10 Things Astronomers Wished They NEVER Did

 exploring space has been humanity's dream for centuries but now it's a reality astronauts have been going out of earth's orbit for almost six decades now and with richard branson

 and jeff bezos's forays into space the goal of regular commercial flights is closer than ever but hold on to your hats space travelers there's a few things you should know welcome to fact nominal and today we'll be taking a look at the 10 things you most definitely cannot do in space be sure to stay until the end of our article to learn all about the things you shouldn't do in space and also subscribe to our channel for more great content like this now let's get into it number 10 no showers space travel takes minimalist living to a whole other level every resource is invaluable and you have to be as efficient as possible in using it water is arguably the most precious commodity of them all it is very difficult to transport because of its heavy weight

 and managing it is key to survival in space instead of full-blown showers all astronauts can hope for is a sponge bath using distilled water from air humidity and human waste it's not your average body scrub but it does the trick the same goes for washing clothes and other forms of personal hygiene so if you dream of exploring the universe leave the bath bombs at home number nine how a tex-mex favorite became a nasa staple newsflash your eating habits may have to change if you want to see space first hand i know you've finally adjusted to the gluten-free bread your friend recommended but you're going to have to drop the slices some everyday consumption goods like bread are a no-go in space sneaking bread on board and trying to make your favorite sandwich would most likely result in crumbs which can potentially damage equipment or be accidentally inhaled by astronauts tortillas are crumbles and so it's no surprise that they are one of the most popular options for astronauts looking to get that sandwich fix from peanut butter and jelly burritos to breakfast tacos the tortilla is the real mvp on space flights number eight alcohol if you're a bit more than a social drinker space might not be the place for you not only are astronauts forbidden to be intoxicated at liftoff consuming alcohol while in space is strictly forbidden there was an attempt in 1972 to make alcohol a part of an astronaut's diet at the international space station however the decision was met by outrage over the prospect of drunk astronauts in space despite all of that wine was actually the first liquid to be consumed on the surface of the moon buzz aldrin the second man to set foot onto the moon confessed in an interview that he received special permission to take bread and wine with him into space to take part in the christian rite of communion apart from a couple of instances all space agencies have strict rules against alcohol in space so even after a successful journey thousands of miles around the earth astronauts can't hope to have a cocktail to unwind if you think an alcohol ban is bad wait until you hear the next one number 7 227 mile high club the act of pleasure isn't as forbidden as it is difficult anderson university physicist and astronomer john millis phd commented quote every push or thrust will propel the astronaut in the opposite direction imagine a pair of ice skaters

 standing on fresh ice if they were to push their hands against one another they would each shoot backwards away from each other unquote so astronauts would have to be properly anchored not only to the space station itself but also to each other this makes the mechanics of the sex act very difficult and probably somewhat awkward but that's not the only complication if sex were successful weightlessness could cause a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy and the high levels of radiation in space could cause cell deformation and mutation in the fetus so what do you think of these things you can't do in space so far let us know what you think in the comments and make sure to stay until the end you're gonna be shocked to learn what's at the top of this list number six we have talked to the difficulties of personal hygiene in space but when nature calls you pretty much have to go however the task of completing the number two isn't as straightforward astronauts on board the international space station strap themselves into specially designed toilets for solid waste and use a vacuum tube with different sized funnels for liquid waste there's no door to the bathroom just a curtain and the waste is stored in specially designed plastic bags according to astronaut peggy whitson if the plastic bags are all too full astronauts must put a rubber glove on and pack it down not the most appealing task is it well guess what it gets worse there are times when the toilet malfunctions leaving astronauts in a room full of floating poo when you can't avoid nature's call there is another difficult situation that you should avoid for a safe trip number five space surgery wounds and injuries can be devastating anywhere but one place you really want to really avoid them is in space the medical facilities on the international space station are primitive to say the least and have about the same level of equipment as a typical public swimming pool medical doctor and nasa astronaut michael barat confessed quote we can stabilize someone who has a dramatic injury but we can't sustain a patient for long unquote low gravity environments pose a greater risk as the wound and fracture healing process is slowed down greatly microbes and viruses become more virulent in space possibly leading to food poisoning antibiotic resistance and hard to treat infections fortunately the medical problems experienced by the iss crews have not been life-threatening only one astronaut italian luca parmitano has come close to serious injury after nearly drowning after water leaked into his helmet during a spacewalk number four traveling into space is undoubtedly one of the greatest achievements in human history reaching those heights and exploring the secrets of the universe has to be an emotional rollercoaster one worthy of shedding a few tears however it's a completely different experience in space tears stick around the eye and form

 a liquid ball they sting quite a bit

 and the giant clump may break away from your skin to float away so leave the crying to your bachelor binge reading sessions number three sleeping on a nice comfy bed the alarm clock goes off so you hit the snooze button roll over and fall back into a deep sleep all while lying comfortably on your pillow top mattress ah yeah you can forget about that if you plan on traveling to space given the weightlessness there's no up or down and everything is floating to make things even more confusing the astronauts in space can't coordinate sleeping patterns according to the sun the international space station orbits the earth every 92 minutes so there can be up to 16 sunsets in a 24 hour period in order to sleep you'll have to crawl into a sleeping bag that is anchored to the floor or the ceiling the sleeping place has to be well ventilated as the carbon dioxide exhaled during sleep may linger in the air and form bubbles so you may wake up air deprived when it comes to ventilation and air quality space travelers have to assume another huge responsibility number two farts when you're on earth it's easy to not think too much about letting one rip after all it'll dissipate and clear out in a few seconds and chances are no one will find out your smelly secret sorry to tell you that's an absolute no-go in space even though your smelling powers are slightly subdued you're in such close quarters that literally everyone can smell it not only that with nowhere to go the smell lingers for longer periods of time and makes for a terrible experience for you and your crewmates to make matters worse it could also potentially make people sick it applies to all scents and you can't just

 go around spraying your cologne to make things better excess smells could lead to headaches and even suffocation due to the excess sweetness in the fragrance number one sneezing if you didn't already know when you sneeze you release a whole lot of droplets into the air most of them aren't the hygienic sort many of these droplets could be potentially carrying infectious germs that i'm quite certain you don't want to have on board in a space station to top it off due to the zero gravity out in space the moment you sneeze you'll be flung back almost like the recoil of a gun this can be very dangerous for people around you as well as yourself even though sneezing is quite an involuntary sort of action your best bet is to aim in the right direction and never sneeze inside your helmet unless you want a hazy view so what do you think about these normal things we can do on earth but are unable to do in space let us know in the comments also make sure to leave our article a like and subscribe to fact nominal for more great content like this we'll see you next time