- WHEW, IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME.
I JUST CAME BACK FROM A TRIP CLEAR ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
WE HAD TO TRAVEL THROUGH THREE DIFFERENT TIME ZONES,
SO WHEN OUR PLANE LANDED,
I HAD TO KEEP CHANGING THE TIME ON MY WATCH.
AT THE AIRPORT IN HOUSTON, I SAW SOME INFORMATION
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
I WONDER HOW THE ASTRONAUTS ON THE ISS SET THEIR CLOCKS
WHEN THEY'RE TRAVELING THROUGH SO MANY DIFFERENT TIME ZONES.
FIND OUT NEXT ON "REAL WORLD."
I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON.
I GUESS I SHOULD BE HAPPY
I ONLY HAVE TO WAKE UP TO THE SUN SHINING IN MY BEDROOM
ONLY ONCE A DAY.
BUT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
ORBITS EARTH ROUGHLY ONCE EVERY 90 MINUTES.
THAT MEANS THE ASTRONAUTS ON BOARD THE ISS
END UP SEEING 16 SUNRISES AND 16 SUNSETS EVERY DAY.
IF THE ISS IS MOVING THROUGH THE DAY SO FAST,
THE PEOPLE ON BOARD MUST BE GOING
THROUGH A LOT OF DIFFERENT TIME ZONES.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, IT WOULD BE VERY EASY
FOR THE CREW MEMBERS ON THE ISS
TO GET CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT TIME IT IS.
- IT'S 8:30 P.M.
- IT'S ABOUT 11:30. - IT'S ABOUT 6:30.
- 8:30.
- IT IS 10:30 IN THE MORNING.
- DON'T WORRY.
THE ASTRONAUTS AREN'T ACTUALLY CONFUSED.
THEY'RE JUST GIVING THE TIMES FOR THEIR HOMETOWNS.
I'LL LET EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ASTRONAUT FRANK DEWINNE
TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT TIME
AND HOW IT WORKS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
- SO YOU HAVE SEEN THAT MY CREWMATES
HAVE VERY DIFFERENT TIMINGS IN THEIR HOMETOWNS.
WELL, IN FACT, THERE ARE 15 COUNTRIES
INVOLVED IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION,
AND THESE COUNTRIES SPAN FOR MORE THAN 15 TIME ZONES.
AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT, THE TIME DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN TWO MEMBER COUNTRIES COULD BE AS MUCH AS 18 HOURS.
IMAGINE IF SOMEONE TOLD YOU
THAT THEY WILL PICK YOU UP AT 4:30
BUT NEGLECT TO TELL YOU
THAT IT WILL BE AT 4:30 ALASKA STANDARD TIME.
THAT COULD MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE TO YOUR PLANS OF THE DAY.
IMAGINE HOW IMPORTANT IT MUST BE
FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
THAT ALL PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES AGREE
ON WHAT TIME WE HAVE A MEETING,
CONDUCT AN EXPERIMENT, OR RETURN HOME FROM SPACE.
IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER WHICH TIME ZONE WE USE
WHEN COORDINATING OUR PLANS ACROSS THE GLOBE.
BUT FOR HISTORICAL REASONS,
ALL OF THE INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
USE GREENWICH MEAN TIME, ABBREVIATED GMT.
THIS TIME ZONE IS OFTEN REFERRED AS UNIVERSAL TIME OR WORLD TIME,
BUT IT COULD ALSO BE CALLED, FOR US, SPACE TIME,
BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT WE USE HERE
ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
- NOW, DON'T GET TOO EXCITED.
THAT'S NOT THE "SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM"
YOU HEAR ABOUT IN THOSE MOVIES WITH TIME TRAVEL.
SPACE TIME IS JUST ANOTHER NAME FOR UNIVERSAL,
OR GREENWICH MEAN, TIME,
AND GREENWICH MEAN TIME
IS HOW ASTRONAUTS SET THEIR CLOCKS
SO THAT EVERYONE IS WORKING ON THE SAME SCHEDULE.
OUR BODIES ARE TUNED IN
TO THE AMOUNT OF DAYLIGHT WE EXPERIENCE.
SCIENTISTS CALL THAT OUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHM.
EVEN THOUGH THE DAY-NIGHT CYCLE IS SO FAST ON BOARD THE ISS,
THE ASTRONAUTS STILL USE THE 24-HOUR DAY
THEY ARE USED TO.
BUT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE GETTING
THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SLEEP,
THEIR SCHEDULES ARE CAREFULLY PLANNED.
AND IF THEY WANT TO PHONE HOME,
THEY JUST HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT TIME IT IS ON EARTH.
BESIDES EATING, SLEEPING, AND EXERCISING IN SPACE,
ASTRONAUTS USE A BIG PART OF THEIR DAY
TO HELP SCIENTISTS ON EARTH CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS
ON THE ONLY NATIONAL LABORATORY IN MICROGRAVITY,
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
AND FOR YEARS,
NASA HAS HELPED CONNECT STUDENTS
WITH ASTRONAUTS IN ORBIT THROUGH INTERACTIVE EVENTS,
STUDENT CHALLENGES, AND VIDEO DOWNLINKS.
ANOTHER EXCITING WAY TO GET ON AN ASTRONAUT'S SCHEDULE
IS THROUGH A PROGRAM CALLED ARISS,
AMATEUR RADIO ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
ASTRONAUTS AND COSMONAUTS ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
HAVE AN AMATEUR RADIO, OR HAM RADIO, STATION AT HAND
FOR RECREATION AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
IT PROVIDES CONTACTS WITH FAMILY AND WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC
FOR THE ASTRONAUTS WORKING IN SPACE FOR MONTHS AT A TIME.
COMMANDER WILLIAM SHEPHERD WORKED HARD TO MAKE SURE
THAT AN AMATEUR RADIO STATION WAS ON BOARD THE ISS.
USING THE CALL SIGN ASSIGNED TO THE SPACE STATION,
SHEPHERD COMPLETED THE FIRST-EVER ARISS CONTACT
ON DECEMBER 21, 2000.
IN 2003, THE 100TH SCHOOL CONTACT FROM SPACE
WAS MADE USING THE ISS HAM RADIO.
AS THESE CONNECTIONS CONTINUE,
STUDENTS FROM SCHOOLS IN WEBSTER, NEW YORK;
BOULDER, COLORADO; HONOLULU, HAWAII;
AND TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA-- TO NAME JUST A FEW--
HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS
ABOUT LIVING AND WORKING IN SPACE.
AMATEUR RADIO CLUBS
AND INDIVIDUAL HAM RADIO OPERATORS ON THE GROUND
HELP THE HIGH-FLYING HAM ASTRONAUTS
COMPLETE THEIR CONTACTS WITH SCHOOLS.
THERE'S NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT,
SO VISIT THE NASA WEBSITE
TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN DOWNLOAD AN ARISS APPLICATION
FOR YOUR SCHOOL.
WHO KNOWS?
MAYBE YOU'LL BE ONE OF THE NEXT GROUPS
TO SCHEDULE A CHAT WITH THE ASTRONAUTS ON BOARD THE ISS.
WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU WANT TO ASK?
SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON "REAL WORLD."