David Saint-Jacques on environmental conditions aboard the ISS

Uploaded on August 31, 2018

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David Saint-Jacques on environmental conditions aboard the ISS

2018-08-31 - David Saint-Jacques, Canadian Space Agency astronaut, will do many experiments during his six-month space mission. He explains the effects of environmental conditions aboard the ISS on the mental and physical health of astronauts and the importance of keeping them healthy and strong. (Credit: Canadian Space Agency)

David Saint-Jacques: Hi! I’m David Saint-Jacques. I’m an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency. 

In just a few months, I will be launching on a Soyuz rocket for a 6-month mission onboard the International Space Station. 

The ISS is an amazing orbiting laboratory! While I’m there, I will be participating in hundreds of science experiments on behalf of researchers from around the world. 

The Canadian science I’ll be doing is focused on human health. The ISS is a great place to pursue this kind of research because going to space is bad for your health.  The environment up there – being in microgravity, higher levels of radiation, even the isolation –, has a major impact on astronauts.  

The ISS is also a closed environment, which can make astronauts more sensitive to air pollutants and other factors.  

In order to be able to  conduct the science experiments and do their work, we need to make sure that astronauts stay healthy and strong. This will also allow us, one day, to go further out into space… and even eventually to Mars.  

On the ISS, we are constantly monitoring the quality of the air, of the water, even of the modules’ surfaces, is analyzed. We look at radiation levels, sound levels… everything that can affect our physical and psychological well-being. 

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