Page 54 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

As mentioned earlier, the Space Station’s habitable final volume is about the size of a jumbo jet, but the first crew had a much smaller space to live in (still palatial by previous standards). This early living space was about the same size as a three-bedroom house.
The space, though large, is not enough to provide adequate exercise for the crew. As a result, extensive exercise equipment has been installed.
Similarly, long periods of habitation have required that a more varied and interesting diet as well as better bathroom facilities be provided than available to the first astronauts.
An orbiting laboratory
The reasons for this project are many. Partly, it was done just to see if it could be done. But as with any pioneering venture, trying to find solutions to cutting-edge problems has spinoffs that can be used to solve everyday problems back on Earth. The development of metal alloys and plastics is an example. Many science teams are also eager to use the laboratory facilities on the ISS to answer questions they cannot solve
on the Earth’s surface. Here are just some of the experiments that are planned.
Chemistry
Much of chemistry is concerned with the behavior of materials. Materials behave quite differently in space than on Earth because in space there is almost no grAvity.
As a result, it is possible to use the ISS to investigate how gravity affects materials and to separate out the role of gravity from other influences, such as atomic structure.
Another area of importance is combustion science, the study of how things burn. There are two main areas of interest: finding out how fuels burn so they can be burned most efficiently, and finding out how to put out fires as quickly as possible.
When burning takes place on Earth, two things happen at the same time. Materials burn, but the weight of the burning gas influences the shape of the flame.
 Exercising is an important activity in a small space in microgravity.
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