's bodies are better for space travel b/c they're smaller, need less fuel as a result, etc. but calcium & bone density is a particular issue for women in later life. i guess figuring out how to deal w/ gravity so that you can build or maintain density & muscle mass on long voyages is the next challenge. 🤔
@singlemaltgirl @clong Remember the old sci-fi movie "Mars Needs Women"?
Another problem with long-term microgravity is it causes eye damage. Bodily fluids float up into the skull and create pressure on an optical nerve. Some astronauts recover their vision, others don't.
But it only happens to the men!
The nerve is smaller in women, so apparently that's why they don't suffer the phenomenon.