Early starts, long hours at the office, and a nightmare commute might not be the life of adventure and excitement astronauts expected when they signed up.
But Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who are now trapped aboard the ISS, have little else to look forward to for the next six months.
Having only planned to visit the station for eight days, Butch and Suni will now be thrown into the packed work schedule of the orbiting research station.
NASA carefully schedules every minute of its astronauts’ days – from the exact moment they wake up to when they can take their single hour of personal time.
And with 15-hour shifts and two hours of compulsory exercise each day, the stranded astronauts won’t have much time to feel sorry for themselves.
NASA’s stranded astronauts won’t have much time to feel sorry for themselves as they will be thrown into the space agency’s demanding daily schedule
As NASA announces that astronauts Butch Wilmore (top) and Suni Williams (bottom) could be trapped on the ISS for up to six months, MailOnline reveals what a day in their life would look like
Keeping time on the ISS is something of a challenge since the station experiences around 15 sunrises and sunsets within a 24-hour period.
So, to give the astronauts some semblance of a schedule, all the station’s times are set to Greenwich Meantime (GMT).
Apart from the fact they are 250 miles (480km) above Earth, astronauts’ mornings might not look that different from any other start to the day.
An astronaut’s day starts bright and early at 6:00am sharp with a wake-up call from Mission Control back on Earth.
The crew then have an hour to wash up, brush their teeth, use the bathroom, and get themselves ready for the day’s work.
An astronaut’s day on the ISS begins at 6:00 am GMT with a wake-up call from mission control. Pictured: astronauts Pam Melroy (left), George Zamka (bottom right), and European Space Agency’s (ESA) Paolo Nespoli as they sleep on the ISS
But without gravity to offer a helping hand, many of these tasks become significantly more difficult.
Instead of using a shower, astronauts wash using two cloths – one wet one for washing and a dry one for rinsing.
To save water and avoid making a mess, astronauts wash their hair using rinseless shampoo which is combed through with a little water.
Brushing their teeth looks pretty much the same as it would on Earth, with the only difference being that astronauts have to swallow their toothpaste to stop it from floating away.
Astronauts have about an hour to get clean, have breakfast and brush their teeth. Here Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield demonstrates how brushing your teeth works just the same as it does on Earth
For the male astronauts, one of the biggest difficulties the morning might present is shaving.
Electric shavers are used but the crew have to be careful to shave near an air vent which can suck away the stubble.
And, beyond the usual issues you might expect sharing a single toilet between five people, astronauts on the ISS face the additional challenge of relieving themselves without gravity.
For urine, the astronauts use a hand-held tube they can position to stop any liquids escaping the bathroom.
When it comes to solid waste, the crew use foot straps to hold themselves in place over the toilet.
Thanks to suction provided by fans, most of the waste usually ends up being safely disposed of but astronauts have reported that the process can be difficult and messy.
Once they are freshened up and ready for the day, the crew will come together for breakfast.
Many of us back on Earth couldn’t imagine starting the day without coffee and astronauts are no different.
The space station has a range of powdered hot drinks that the crew can rehydrate with hot water in order to get their morning brew.
Astronauts can choose between a range of different breakfast options, but if they want cereal they do have to add powdered milk and water.
As they eat, the crew will usually read the ‘Daily Summary’ which is like a newspaper for the ISS with news about the state of the ISS, comments on the schedule, and the flight control rota.
In space, a shower is impossible so astronauts need to wash using a damp cloth and rinseless shampoo. Here, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti demonstrates how she washed each day on the ISS
Using the toilet in the morning requires a complicated process to operate the vacuum-powered space toilet aboard the ISS
Then, at 7:30am the working day begins with the first of two daily planning conferences with the space agencies back on Earth.
During this time, the astronauts will receive the plan for the day and get any additional information they might need.
After catching up with mission control, the crew gets to work by 8:00am, turning their attention to the various tasks around the station.
The ISS is designed to be a permanently orbiting research station, so astronauts are expected to spend a lot of their time undertaking scientific research.
Research teams on Earth will send experiments up to the station with the regular food deliveries but it is the astronauts who are responsible for actually carrying these out.
Some experiments have looked at how organisms like plants or mice respond to microgravity while others use sensitive equipment to record data about the conditions in space.
After the morning of work, astronauts like Chris Hadfield (pictured) may have some time scheduled for exercise on a device like the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device which uses pistons and flywheels to simulate weight lifting
Many of the experiments also focus on how humans respond to living in space so the astronauts often find themselves as the subject of various experiments.
The crew might spend some time measuring their vitals, taking blood samples, or taking physiological and psychological tests.
Each day, every astronaut is expected to have two hours of exercise and NASA will schedule this to the minute.
Without needing to fight the pull of gravity, an astronaut’s muscles can become extremely weak so it is very important that they stay fit.
The ISS is equipped with three different types of exercise machines: an exercise bike, a special zero-gravity treadmill, and a ‘weight-lifting’ machine.
Since the astronauts are weightless, all of these devices use pistons, elastic bands, or flywheels to simulate the effects of gravity.
After working up an appetite, by 1:00pm it is time for lunch.
At 1:00pm the astronauts will stop for lunch. Meals are rehydrated and heated in the microwave before eating. Pictured: astronaut Sandra Magnus preparing a meal in the ISS galley
Astronauts won’t usually eat lunch together since their packed work schedules don’t often overlap.
The only exception is on Sunday when the crew all come together for a communal meal.
Since astronauts need at least 2,500 calories a day, lunch is normally a multi-course affair with lots of options to choose from.
In microgravity, the blood rises to the head, causing swelling around the face and nasal congestion which can interfere with the senses of smell and taste.
This means that food often lacks some of its flavour so many astronauts opt for spicy options featuring chilli or horseradish.
After taking an hour for lunch, it is then time to get back to the afternoon’s work.
Being the only humans on the space station means that astronauts have a busy time making sure the ISS stays in tip-top condition.
The rest of the day is spent repairing the ISS or conducting scientific experiments. Many experiments such as the one pictured aim to see how organisms like plants respond to microgravity. Here, NASA astronaut Kayla Barron checks out plants growing inside the Veggie plant research facility for the Veggie PONDS experiment
Suni has been taking part in science experiments, including giving water the space station’s plants
There is a constant list of systems that need repairing or replacing, lab stations that need cleaning, and general mess that must be kept under control.
In some cases, astronauts might need to step outside of the space station to repair something on the outside.
In these cases, they will put on their extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suits and step out on a space walk.
However, these are quite rare and most of an astronaut’s time will be spent working on the inside of the station.
During the evening, astronauts might have more scheduled exercise or keep themselves busy with work until the evening meeting at 7pm.
Just like in the morning, the astronauts will meet up with mission control via satellite to provide an update on the day and flag up any potential issues for tomorrow.
At 7:30 pm the crew come together for a dinner. The astronauts need to eat 2,500 calories a day so dinner is usually a three-course meal with lots of options to choose from. On special occasions such as Thanksgiving (pictured) the crew come together for a big group meal. Pictured: (from left to right) NASA astronaut Christina H. Koch , Aleksandr A. Skvortsov of Roscosmos, NASA astronaut Jessica U. Meir, Oleg I. Skripochka of Roscosmos, NASA astronaut Andrew R. Morgan, and Luca S. Parmitano of the European Space Agency
Finally, at 7:30pm it is time to relax with a well-earned dinner.
Just like all the other meals on the station this consists almost entirely of dehydrated meals prepared on Earth and sent to the station in shipments.
The meals offered to astronauts are surprisingly varied as new preparation techniques have made it possible to preserve different foods for longer.
Tortillas have proven to be a particularly popular staple since they were introduced.
In fact, NASA has entirely replaced sliced bread with tortillas since they are easier to store, last longer on the shelf, and don’t produce any crumbs.
As a bonus, astronauts are sometimes able to supplement their diet with fresh vegetables like lettuce grown on the station.
Astronauts’ food arrives in sealed packs to help it last longer. Water is added through a valve and the packs are cut open. When the food is wet it sticks to itself so there is no risk of dinner floating away
Once dinner has been tidied away by 8:30pm, the crew have an hour of their own to relax before bed.
NASA schedules a bedtime of 9:30pm each day so that the crew can get about eight hours of sleep.
However, in reality, the astronauts often stay up a bit later to enjoy what little downtime they have.
The ISS has a good internet connection so the crew might spend their evenings calling or writing to their family, watching movies, or catching up with sports back on Earth.
Some astronauts, such as Chris Hadfield, have also brought instruments up the ISS to pass the time.
Guitars, saxophones, and keyboards have all made their way up the space station at various points in time.
Between 8:30 and 9:30pm, astronauts are free to relax and pursue their own hobbies. Some, like commander Chris Hadfield (pictured), spend their time playing instruments
At 9:30pm it is time to head to bed and astronauts will strap themselves into sleeping bags within sleep stations (pictured) so that they don’t float away during the night
Yet, one of the most popular pastimes for astronauts on the ISS is simply looking out of the window.
As the sun rises and sets every 90 minutes over the Earth below, the crew often choose to spend their few hours of free time watching the planet pass beneath them.
When it is finally time to sleep, the crew will cocoon themselves inside sleeping bags to avoid floating away in the night.
Since the ISS is loud and bright at all hours most astronauts chose to sleep with eye masks and earplugs.
It is also vital that their sleeping areas are well-ventilated since CO2 can form a bubble around their head during the night.
Then, after a few hours of sleep, the crew are once again woken by a call from Houston and are ready to start the cycle all over again.
