The Atlantic

Even Astronauts Binge-Watch TV While in Space

In a cramped and isolated environment like a space station, leisure activities are extra important for maintaining mental health.
Source: Joseph M. Acaba / NASA

This time last year, Drew Feustel was weightless, floating from room to room on the International Space Station. When he looked out a window, the view was stunning. There was Earth, resplendent and gleaming against the inky darkness of space. There, beneath silky tufts of white clouds, was the rest of humanity.

But even in this rarefied environment, Feustel sometimes turned his attention to a pastime familiar to us earthbound workers—plowing through every single season of a hit television show.

When Feustel and I sat down for a recent interview, the disposable cup of coffee I had set down on the conference-room table in front of.

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