NASA

Dec. 8, 2004

Not Home for the Holidays

Science fiction writers work hard to get the details right. Taking such care helps make settings and characters more believable. When a reader believes, that person will follow and enjoy the plot. Everyone's happy.

Something else that makes people happy—whether writers or readers—is enjoying the festive season with family and friends. December is a time when people all over the world celebrate their beliefs and give special thought to those around them. We each have certain things we like to have in our homes for the holidays.

Imagine that you're a science fiction writer working on a story about life on board a space station orbiting Earth. It's set 5 years into the future. You've decided your space station will have people living on it for months at a time, but the technology available to them will be very similar to what we have today. You want to write a scene to compare life on the station with life back on Earth. It must be something that points out how being in orbit forces these people to make changes in their lives. At the same time, you want to show how people bring their traditions with them.

Suddenly, you have an idea. You'll write a scene in which your main character, the station manager, is making a list of what her crew needs to help them celebrate the holidays in their own way. Not everything can be provided from what's aboard the station. The station manager decides to arrange for a surprise shipment from Earth. But what's on that list?

To learn more about real "holidays in space," see spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/spaceholiday/index.html (NASA) and space.about.com/cs/iss/a/issholidaymeal.htm (About).

Challenge: A List for the Station Manager

1. Make a chart with three columns.
2. In the first column, write down the items that you would like to have with you on an orbiting space station to celebrate the holidays, whether it's Hanukkah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa. Or a birthday, if yours is in December.
3. In the second column, beside each item in your list, put a checkmark if that item would already be on the station with you. If you aren't sure, visit spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/ (NASA) and check out what astronauts carry with them into space now. Assume that you could have brought three personal items with you when you first arrived on the station.
4. In the third column, for those items that would have to be brought to the space station, decide if you could substitute something else that's already on the station. If so, put a checkmark beside that item.
5. Now, go back to the first column. Circle any items without a checkmark in either of the other two columns. Cross off any circled items that you could do without.
6. What's left are the items you would put on the station manager's list. They would become part of the surprise shipment from Earth.

If you wish, send your list of items from step 6 to challenge@snkids.com. Please include your first name, age, city or town, and state. If you are under 13 years old, get your parent's permission to write to us. You may be eligible to win a prize!

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