Ten astronauts participated in a NASA study of their behaviors in space, recording their thoughts in their journals.
On average, each astronaut was aboard the ISS for about 187 days. Here are a few things they had to say about their missions, co-workers, and daily struggles.
1. "Today was a great day! I'm not sure why."
2. "It seems like I spent all day today working as fast as I could only to keep falling behind."
3. "We heard a big bump in the morning yesterday that we think could have been a meteor strike."
4. "There's only room for two at the table, so three of us just float and juggle our food. I'm not sure what the idea is for when we have six of us up here."
5. "I have to say, I'm pretty lucky. At 108 days I'm not the least bit annoyed or tired of these guys."
6. "I hesitate to use the word 'depression,' but it seems an appropriate description of my mood lately. Nothing seems to cheer me up much."
7. "I fell asleep while typing."
8. "Latest pet peeve: I don't think we can get to the Moon and Mars on disposable batteries."
9. "I found out a few days ago that I got a $2000 performance bonus this year. After taxes, that will roughly pay for our mission-related party obligations. Not bad."
10. "I feel a little lost today."
11. "I realize that often times I use this journal to vent my frustrations. This helps me collect my composure to deal with the situations. I must continue to look at the big picture and count myself lucky to be here."
12. "I feel that the ground has often made my life more difficult here, thus making it hard to hand out praise on such a frequent basis. I have developed a list of folks who have gone above and beyond the call, and I plan to reward them when I return to Earth."
13. "Too bad that ISS crews don't get the publicity that the shuttle crews seem to get!"
14. "We are getting tired of eating chicken all the time, but it will be OK."
15. "I'm dragging [my crewmates] through all the Star Trek movies. It's been a lot of fun to be the lucky person to introduce Star Trek to a couple of Space enthusiasts who never had the opportunity to see how we made the dream come alive on TV and on the big screen in America."
16. "This place is really an emotional rollercoaster for me."
17. "All's going great up here. They keep us very busy, but it is sure a pleasure to be doing things for real instead of just simulating them. And Zero-G is a blast! I love it."
18. "Lots of radiation flashes bothered me last night."
19. "It was a frustrating day. The urine collection started disastrously first thing this morning. I think I got about 75% in the bag; the rest was all over me. Not a good way to start the day."
