While on Earth, people are unable to even see and admire a single sunrise and sunset, in space the astronauts have the privilege of seeing this majestic event not just once but 16 times in a day!
Going around Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) completes one orbit of the planet in 90 minutes. This is the reason why the astronauts in space witness sunrise and sunset at an interval of 45 minutes. This leads to the ISS and its inmates, namely astronauts, seeing as many as 16 sunsets and sunrises every day.
Interestingly, there is a big difference between the temperatures of sunset and sunrise. The difference is 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Many would wonder, as to how do the astronauts survive these crazy and erratic temperatures? It is thanks to the space suits which are made of special material.
The material and the design of the space suit ensures that it is equipped to handle both extreme heat and extremely cold temperature conditions in space.
Sharing these details with people, especially those enamoured with space, was a recent video that was shared on the official Twitter handle of ISS. Along with the information, a small video clip too was shared of the ISS.
The spacewalkers experience a sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes and @cquantumspin asks if they feel temperature differences in their suits. #AskNASA | https://t.co/yuOTrYN8CV pic.twitter.com/R8ZjQcpQyr
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) September 12, 2021
It was as part of the “Ask NASA” series, that the answer relating to the massive temperature fluctuation was given. The caption of this interesting post was riveting as it stated: “The spacewalkers experience a sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes and QuantumSpin asks if they feel temperature differences in their suits.”
Many users were unable to contain their sheer disbelief about the fact that astronauts get a chance to see sunrise and sunset 16 times a day!
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