Towards the end of the interviews I offered the interviewees a "sensation interlude", a sensory run-through, in which I told artists what the physical effects of being in Earth's orbit would be. I described the following sensations one feels when in space; sensations that are well documented in space medical literature:

Sensation Interlude:

You will see the sun rise16 times a day and you will also see the sun set 16 times a day. Your days, in other words, will be 45 minutes long. Your nights will be 45 minutes long. You will orbit the Earth every 90 minutes.

Upon arrival in space, bodily fluids go from legs to upper body. The face becomes swollen. Jugular veins look like they will pop. In the first few days of being in orbit headaches and sniffles are common. So is motion sickness in the first few days.15

Fifty percent of all astronauts experience some sort of discomfort the first few days in orbit.16

When closing your eyes even in the darkest corner of the ISS, you will see red in your retina. This is due to solar radiation going right through you.17

When you push off a wall of a module to float to the other side, the sensation you have is not that you are floating from one wall to another, but that you pushed the wall away from you and the opposite wall moves in your direction while you stay still.18

There is a degraded sense of smell and taste in orbit. The increase of fluids in the head causes stuffiness similar to a head cold. Foods take on an aura of sameness and there is a craving for spices and strong flavorings such as horse radish, mustard and taco sauce.19

Digestive gas cannot "rise" towards the mouth and is more likely to pass through the other end of the digestive tract - in the words of Skylab crewman doctor Joe Kerwin: "very effectively with great volume and frequency."20

All modules are designed with what the space industry calls a subjective vertical. This means that modules are designed with a floor, a ceiling and vertical walls, even though there is no up or down, so that astronauts can better orient themselves.

In space the vestibular organs in the ear are not detecting gravity but after a while one can get used to zero-G. However, right before relaxing and falling asleep in space the mind tends to forget that it is in space. Hence the vestibular organs do too and sometimes astronauts get a sensation of falling before falling asleep.

Also about sleep, astronauts often tie pillows to their heads in order to have the sensation of sleeping on a pillow.21

Finally, the view of Earth is a big deal. The closest you will get to it visually on earth are IMAX films that show the largest film format shot from the shuttle. IMAX screens are 5 to 8 stories high. The shots of Earth are quite breathtaking and give you a sense of what it's like.

(The sensation interlude lasted around five minutes.)