Probably you have already heard that astronauts Barry ”Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams may not be able to leave on the Boeing Starliner that brought them to the International Space Station. I have been thinking about it in quiet moments — when I wake up in the morning, on hikes, in the shower.
Those guys popped up there on June 5th, and they were supposed to spend a week on the ISS doing normal astronaut stuff and then go home. But apparently the Boeing Starliner was made about as well as the Boeing 737 Max, and so the astronauts have been on an unplanned vacation in orbit. They might be up there until next February — NASA hasn’t made a decision yet.
Man, I get antsy waiting for a bus, and these two have been cooling their heels for weeks already and may be doing it for months more. I’m sure NASA can cook up lots of little tasks, but there is still an awful lot of time to kill while they’re stuck in that tin can. So I’ve come up with some suggestions for how they can entertain themselves while they wait.
- Marathon training. The ISS has a gym on board, and astronauts are required to work out for two hours a day to help ameliorate the breakdown of their bodies in microgravity. But if you’ve got nothing but time, why not train for a marathon? It might be easier than doing that kind of training on Earth, and who knows, maybe you come back with cool new muscle definition as a result.
- Polish the equipment until it sparkles. You like cleaning? Great, now’s your chance. Leave it better than you found it, like, way better.
- Movie marathons. Hey, have you ever wanted to see the entire oeuvre of Akira Kurosawa?
- Get really good at meditating. Floating while tethered to the wall has gotta be at least a little soothing, right?
- Social media bits. Outreach — usually to schools — is a part of the ISS deal, so why not use the time to get really good at posting. One of the best things about Kevin Durant is that when he’s not dunking on court, he’s dunking on Twitter. Why not take this opportunity to make an account for low-gravity TikTok dances.
- Finally read Proust. À la recherche du temps perdu is a famously-long masterpiece. Many readers, including me, have been putting it off for when they have more free time. Those astronauts have nothing but time. All they need is an e-reader.