Ex-NASA astronaut who spent 695 days in space reveals ‘strict’ routine that's key for a successful mission

A former NASA astronaut has lifted the lid on the vital routine that helps space missions run smoothy.

Whether flying to the moon or carrying out experiments on the International Space Station (ISS), space travel is no easy feat.

It's something SpaceX's Crew-11 know all too well; their six-and-a-half month ISS mission was the first in history to be cut short over a 'serious health condition'.

Astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, Kimiya Yui and Oleg Platonov splashed back down to Earth today (Thursday January 15) off the coast of San Diego, California.

NASA confirmed that the early evacuation wasn't an emergency and all astronauts were doing fine.

Peggy Whitson, 65, worked at NASA for almost 30 years, retiring at the rank of Chief Astronaut in 2018.

She flew multiple long-duration missions aboard the ISS, serving as a flight engineer and later as commander, conducting scientific research in microgravity, supervising station operations and performing spacewalks during extended stays in orbit.

Five years later she joined private company Axiom Space, serving as commander for their 2023 Ax-2 and 2025 Ax-4 missions.

In total, Whitson has racked up an impressive 695 days in space - more than any other woman, or American person, for that matter.

Earlier this week, she reflected on her 2025 mission alongside pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut from Poland, and Tibor Kapu, representing the Hungarian Space Office.

If you've ever been curious as to what an astronaut's nighttime routine looks like, then let Whitson fill you in.

Explaining that a 'strict routine while living in space' is crucial in a successful mission, she highlighted the importance of 'winding down and sensory shutdown". "My sleep prep was the same for all my long duration missions while I was with NASA," she said.

"At supper time, we adjusted the Node 1 lighting to pre-sleep (we referred to it as mood lighting), which has more red wavelengths.

"After dinner, I prepared for sleep an hour earlier than scheduled, because I prefer to work out early in the morning (and have the station to myself)."

Whitson added that the crew quarters have 'fantastic acoustic dampening,' so other crew members who were up and about didn't cause any disruption.

"Best sleep ever floating on a wall in my sleeping bag, no pillow required!" she added.

"Unfortunately, there are not enough sleep quarters for visiting crew like I was during Axiom missions 2 and 4. Ear plugs became essential for good sleep as I camped out in the Airlock."

The airlock is a two-chambered pressurized module that serves as the gateway for astronauts to perform spacewalks, acting as a buffer to transition between the station's living quarters and the vacuum of space.

Whitson isn't alone in having the best night's sleep while floating in microgravity.

Previously, Erin Flynn-Evans, a NASA scientist studying spaceflight, explained to the Washington Post exactly why that is.

"One of the most common things that the crew members report is that their pain goes away in space, because a lot of the aches and pains that prevent us from sleeping come from gravity," she said.

"In space, everything sort of eases up, and often that feels good. I can’t think of a time when someone told me they didn’t enjoy sleeping in space, actually."

Sleepover at the ISS, anyone?