Grammar Takes a Spacewalk

Then or Than?

Use then when talking about time. Then can mean “next” or “at that time.” Leo chopped the carrots, then he added them to the salad.

Use than to make a comparison. Kayla runs faster than I do.

What is it like living more then/than 200 miles above Earth? Ask the astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), a laboratory that hurtles through space at 17,500 miles per hour. (That’s about 5 miles per second!)

Because the ISS circles Earth about every hour and a half, astronauts on board see the sun rise and set 16 times a day.

Being in a weightless environment presents some challenges. For instance, astronauts can’t sprinkle salt and pepper on their food because it would float away and get caught in air vents or other equipment. So they use liquid salt and pepper instead.

Sleeping is different too. Rather then/than lie down on a bed, astronauts enter a tiny closet then/than zip themselves into a sleeping bag attached to the wall.

The space station bathrooms are definitely more complicated then/than the ones we have here on Earth. Astronauts use a funnel attached to a hose that suctions away urine. This urine, along with sweat, is then/than recycled into drinking water. (Apparently it tastes just like regular water.)

For solid waste, astronauts must use foot restraints to position themselves over a small metal can with a plastic bag in it. Makes you appreciate gravity, doesn’t it?