Orbital by Samantha Harvey: My Thoughts

Winner of the 2024 booker prize - Orbital by Samantha Harvey has been all over my tiktok, on my newsfeed, in the window of the local Waterstones, and then, lucky for me, wrapped up under the tree on Christmas day (thanks Mum!). The book is set over 24 hours on the International Space Station (ISS), following the thoughts and lives of the 6 astronauts on board. Beautifully written, it covers not only the experience of the astronauts but also some of the scientific principles behind space exploration. I devoured the book over the course of 24 hours myself and was left with a multitude of thoughts and feelings that I had to come on here and share.

Orbital by Samatha Harvey - Winner of the 2024 Booker Prize

As a child I dreamed of becoming an astronaut (a dream that has now nicely settled down as wanting to study the planetary sciences instead of going there myself) so it was interesting to read about the experience of going to space. The book is incredibly well researched, the author mentioning in the acknowledgements help from NASA and ESA, and written in a way that puts you right in the place of the astronauts. 24 hours on Earth equates to 16 Orbits of the ISS around the world. The astronauts don't experience day and night like we do on Earth, and instead see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets in the space of their artificial day. In the book, the importance of the astronauts keeping themselves on a 24 hour day is emphasised. But this is only one part of the space faring experience that is disorientating. The astronauts (and cosmonauts as two of the characters are Russian) have to constantly keep going, doing mundane tasks such as washing up and exercising, completing their experiments, and taking out the rubbish. Trying to live life while dealing with the challenges of space, 400km above the ground, with views of the planet out the window. It reminded me of when you are on a plane going over a city, looking down at the views below are incredible but its hard to imagine they are real. Its hard to equate yourself to living in that tiny city below. I can imagine the astronauts must have that same feeling multiplied, and trying to keep a connection to the Earth while drifting so far above it must be both magical and exhausting at the same time. One quote caught my attention describing the experience of the ISS inhabitants, "It’s brutal, inhuman, overwhelming, lonely, extraordinary, and magnificent. there isn’t one single thing that is nice."

Another thing that intrigued me was the discussion of living in zero gravity. Obviously I knew that there was no gravity in space, but I had never really deeped what it would be like to live you life without gravity to keep you oriented. The astronauts in the book come to grips with this aspect of living. They talk about their experience of first arriving on the space station and getting used to the lack of gravity. They talk about a sort of almost travel sickness as the body adjusts. They also talk about doing daily tasks, swimming around the space station, falling asleep floating with their hair above their heads as if suspended underwater, and the joy of getting the courage to do a backflip for the first time. This is echoed nicely in the mice that are on board the ISS for one of the experiments. They are described initially as clinging to the cage walls, scared to let go and float, but eventually they give in and are one day found swimming about in their cages.

Another key aspect is the loneliness and isolation the astronauts feel. Looking out the window at the Earth below them, the deeply miss their family and friends, but they also feel like they have found a new family aboard the ISS, bound together by an experience shared by so few others. The feeling is summed up in the line, " The simultaneous not wanting to be here and always wanting to be here". One character, a Japanese astronaut called Chie learns the news of her mother's passing while she is is space. The story then goes on to describe the process of mourning for a loved one from such a distance, and also the memories that Chie has of her mum, and how they have shaped her into the person she is today. They all talk about their families, spouses and children they have left on the ground. But the overwhelming feeling was they miss their loved ones but they wouldn't trade this experience for the world. This sentiment didn't resonate with me (and I guess this is one of the reasons why I myself and not made for space travel) - the willingness to sacrifice everything to go to space. Although it is not discussed in the book I began thinking about how the families must feel. One of the astronauts left her husband behind on a farm in Ireland. I can only imagine how he lonely and isolated he must feel, and the sacrifices he is making for his wife to follow her dreams. The book discusses the true resilience of the astronauts, but also got me thinking of the sacrifices made by their loved ones for them to follow their dreams.

Cooperation is also a key theme. Out of the six astronauts, 2 are Russian, 1 English, 1 Japanese, 1 American, and 1 Italian. It is highlighted how the Russians are supposed to sleep in the Russian quarters and the rest in the US quarters; how they must use the correct bathrooms, and eat the food from the right areas. But these rules are not implemented by the crew. In reality they are all there together, united as humanity. They share food, do joint experiments, and talk abut the similarities in their upbringings continents apart. It really highlights the politics behind space exploration, and how it is so insignificant when it comes down to the astronauts themselves. Humanity's effort to explore the solar system really is a joint one, and international cooperation is key.

The book also covers the topic of humanity and our need for space travel. While the main characters are aboard the ISS they hear on the radio the launch of a mission to the moon. The excitement of discovery, of exploring space  is fascinating to humans. Yet human bodies deteriorate while they are in space, it is not somewhere humanity is suppose to be. The line, "to look to the void (which still isn’t answering) and build space ships anyway." really caught my eye. Fascinated by space myself, I find it incredible what humans have been able to achieve. Bu the more I read and learn about out solar system, our galaxy, and the universe beyond the more I realise that we really are looking out into a void. A black emptiness, filled with stars and planets but as far as we know devoid of any life. When Christopher Columbus was sailing the seas he came upon North America, lands filled with open plains and fresh fruits, valleys and streams. All exciting yet familiar, and filled with the possibility of abundant life. When we travel out to space all we find is the universe working against us. No gravity, no food, cosmic radiation, insufferable temperatures, no water; and yet still we go, filled with the scientific hope of discovery. The book really summed this up, humanity's unrelentless thirst for knowledge and our willingness to put ourselves through discomfort and danger to achieve this.

The final point I want to make about the book is the truly breathtaking descriptions of Earth. The astronauts gather at the windows throughout various points of the day to look down the Earth below them. They see the colours of the world, the pink morning sunrises and dark red sunsets, brown plains, blue oceans, green forests. They see the destructive whirlpool of a tropical storm passing over the Pacific, with knowledge of the destruction it must be causing but only a view of nature's beauty from above. And finally they see humanity's impact. The lights of the cities described as coming out at night but disappearing during the day, "Mankind is the light of the cities and the illuminated filament of roads. By day it’s gone. It hides in plain sight.". A reminder of both our insignificance and impact simultaneously. The only difference between our presence being known or hidden being the presence of light from the sun.

Such a wide range of topics and experiences are covered in just 136 pages, its hard to do a review without giving too much away. The background of the characters and their lives, as well as 24 hours on board the ISS make it a beautiful story filled with fact and science. It's a truly thought provoking and fascinating read. I highly recommend!