Stephen Bowen, a NASA astronaut, recognized the   smell right away as being familiar.  ,
He remarked that the first time he entered the International Space Station,” It has a unique odor.” It has a faint hint of everything,nbsp.
The familiarity was more reminiscent of the numerous submarines he served on during his Navy career than the actual scents in the air.  ,
Bowen said of submarine deployments,” I think you’ll find that spouses and family members will throw away all of their clothes when submariners retire because it has a very lingering odor.” However, you quickly get used to it. nbsp
The first submarine officer to ever be chosen as a NASA astronaut was Bowen, an 1986 Naval Academy graduate. He participated in three delivery missions to the ISS between 2008 and 2011. On those missions, he discovered that a space station’s technology and surroundings were very similar to those of an underwater submarine.  ,
Bowen said,” I could see the correlations.” I was aware that the systems were the same when I first traveled to the space station on a shuttle. We developed a lot of habitation and environmental control systems during my first mission, and some of the technologies we used on submarines are exactly the same.
One illustration? oxygen generator on the shuttle, which provides the crew with breathable air.  ,
” Hey, do you want to see your Virginia-class]submarine ] oxygen generator?” they asked me when I first went to the company that made it. And I responded,” Yeah! It was there, too. According to Bowen, it was the exact same technology. In addition,  ,
Experimenting on the ISS , Living &,
The seasoned astronaut led a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on NASA’s sixth commercial crew rotation mission to the ISS last year, making it his biggest mission yet. On March 2, 2023, Bowen and three other astronauts—American Warren” Woody” Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev—launched the space station and stayed there for 185 days before returning to Earth on September 4.  ,
Aside from the smell, Bowen claimed that the operation moved at a pace similar to that of the deployment of submarines.  ,
” You commute to work each day. You’re doing a lot of science in this instance. We have a different set of items on the schedule, Bowen said.” You have your required exercise you do every single day, and every day. ” You perform maintenance on top of that, and occasionally there is a peak of excitement when you have an extravehicular activity scheduled, such as an EVA.” You’re just really busy the week leading up to an EVA and then right after. You’re paying close attention to that event. When we perform some operations on submarines, it is similar. I was like,” Wow, that really felt like a submarine deployment,” when I landed [back on Earth]. ” ,
Bowen and his crew members worked on countless experiments and demonstrations in the field of science. According to NASA, the team participated in a student robotics challenge and released an experimental satellite made by students at the University of Saskatchewan that tested an innovative radiation and protection system.  , ++
While some experiments required no work from the team, others required them to maintain, run, and take part in them. One, known as Cardinal Heart 2.0, examined whether specific medications could lessen or stop microgravity-induced changes in gene expression and heart cell function that could harm an astronaut’s heart.  ,
Bowen remarked,” It was really kind of cool.” The primary investigator’s voice could be heard getting very excited on the other end of the line as” Sultan]Alneyadi” peered through the microscope because you could see a heart cell beating.
 Â
He claimed that there was also a biofabrication facility where they could 3D print an exact replica of the meniscus on the knee. In addition,  ,
You can do things you ca n’t on Earth because you’re in a microgravity environment, which is really cool. According to Bowen, if you attempted to do this on Earth, the structure would simply collapse and collapse on itself. However, because we are circling the Earth while in orbit, our environment enables us to print each layer, and it remains that way. Then, it turns into a real piece of tissue, which is truly amazing.
They also conduct a lot of material science and combustion science, he claimed. He claimed that the astronauts were an experiment in terms of technology. In addition,  ,
” We conduct a great deal of biological sampling, and even while in orbit, we process some of those samples.” In the end, everything boils down and enables us to comprehend how the body responds to its surroundings, according to Bowen. ” Sometimes I think it’s difficult for people to understand that the reason behind what we’re doing in orbit is for Earth.” We are better understanding the workings of all these systems by getting rid of the gravity component.
Bowen shares the record for most spacewalks by a U.S. astronaut with four others after completing 10 over the previous 15 years. With nearly 66 hours of spacewalking, he is third on the all-time list for cumulative hours. In addition,  ,
And even though Bowen claimed that the views from the ISS easily outweigh those provided by a submarine, submarines continue to occupy the top spot in terms of culinary creations.  ,
Watch the video below if you do n’t believe him when he says,” We always had great food on submarines.” They “worked very hard to ensure that our food on board the space station is really high quality, but you’re just kind of constrained by the technology.” We do n’t prepare food there. It’s challenging, but they do a great job because we essentially reheat and rehydrate them.
From NASA to the Navy,
Bowen claimed that his childhood dream of becoming an engineer led him to the Naval Academy and submarines. He claimed that he did n’t anticipate being chosen for NASA and applied on a whim. In addition,  ,
We had about 8, 000 applicants when I applied, and 17 of them were chosen, he said. In addition,  ,
Bowen claimed that he actually considered turning it down after learning that the candidate had been selected.  ,
I was a pre-commissioning unit executive officer for Virginia class submarines when they called me, and it was so exciting to work with the crew developing the submarine’s initial operating capabilities, he said. We were excited to move back up to Connecticut, so for a brief moment I almost said,” I’ll say no.” However, I’m overjoyed that I said yes. nbsp
Not all astronauts have military backgrounds, despite the fact that many do. Bowen claimed that his military experience’s emphasis on teamwork helped him succeed in his space missions. In addition,  ,
One of the qualities we look for in the non-military when choosing an astronaut class is: have they taken part in something where you have to be on a team? He remarked. ” That teamwork, that leadership, and that followership… is really important,” 
According to Bowen, more opportunities will present themselves for those who want to become astronauts as space becomes more accessible.  ,
As we commercialize low-Earth orbit, other businesses will be looking for people with the skills to become astronauts to meet their needs, and it’s really exciting to realize that we’re right on that edge,” he said.  , ++
Therefore, Bowen suggested that if your dream is to one day travel to space,” If you’re interested, apply.” No is the worst they can say.