Thse insights have been pulled from the individual experiences of astronauts and cosmonauts recorded in published first person accounts — journals, diaries, debriefs, and post-flight reflections.As this database includes the personal, subjective experiences from a diversity of flyers, they may sometimes contradict, but together they provide a more holistic, if messy, picture of life in space. To learn more about how these categories were developed, please see this related publication.
“Here on ISS the time and the miles flow by at breathtaking speed. We mark our accomplishments by the week of successful tasks completed, and by the number of remarkable photographs we’ve been able to take—maybe because we want to try to permanently brand our brains with these sights.”
“Tonight I was in the cupola way, way past when I should have been… I saw an amazing sunrise. It was just incredible, to have my brain right side up, which makes a difference in perceiving the sunrise. The colors were amazing.”
“Really miss the sound of rain and the cool air and fresh grass smells that come with it. I miss being under a blanket of clouds and guess I’ll always be a child of the Earth.”
“I just saw the most amazing, most beautiful thing I have ever seen in space: Sun setting and throwing enormous golden rays of light across the entire planet. I am speechless.”
"Had some good quality time in the Cupola. Words cannot describe the view and the feeling of looking back on Earth. I am definitely one lucky person to have this opportunity.”
“The ARED is my sanctuary. I don’t wear iPods or watch any movies while working out on it. Often there is a soft blue light overhead: the cupola transmitting Earth albedo.”