An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me about Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything

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About half of the scientific experiments the crew does is related to investigating what is happening to their own bodies in space.

Fear comes from not knowing what to expect and not feeling you have any control over what’s about to happen. When you feel helpless, you’re far more afraid than you would be if you knew the facts. If you’re not sure what to be alarmed about, everything is alarming. An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me about Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything by Chris Hadfield 🚀 The Book in 3 SentencesIn zero gravity, there’s no need for a mattress or pillow; you already feel like you’re resting on a cloud, perfectly supported, so there’s no tossing and turning to find a more comfortable position. Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. The secret to Col. Hadfield's success—and survival—is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst—and enjoy every moment of it. Understanding my place in the grand scheme of the universe has helped me keep my own successes in perspective.

While An Astronaut's Guide spends a lot of time on the author's attitudes and ethics, it's by no means a self help book. The text is also a candid biography, giving great insight into the years of development that went into building the career of a star (no pun intended) astronaut. Hadfield reminisces on his youth, his time as a military test pilot, and his many additional years training at NASA before ever reaching space. We learn how the intense commitment involved can affect personal relationships and family dynamics. It becomes clear that today's select few astronauts represent, in many ways, the pinnacle of humanity: it's a lifestyle that demands levels of intelligence, dedication, and both physical and mental training that very few of us could hope to successfully achieve. When you have to plan for a major event in life like a launch, it's obvious it needs to be planned. But you also need to come up with an equally detailed plan for how to adapt afterward. Physical and psychological adaption to a new environment, whether in space or on Earth isn't instantaneous. There is always a lag between arriving and feeling comfortable. Having a plan that breaks down what you're going to do big and small, in concrete steps is the best way to bridge that gap. Once in my pajamas (Russian-made, long john-esque) I zipped myself into my hooded sleeping bag, which resembles a cocoon with armholes. From my Shuttle days, I knew that a dormant astronaut is an interesting sight, with both arms floating in front Frankenstein-style, hair fanned out like a mane and a facial expression of utter contentment. Turning off my little light, I was perfectly at ease in this otherworldly place, knowing that in Houston and Korolev, people in Mission Control were keeping watch as we spun through the sky and into sleep, on our journey around and around the world.”

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You shouldn't determine whether you arrive at the desired professional destinations. Too many variables are out of your control. There is just one thing in our control: your attitude during the journey. This is what should keep you feeling steady and stable and heading in the right direction. Losing attitude is worse than not achieving your goal. It’s noisy like a hospital, too. Without gravity, heat doesn’t rise, so air doesn’t mix and move; the fans and pumps that are necessary for comfort and survival whir, clunk and hum, a continuous blur of sound that’s occasionally punctuated by the loud ping or bang of a micrometeorite hitting the Station.