Introduction
When Space Shuttle Atlantis missionSTS-125 lifted off May 11 for NASA’s final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, a proud Bruin was among the seven crew members. This is her first space flight. Mission Specialist K. Megan McArthur earned her B.S. in aerospace engineering at UCLA in 1993. She went on to obtain a Ph.D. from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. In 2000, she joined NASA, where she worked in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory and the Space Station and Space Shuttle Mission Control centers. In 2004, she served as the crew support astronaut, stationed at the Johnson Space Station in Houston, for the Expedition 9 crew during their six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. The planned repairs to the Hubble should allow the telescope to function until at least 2013, when its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, is due to be launched.
1. What inspired you to become an astronaut? …show more content…
Immediately upon entering zero gravity, fluids in your legs and the lower part of your body move upwards towards your head. In fact, your face will feel and look swollen. Except for the occasional headache and congestion, astronauts aren’t bothered by this fluid shift. Some astronauts feel dizzy and have an upset stomach during the first few days of a space flight as they get used to zero gravity. This feeling usually goes away after three or four days. After a few days almost everyone is used to zero gravity and feels great. If you don’t exercise, your bones and muscles will get weak. Upon return to Earth, you must get used to gravity again. Sometimes this makes you feel dizzy or queasy. If you are returning from a two week flight, readjusting might take a day or two. If you are returning from a six month flight, it may take several weeks to feel ‘normal’