diary entry on regular day in the space station
Answers
In collaboration with le Parisien Magazine / Aujourd’hui-en-France Magazine
A few weeks ago, I spent the holidays away from my family for the first time in my life. It was strange because in the Pesquet household, Christmas and New Year’s are important. This is the one and only opportunity in the year where we all try to meet to share a moment together. When I was a child, the rallying point was my grandparents’ farm. With my 21 cousins, we painted the town red. I remember epic snowball battles. Sometimes we did a little ice-skating on a frozen lake. Of course it was forbidden, but we did not care: it was only once a year. So yes, although I loved spending the holidays aboard the International Space Station, it wasn’t the same.
The hardest part for me was not being able to hold my family or partner in my arms. I managed to reach them by phone and videoconference to tell them I missed them, that I thought about them every day. But it was not the same. It is difficult to get into the holiday spirit in space. It is a bit like going to a warm, sunny place in December for someone raised in the Northern hemisphere, it is disorienting. Here, there is no snow, it is not cold, we are not really on a holiday and we cannot go to bed late because of work. And… there is no champagne. Alcohol is banned on the Space Station because we must be on high alert at all times in case of an emergency. I admit that it is hard get into the mood with orange juice and tea.
Explanation:
Dear Diary: I am approximately 23.7 million kilometers away from my dear earth. ... Though it is an adventurous voyage, I have started missing my life on earth. I am fortunate in a way also; I am able to see the vistas of deep space which I could never see while on earth.