Going Into Space is Trouble
by Michael Signal
1 Many people have dreamed about blasting into space, but it is not something many people have had the chance to do. The first challenge in getting to space is just becoming an astronaut. The next challenge is actually launching humans into space. Every space launch is dangerous and difficult. But the problems don’t end for astronauts, even when they reach orbit around the Earth or dock with a space station. One of the other major problems with space travel is the human body itself. It does not belong in space. That is one reason it is so hard to get picked to become an astronaut. Since space travel takes a serious toll on a person’s health, only the healthiest people have any chance of being picked to ride a rocket into space.
2 NASA is the world’s most famous space agency. It only recruits astronauts every few years. NASA gets thousands of astronaut applications during each recruitment period, but it is very selective. Only about a dozen of those applicants will become astronauts. In NASA’s early days, the first astronauts were all hot-shot military pilots. Military pilots still make up a large part of NASA’s astronaut crews, but so do scientists. Along with the physical and intellectual requirements it takes to become an astronaut, NASA also considers candidates’ skills and scientific expertise. One of the most important reasons for space travel is for scientific research. So NASA also selects many astronauts from the scientific community. Of course, NASA only considers the top scientists in their fields.
3 Space travel is far from safe. NASA and other space agencies do everything they can to keep astronauts safe, but rockets travel over 17,000 miles per hour. They are fueled by tons of explosive propellants. They carry humans to a barren environment of dangerous radiation, extreme temperatures, and no air. A lot could go wrong, and sometimes it does. American astronauts have died in training, traveling into orbit, and returning to Earth. Other countries have also lost astronauts to fatal accidents. Space agencies make space travel as safe as they can, but it will never be completely safe.
4 Getting into space safely doesn’t mean an astronaut is out of the woods. Spending time in space brings its own set of problems. Exposure to the zero-gravity of space has negative effects on the human body. One minor effect of zero gravity is vomiting. Not all astronauts get this space sickness, but throwing up is never pleasant. Imagine doing it while you (and the vomit) are floating and weightless. There are other, more serious side effects of space travel though. In the weightlessness of space, people actually start to lose bone and muscle mass. Scientists even think that the lack of gravity can make a person’s eyesight worsen. The effects increase as astronauts stay in space for longer periods of time. So even though astronauts leave Earth in peak physical shape, they won’t be quite as healthy when they return.
5 Only a select few people on the entire planet will ever become astronauts. It is very hard to become an astronaut with any space agency, but becoming an astronaut is not the danger. Sitting on top of a rocket, ready to explode up into space is very dangerous. Traveling past the Earth’s atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour is not safe either. Getting into space is nearly impossible, and it’s not a safe or healthy place to be in space. Space travel makes the human body weaker. You might think that all those factors would make more people decide against applying to become astronauts, but you would be wrong.
How the Fawn Got Its Spots
A Native American Legend
by the Sioux Indians
1 Long ago, when the world was new, Waken Tankan, The Great Mystery, was walking around. As he walked, he spoke to himself of the many things he had done to help the four- legged ones and the birds survive.
2 “It is good,” Wakan Tanka said. “I have given Mountain Lion sharp claws and Grizzly Bear great strength. It is much easier now for them to survive. I have given Wolf sharp teeth and I have given his little brother, Coyote, quick wits. It is much easier now for them to survive. I have given Beaver a flat tail and webbed feet to swim beneath the water and teeth which can cut down the trees and I have given slow-moving Porcupine quills to protect itself. Now it is easier for them to survive. I have given the birds their feathers and the ability to fly so that they may escape their enemies. I have given speed to the Deer and Rabbit so that it will be hard for their enemies to catch them. Truly, it is now much easier for them to survive.”
3 However, as Wakan Tanka spoke, a mother deer came up to him. Behind her was her small fawn, wobbling on weak new legs. “Great One,” she said. “It is true that you have given many gifts to the fourlegged and the winged ones to help them survive. It is true that you gave me great speed and now my enemies find it hard to catch me. My speed is a great protection, indeed. But, what of my little one here? She does not yet have speed. It is easy for our enemies, with their sharp teeth and their claws, to catch her. If my children do not survive, how can my people live?”
4 “Wica yaka pelo!” said Wakan Tanka. “You have spoken truly; you are right. Have your little one come here, and I will help her.” Then Wakan Tanka made paint from the earth and the plants. He painted spots upon the fawn’s body so that, when she lay still, her color blended in with the earth, and she could not be seen. Then, Wakan Tanka breathed upon her, taking away her scent.
5 “Now,” Wakan Tanka said, “your little ones will always be safe if they only remain still when they are away from your side. None of your enemies will see your little ones or be able to catch their scent.”
6 So it has been from that day on. When a young deer is too small and weak to run swiftly, it is covered with spots that blend in with the earth. It has no scent, and it remains very still and close to the earth when its mother is not by its side. And when it has grown enough to have the speed Wakan Tanka gave its people, it loses those spots it once needed to survive.
