Astronauts live and work on the space station. It is a home and a lab. It orbits Earth.

A rocket lifts astronauts off the ground. Its engine turns fuel into hot gas. It shoots the gas out the back.

On the station, astronauts float. So does all else in it. They float as the station and all in it fall around Earth. It is not because there is no gravity.

The station has six sleeping rooms and two bathrooms. It has a gym. Each crew member has a cabin. Astronauts sleep in sleeping bags.

Food floats in space, too. Astronauts do not need a plate to eat.

Space makes muscles and bones weaker. So astronauts exercise to keep them strong.

Astronauts grow plants on the station. Their small garden is called Veggie.

Astronauts on the station see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets a day.

They go outside for spacewalks. They wear spacesuits. Space has no air and is not safe without one.

They practice in a huge pool of water. It is the closest you can get to microgravity on Earth.

Words to know

• orbits: circles around
• gravity: pull toward Earth
• microgravity: almost no pull
• spacewalks: trips outside