# Did NASA really ask Sally Ride this question? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478 "2016-09-21T01:05:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/41 "2016-09-21T13:44:39Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Maybe they were worried about Einsteinian time dilation. When the Lorentz contractions repeat every 3-5 minutes, dilation should increase to 10 cm. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/42 "2016-09-21T13:59:52Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The lack of gravity would have made executing a pearl necklace rather troublesome. Three times, a quick search reveals, this board has touched on the topic. The first two are inconclusive: **Ejaculate distance on the moon** [Ejaculate distance on the moon - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=663343) **masturbation in space** [masturbation in space - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=225884) The Master Humself goes there _three times_, but way back starting in 1997: \*\*Has anyone ever had sex in space?\*\*[Has anyone ever had sex in space? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1042/has-anyone-ever-had-sex-in-space) Somewhere’s there’s a Snopes on the Russian case. Not a single thread close to addressing **Siam Siam** ’s point. ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/43 "2016-09-21T14:03:12Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Do women even need them in zero-G? Eh, yes! That’s like questioning the need for a toilet in zero-G!!! ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/44 "2016-09-21T15:28:55Z")
Being as NASA totally checks out every contingency, they would be negligent to not discuss this need with her and plan accordingly. Just one more thing think about before the mission. Note: This is called “Thinking ahead” or “Planning ahead”. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/45 "2016-09-21T18:05:36Z")
I have been married for 34 years, in addition to which I have two sisters and a daughter, and I wouldn’t be able to take anything more than a random guess how long a tampon lasts. > [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > When the Lorentz contractions repeat every 3-5 minutes, dilation should increase to 10 cm. _:golf clap:_ Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/46 "2016-09-21T18:40:07Z")
So what _is_ the right number for a 7-day mission with 1 female astronaut, assuming up to 3 additional days as contingency, and including spares for possible mishaps? ---
**Author:** ![moojja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@moojja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moojja)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/47 "2016-09-21T19:25:17Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And don’t forget that an emergency might have led her to be up there for over a month. If she’s up there for just over a month, she won’t need extra tampons. \>\_\< ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/48 "2016-09-21T19:34:54Z")
I’m pretty sure the ISS is held together by used tampons. At least it looked that way in the movie _Gravity._ > [@eschereal](#): > > Do women even need them in zero-G? It’s all fun and science in zero-G until someone gets hit in the face with a vaginal blood ball. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/49 "2016-09-21T19:35:37Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I assume the “engineers” in the second sentence are the same as the “astronauts” in the first - it’s my understanding that most astronauts are engineers, who serve as astronauts on specific flights. That’s an odd assumption. I’m dubious about the factual premise (there are lots of different educational backgrounds for astronauts), but as a matter of English syntax it would be pretty odd to refer to them as astronauts in one sentence and then engineers in the second if you meant to refer to the same people. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/50 "2016-09-21T19:48:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Serious (if strange) question: what happens to space trash? [Out the space door.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris) [QUOTE=Relevant quote] According to [Edward Tufte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Tufte)’s book _Envisioning Information_, space debris includes a glove lost by astronaut [Ed White](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Higgins_White) on the first American [space-walk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra-vehicular_activity) (EVA); a camera lost by [Michael Collins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_%28astronaut%29) near [Gemini 10](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_10); **garbage bags jettisoned by Soviet [cosmonauts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmonauts) during [Mir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir)’s 15-year life**,[[24]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris#cite_note-usaweekend-24) a wrench and a toothbrush. [Sunita Williams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunita_Williams) of [STS-116](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-116) lost a camera during an EVA. During an [STS-120](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-120) EVA to reinforce a torn solar panel a pair of pliers was lost, and in an [STS-126](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-126) EVA [Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidemarie_Stefanyshyn-Piper) lost a briefcase-sized tool bag.[[30]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris#cite_note-30) [/QUOTE] (emphasis mine) ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/51 "2016-09-21T20:33:28Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > as a matter of English syntax it would be pretty odd to refer to them as astronauts in one sentence and then engineers in the second if you meant to refer to the same people. It’s odd as a matter of English syntax, agreed. But it’s even more odd to say in one sentence that a certain group of people had a certain responsibility and then in the next sentence describe what a completely different group of people did in fulfilling that responsibility, with no explanation at all. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/52 "2016-09-21T20:35:01Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > So what _is_ the right number for a 7-day mission with 1 female astronaut, assuming up to 3 additional days as contingency, and including spares for possible mishaps? If it was me, I would want a supply of 15 which would include a few extras. While they say you should change them every 4 hours during your heaviest flow, I never actually woke myself up in the middle of the night to change them. (I would combine a tampon and a pad for that.) The questions if they’re even needed for zero-G aren’t silly. Small stressors often cause a woman to skip period. There were times when I missed periods for things as trivial as taking a business trip. You just never know. I was also never able to predict when I would have heavier than usual flows. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/53 "2016-09-21T21:52:44Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > . . . What if you’re like me, and you prefer pads? I think pads require gravity. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/54 "2016-09-21T22:02:19Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And don’t forget that an emergency might have led her to be up there for over a month. I don’t think the Space Shuttle was capable of staying in orbit for so long. The longest duration STS mission was 17 days long, and that was only possible when the orbiter was equipped with the [Extended Duration Orbiter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Duration_Orbiter) pallet, first used in 1992. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/55 "2016-09-21T22:37:37Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > It’s odd as a matter of English syntax, agreed. > > But it’s even more odd to say in one sentence that a certain group of people had a certain responsibility and then in the next sentence describe what a completely different group of people did in fulfilling that responsibility, with no explanation at all. The way I read it, she’s saying that some female astronauts were supposed to determine how many tampons were required. That process consisted of them talking to some (almost certainly male) engineers, and the engineers posed the question to the astronauts. While it’s true that some astronauts have engineering backgrounds, when an astronaut refers to “the engineers”, she’s most likely referring to the people doing engineering work for the mission, who would certainly not be astronauts. I would not expect an astronaut to refer to fellow astronauts as “the engineers”. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/56 "2016-09-21T22:48:11Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Those women were _cosmonauts_; Sally Ride is the first female astronaut. From what I have heard, though they seem the same to us, have a different meaning to ‘them’, Astronaut = one who visited space; Cosmonauts = those who live in space. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/57 "2016-09-21T22:53:59Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I think pads require gravity. No, they wouldn’t - what, you think the menstrual flow would just stay parked in her vagina? However, pads are more likely to leak under zero-g conditions if the woman’s undergarments are at all loose. They also take up more space. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/58 "2016-09-21T23:10:07Z")
Wouldn’t it be more practical, instead of tampons, to use pills to prevent menstruation in the first place? They’d probably be lighter, and would certainly be a lot more convenient. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/59 "2016-09-21T23:16:03Z")
Well, yes, that would also work but I don’t think they were approved for that use at the time Sally Ride was going into space. You can also get “breakthrough” bleeding with hormonal birth control at times, so it’s still a good idea to have a few tampons around for just in case. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/60 "2016-09-21T23:32:52Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > What if you’re like me, and you prefer pads? I think you need to use tampons in space, because the wick effect makes up for the lack of gravity. I know. I prefer pads too. I leak around tampons, and can’t stop feeling them most of the time. I really don’t get women who use them. I use them so I can take my son swimming, but that’s only since the old diaphragm I used to use for swimming and biking finally gave up the ghost. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > I once saw a documentary about women in the military; one of the subjects was an a retired US Marine who described having to take makeup application lessons during boot camp. I found that lecture annoying too, but it was mostly about what you couldn’t do. It was always a choice not to wear make-up. I was told before I went to basic that I’d need to buy make-up for this “class”-- it was really a 20 minute lecture about how you can’t look like a whore when you are in uniform, so you have to keep make-up to a minimum. We were told things like mascara was OK but false eyelashes were not, and that eyeshadow on your eyelid was OK, but above it was not-- the “smokey” look wasn’t in yet, but it would not be OK in uniform. We were also told that base was frowned upon in the extreme, but if you used it to cover acne or acne scars, you could probably get away with it in dress uniform. You might get told to take it off in BDUs, though, where they preferred no make-up at all. This lecture actually left me very relieved, because I never wear make-up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478.md?page=4)