The Skylab missions paved the way for the creation of the International Space Station. What did we learn from Skylab? How has it improved life in space for astronauts?
Scroll down for activities to explore these questions!
Astronauts on Skylab conducted many medical experiments to learn more about the effects of zero gravity on the human body. This was important information to gather so NASA could plan for future astronauts to live in space safely.
This activity mimics how a fluid shifts in a person's body when they enter space.
Scientist astronaut Joseph P. Kerwin, science pilot for the first manned Skylab mission and a medical doctor, conducted a physical exam for astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., the Skylab 2 mission commander. Conrad almost literally stands on his head in the weightlessness of space with only a restraint around his left leg holding in position.
One of the discoveries made on Skylab was the effect of weightlessness on the human body. Because the astronauts didn't have gravity pulling them down, all the fluids in their body travelled upwards, which lead to puffy eyes and stuffy noses.
This diagram shows the effects of microgravity on the body, although exaggerated. On the left hand side of the diagram is an illustration of an unchanged human body above the label "On ground 1G." Moving to the right, the next diagram shows a human body with more mass in the chest and upper arms, along with the caption "Initial stage in space." The third image shows a body with slightly more mass in the chest and upper arms than the first diagram, but less than the second diagram, over the label "After adjusted to microgravity." The fourth and final image is the original human body diagram over the label "Immediately after return from space."
The activities on Skylab paved the way for astronauts to successfully live and work in the International Space Station (ISS)! Watch this video as museum educator Ann Caspari reads the original story "Building Our Home Among the Stars," which follows the three friends—Millie, Ruth and Lou—as they build their own space station inspired by the ISS.
After the story, create your own space station using recycled materials. Work together with your family members and friends, just like the astronauts do on Skylab and the International Space Station!
Skylab astronauts had different tasks to do while on the space station—observe and learn more about the Sun, observe the Earth and take pictures of it, and conduct experiments that would help us learn more about how living in space affects the human body.
Which of these tasks would you want to do?
Make sure there is a space in your space station for doing these experiments. For example, if you want to take pictures of the Earth, what would you need to have on your space station?
We learned many important lessons from Skylab, including how humans (and non-humans) are able to survive for long durations of time in outer space! NASA conducted many experiments to test theories on how the body would react to the stress of space. This particular experiment, created by a high school student named Kathy Jackson, was conducted to observe astronauts' motor skills. Kathy wanted to see how well and how fast the astronauts could connect the sequence of dots along the maze and whether their ability changed the longer they were in space.
Give it a try yourself! In this activity, you will create your own maze challenge and do an experiment using the maze.
This Motor Sensory Performance experiment was designed by student Kathy L. Jackson of Houston, Texas.
According to NASA: "Her proposal was a very simple but effective test to measure the potential degradation of man's motor-sensory skills while weightless. Without knowing whether or not man can retain a high level of competency in the performance of various tasks after long exposure to weightlessness, this capability could not be fully known. Skylab, with its long-duration missions, provided an ideal testing situation. The experiment Kathy Jackson proposed was similar in application to the tasks involved in docking one spacecraft to another using manual control. It required one of the greatest tests of the motor-sensory capabilities of man. In March 1972, NASA and the National Science Teachers Association selected 25 experiment proposals for flight on Skylab. Science advisors from the Marshall Space Flight Center aided and assisted the students in developing the proposals for flight on Skylab."
Because of Skylab, we have another successful space station that has been in orbit since November 2000—the International Space Station (ISS).
The ISS is typically the brightest thing in the sky at night, expect for the Moon.
Use the tools below to learn how to spot the International Space Station in your night sky.
Is this not working? Visit the Spot The Station website to find out what time the ISS will be overhead in your neighborhood.
NASA Astronaut Randy Bresnik is preparing to head to the International Space Station and when he gets there he wants you to give him a wave from below! In this episode of ISS Science you’ll learn how you can spot the ISS.
Soar Together at Air and Space is made possible by the generous support of Northrop Grumman.
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