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Hello, Dr. Baker. We're the Treehouse Detectives.

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Hi. Hey, I read your email about Jacob. How can I help you?

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We're trying to figure out how to stay healthy in different environments.

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We were wondering if you could tell us what it's like to work in space.

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Isn't it tough working in such a small place?

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The space station is actually quite big, and it's quite easy to work here.

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You'd be amazed at how roomy it is. It's like a laboratory on Earth.

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The space shuttle is a lot smaller, and it has some challenges,

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but actually it's quite easy, even with six or seven other crew members, to get your work done.

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Have you ever been sick during a space shuttle mission?

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Actually, I've been very lucky. I haven't.

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But it's quite common the first couple of days for astronauts to feel a little bit sick,

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very much like seasickness, but for the most part, people are pretty healthy in space.

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We go into space healthy, and we try and stay healthy when we get there

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by getting a lot of rest and exercising and eating good food.

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Diet, exercise and proper rest seem to be important to good health in every environment.

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What happens if someone does get sick in space?

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We're prepared for all sorts of things.

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We carry a first aid kit that has a lot of medical material in it, pills and bandages, things like that.

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We also are able to talk to a doctor on the ground any time we need to.

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What if the illness or injury is really serious?

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If somebody got very sick, like somebody had a heart attack or needed surgery,

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we would have to return them to Earth to have the proper medical procedure done.

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Do you have to have special medical training to go into space?

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Well, actually, we always train at least two crew members in medical procedures,

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so even the pilot, who might be the chief medical officer,

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would know how to put stitches in if that became necessary or give injections or place a bandage

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or even stabilize a fractured bone if something like that happened.

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Is it more difficult to treat patients in space?

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Well, the simple things are still simple.

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Drawing blood or giving a shot, putting a bandage or a band-aid on,

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even taking medications are fairly simple.

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We don't know about other medical procedures, for example, performing surgery,

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and that is something that we'll have to learn about if we ever expect maybe to go back to the Moon or to go to Mars.

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What happens to the body during spaceflight?

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Well, there's lots of things that happen to the body.

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I like to think that it's the body's normal reaction to an unusual environment.

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The fluids in your body shift around, your face gets a little puffy, your heartbeat changes a little bit,

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but really you feel quite normal, very much the way you do on Earth.

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Thanks, Dr. Baker.

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Well, you're quite welcome, and tell Jacob to stay away from the junk food.