After the ship bringing new crew members to a space station departs, those left on board settle down to the routine of life aboard an orbiting outpost. Even the simplest of tasks, easy to perform on Earth, requires special procedures, equipment, training, and patience to perform in the weightless environment of a space station. In essence, once they get to space the astronauts have to relearn how to eat, how to clean themselves, how to brush their teeth, and even how to go to the bathroom. Some of these procedures can be approximated on Earth, but most cannot be mastered until the astronauts actually get to space.

Camping Two Hundred Miles Up

In some ways, living aboard a space station is like camping in a wilderness where every necessity must be carried in to the campsite—although in this case, even air must...