1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,080 Hi, I'm Lisa Blansky, and I work on the International Space Station program at the Johnson Space 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:09,080 Center. 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:10,080 What can I do for you today? 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,440 We were wondering how you take out the trash in space. 5 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,600 On the space station, the astronauts have trash cans like we do on Earth, except they 6 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:19,820 have a few differences. 7 00:00:19,820 --> 00:00:20,820 What kind of differences? 8 00:00:20,820 --> 00:00:25,480 When you're in a weightless environment, the trash has a tendency to float out of the cans, 9 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,920 so we have special openings to keep it inside, and this way it doesn't bother the astronauts. 10 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:31,680 Trash is bad enough sitting on the ground. 11 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:33,680 I wouldn't want it flying around everywhere. 12 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,680 Actually, the astronauts attach the can to the wall so it doesn't float away. 13 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:41,680 At home, I use the three R's, reduce, reuse, and recycle. 14 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,040 Do astronauts use these in space? 15 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:48,320 Actually, there's not a whole lot to recycle on the International Space Station. 16 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:52,280 We try to reduce the amount of items that become trash on orbit before they go up. 17 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:53,720 How do you do that? 18 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,440 One of the ways is by using more efficient packing material. 19 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,160 We also reuse the clothing items like the shorts and the pants. 20 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,680 If you did have any trash, couldn't you just launch it into space? 21 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:09,840 One of the reasons we don't launch trash into space is because it becomes space trash, and 22 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:11,840 that can be very dangerous. 23 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,680 How can space trash be dangerous? 24 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:19,440 Any trash injected into space travels at a high rate of speed, and at high speeds, even 25 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,320 the smallest piece can do damage to the vehicle. 26 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:27,320 A piece that is 10 centimeters long can cause as much damage as 25 sticks of dynamite. 27 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:29,320 25 sticks of dynamite? 28 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:31,320 That's scary. 29 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:33,320 What do you do with the trash cans when they're full? 30 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:38,320 When the cans are full, we put it in the Russian unmanned vehicle called Progress. 31 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:43,320 The Progress undocks from the International Space Station and burns up in Earth's atmosphere. 32 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:47,320 We also use the space shuttle to return hardware that is reusable. 33 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:50,320 Wow, that's one way to recycle and reuse. 34 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,320 I didn't know a space shuttle could carry trash. 35 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,320 That's a lot better than having trash fly all through space. 36 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:58,320 That's exactly right. 37 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,320 Thanks for your help, Ms. Polanski. 38 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:02,320 My pleasure, kids. Anytime.