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Post by swamprat on Jun 8, 2015 8:49:33 GMT -6
Sunita Williams gives us a tour of the Space Station:
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Post by auntym on Jun 17, 2015 13:10:23 GMT -6
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Post by swamprat on Jul 9, 2015 9:58:49 GMT -6
Space Station Crosses Moon's Face in Stunning New Photoby Sarah Lewin, Staff Writer July 09, 2015 An amazing new photograph shows the International Space Station (ISS) crossing in front of the bright and seemingly enormous moon.We're used to seeing images taken from the space station — astronauts often post them on social media — but photos of the orbiting lab from Earth are rarer and take much more preparation.
Amateur astrophotographer Dylan O'Donnell took the stunning photo on June 30 from Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia, using a Canon 70D camera attached to the rear cell of a Celestron 9.25-inch (235 centimeters) telescope.
www.space.com/29889-space-station-crosses-moon-photo.html
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Post by auntym on Jul 17, 2015 13:46:58 GMT -6
time.com/3961500/international-space-station-debris/?xid=tcoshare Space Junk Forces Space Station Crew to Seek Shelter Jonathan D. Woods time.com/author/jonathan-d-woods/July 16, 2015 The debris was a fragment from an old Russian weather satellite A chunk of space debris traveling more than eight miles per second forced three crew members aboard the International Space Station to seek emergency shelter on Thursday. NASA said the debris was a fragment from an old Russian weather satellite. For almost an hour, American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka were instructed to stay inside the Soyuz capsule, which is docked to the International Space Station. This is only the fourth time in the 15-year life of the space station that it has had to implement this procedure, NASA said. Video aboard the station showed Kelly, Kornienko and Padalka moving throughout the station to close hatches. “Happy there was no impact,” Kelly said via Twitter. “Great coordination with international ground teams. Excellent training.” time.com/3961500/international-space-station-debris/?xid=tcosharePublished on Jul 16, 2015 Astronauts aboard the International Space Station had to take emergency shelter in a docked Soyuz spacecraft on Thursday morning. Astronauts aboard the ... The Expedition 30 crews sheltered in their respective Soyuz spacecraft today, 24th March 2012 at 06:38 UTC. As a piece of Cosmos satellite debris made it's ... Flight controllers in Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston monitored the close approach of an unidentified piece of space debris June 28 ...
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Post by lois on Jul 17, 2015 20:22:45 GMT -6
time.com/3961500/international-space-station-debris/?xid=tcoshare Space Junk Forces Space Station Crew to Seek Shelter Jonathan D. Woods time.com/author/jonathan-d-woods/July 16, 2015 The debris was a fragment from an old Russian weather satellite A chunk of space debris traveling more than eight miles per second forced three crew members aboard the International Space Station to seek emergency shelter on Thursday. NASA said the debris was a fragment from an old Russian weather satellite. For almost an hour, American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka were instructed to stay inside the Soyuz capsule, which is docked to the International Space Station. This is only the fourth time in the 15-year life of the space station that it has had to implement this procedure, NASA said. Video aboard the station showed Kelly, Kornienko and Padalka moving throughout the station to close hatches. “Happy there was no impact,” Kelly said via Twitter. “Great coordination with international ground teams. Excellent training.” time.com/3961500/international-space-station-debris/?xid=tcosharePublished on Jul 16, 2015 Astronauts aboard the International Space Station had to take emergency shelter in a docked Soyuz spacecraft on Thursday morning. Astronauts aboard the ... The Expedition 30 crews sheltered in their respective Soyuz spacecraft today, 24th March 2012 at 06:38 UTC. As a piece of Cosmos satellite debris made it's ... Flight controllers in Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston monitored the close approach of an unidentified piece of space debris June 28 ... That is scary . Glad they are ok. We won't ever learn.
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Post by swamprat on Sept 8, 2015 14:04:46 GMT -6
ISS Crosses in Front of the SunThis composite photo made from five images shows the International Space Station crossing the sun’s face on Sept. 6, 2015. The images were captured from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
And just what is that little goober above the furthest ISS image to the left?
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Post by auntym on Jan 20, 2016 14:20:14 GMT -6
www.nasa.gov/image-feature/first-flower-grown-in-space-stations-veggie-facilityJan. 19, 2016 First Flower Grown in Space Station's Veggie FacilityOn Jan. 16, 2016, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly shared photographs of a blooming zinnia flower in the Veggie plant growth system aboard the International Space Station. Kelly wrote, "Yes, there are other life forms in space! #SpaceFlower #YearInSpace" This flowering crop experiment began on Nov. 16, 2015, when NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren activated the Veggie system and its rooting "pillows" containing zinnia seeds. The challenging process of growing the zinnias provided an exceptional opportunity for scientists back on Earth to better understand how plants grow in microgravity, and for astronauts to practice doing what they’ll be tasked with on a deep space mission: autonomous gardening. In late December, Kelly found that the plants "weren't looking too good," and told the ground team, “You know, I think if we’re going to Mars, and we were growing stuff, we would be responsible for deciding when the stuff needed water. Kind of like in my backyard, I look at it and say ‘Oh, maybe I should water the grass today.’ I think this is how this should be handled.” The Veggie team on Earth created what was dubbed “The Zinnia Care Guide for the On-Orbit Gardener,” and gave basic guidelines for care while putting judgment capabilities into the hands of the astronaut who had the plants right in front of him. Rather than pages and pages of detailed procedures that most science operations follow, the care guide was a one-page, streamlined resource to support Kelly as an autonomous gardener. Soon, the flowers were on the rebound, and on Jan. 12, pictures showed the first peeks of petals beginning to sprout on a few buds. Image Credit: NASA Last Updated: Jan. 19, 2016 Editor: Sarah Loff
www.nasa.gov/image-feature/first-flower-grown-in-space-stations-veggie-facility
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Post by auntym on Jan 20, 2016 15:32:10 GMT -6
Historic Vegetable Moment on the Space Station Published on Jan 20, 2016 Visit science.nasa.gov/ for more. Astronauts recently experienced an historic vegetable moment when they ate a salad made from lettuce grown on board the International Space Station.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2016 15:23:38 GMT -6
Debris ?
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Post by swamprat on Mar 29, 2016 16:42:09 GMT -6
Debris is my guess.
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Post by auntym on Mar 31, 2016 16:07:31 GMT -6
ISS Research ✔ @iss_Research
Teachers: Your students can control a camera aboard @space_Station to take pics of Earth! Space Station Live: Classroom with a ViewNASA Johnson Published on Mar 30, 2016 NASA Commentator Lori Meggs at the Marshall Space Flight Center talks to Scott Harbour with the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, home to Space Camp and now the new home to the Sally Ride EarthKAM experiment, in which middle school students from all over the world can photograph targets on Earth by commanding a camera on the International Space Station. Teachers can register their class for EarthKAM by visiting www.earthkam.org
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Post by auntym on Apr 5, 2016 12:21:27 GMT -6
kscpartnerships.ksc.nasa.gov/News/Bountiful-Harvest?linkId=22955882Bountiful Harvest
Flowering Zinnias on space station set stage for deep-space food crop researchBy Linda Herridge April, 2016 Zinnia plants from the Veggie ground control experiment at Kennedy Space Center were harvested Feb. 11 the same way that crew member Scott Kelly harvested the zinnias growing in the Veggie system aboard the International Space Station on Feb. 14. The ground plants didn’t experience some of the same stressors as those grown simultaneously on the ISS — like unexpected fungus growth. However, some of the zinnia plants aboard the floating laboratory pulled through due to collaboration between the astronauts and the ground team at Kennedy. Ultimately, the experiment that went off-script when astronaut Scott Kelly became an autonomous gardener, provided researchers with even more information about how to effectively grow plants in space than they expected. “I think we’ve learned a lot about doing this kind of experiment. We’re being farmers in space,” Kelly said. “I was extra motivated to bring the plants back to life.” Flowering plants will help scientists learn more about growing crops for deep-space missions and NASA’s journey to Mars. “We need to learn a tremendous amount to help develop more robust sustainable food production systems as NASA moves toward long-duration exploration and the journey to Mars,” said Gioia Massa, NASA Kennedy payload scientist for Veggie. Researchers hope to gather good data regarding long-duration seed stow and germination. Also, whether pollen could affect crew health and how having growing colorful flowering plants to grow could improve crew morale Veggie is the biggest plant/flower experiment to fly on the station. Experiments involving space plants have been a favorite of astronauts, especially those staying in space for long durations like Scott Kelly. According to behavioral health scientists, part of the pleasure for astronauts is just being involved in meaningful work. But crews in space aren’t the only ones positively affected by growing plants. “We are sad to see them go,” said Chuck Spern, a project engineer with Vencore on the Engineering Services Contract at Kennedy, “We’ve been caring for them for quite a while. But it’s for the interest of science so we can go to Mars.” At Kennedy, Spern, removed the Veggie base tray from a controlled environment chamber in the Space Station Processing Facility, and moved it to the Flight Equipment Development Laboratory for harvesting. The plant pillows containing the zinnia seeds were activated in the Veggie system on the space station and in the ground control experiment Nov. 13. The plants grew for nearly three months, much longer than the previous red romaine lettuce crop which grew for 33 days. The flowers were watered and monitored by Kelly and other crew members on the space station, and by Spern and other researchers in the control experiment on the ground. During the harvest, Spern and John Carver, an integration engineer with Jacobs on the Test and Operations Support Contract, carefully cut the colorful blooms and prepared them for storage. The zinnia flower heads were preserved in three ways. Some of the older plants were harvested for their seeds and air-dried at room temperature to allow the seeds to be tested for germination and regrowth potential. Some of the flowers were frozen at minus 80 degrees Celsius and stored for microbial assessment. Some of them were pressed. “The flowers going to seed are a good demonstration for sustainable food crops,” said Nicole Dufour, a NASA mechanical engineer and Veggie subject-matter expert. “It’s a good example of starting with seeds and ending with seeds, which is what you need to sustain crop growth.” The remaining plant material, plant pillows, microbial sampling swabs and water samples will be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius for analysis. All of the samples will be compared with plants and plant pillows from the International Space Station, which will be preserved in the same way and returned to Earth on a future Commercial Resupply Services mission. “We are learning a tremendous amount from Veggie about plants and plant-human-microbial interactions as part of NASA’s Space Biology Program,” Massa said. “And the knowledge gained on food productions helps fill gaps and mitigate food system risks.” Massa said the zinnia crop will give researchers insights that are valuable for a number of longer duration and fruiting crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and other staple crops such as beans and peanuts. CONTINUE READING: kscpartnerships.ksc.nasa.gov/News/Bountiful-Harvest?linkId=22955882
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Post by swamprat on Mar 27, 2017 13:14:00 GMT -6
No one knows what to do with the International Space StationCongress has only approved funding through 2024. What happens then?
By Sara Chodosh 3/27/17
In 2024 the clock will run out on the International Space Station. Maybe. That’s the arbitrary deadline that Congress imposed back in 2014, at which point they'll have to decide whether or not to keep funding the ISS. And yeah, that’s a whole seven years away. But then again...it’s only seven years away.
The ISS takes up half of NASA’s human exploration budget—half of the pile of money allotted for things like sending humans to Mars or to an asteroid. And if they want to push further into space exploration, NASA can’t keep sinking three to four billion dollars a year into the ISS. Not that it’s really their decision. Congress—specifically the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology—decides how much money NASA will get. And because politicians aren’t experts in space travel, they keep holding hearings to discuss what they could possibly do with the ISS in seven years’ time. Let private industry take it over? Let it crash and burn into the South Pacific? Let the program keep running? The latest hearing took place last week.
These are hard questions, in part because people have very different opinions on what’s valuable about NASA, and therefore about whether the ISS is still useful. Maybe you think that NASA should really be about exploration, about pushing the boundaries of what we know and where we can travel. In that case, the ISS might not be your first priority. That’s a huge chunk of the budget that goes toward bringing things back and forth to low Earth orbit instead of venturing to other planets.
On the other hand, part of the way NASA can learn how to send people to other planets is by experimenting on the ISS. It's a micro-gravity environment that’s relatively unshielded by the Earth’s atmosphere, which means scientists of all disciplines can send experiments up to see the effects of space on almost anything. Beer. Plants. Water bears. Heck, we’re still seeing how long-term residency in low gravity affects the human body. And though some politicians in the most recent hearing questioned whether the money that’s already been invested in the ISS has been worth it, the committee doesn't have the best track record when it comes to supporting good science.
We don’t want to fall prey to the sunk cost fallacy, but it does seem a shame to abandon a massive project just after we’ve finished building it. The ISS has had significant upgrades since assembly began in 1998, and it was only in the last few years that the final modules went up.
None of this is to say that the ISS should be funded forever. With the rise of private space travel companies like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, the ISS could be taken over by industry some day, especially if other companies interested in developing products for use in outer space would pay big bucks to experiment on board. Or maybe Elon Musk will decide he wants to turn it into his own private vacation house. Who can say?
The key here is to actually decide. To take in all the information available, evaluate it, and make a move. Seven years might sound like ages, but it's not a ton of time to make a crucial decision. It’s unlikely that NASA is going to get a budget boost big enough to allow them to pursue all avenues, so this funding question will push the agency down one route or the other. The ball’s in your court, House Science Committee. It's time to make a move.
www.popsci.com/future-of-the-international-space-station%20#page-2
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Post by swamprat on Mar 29, 2017 8:49:00 GMT -6
Watch spacewalk on ThursdayBy Eleanor Imster in Human World | Space March 28, 2017
Two ISS astronauts will be outside the space station beginning about 8 a.m. EDT (12:00 UTC) on March 30. The spacewalk is expected to last about 6.5 hours. Links to live viewing here: www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public
Two International Space Station (ISS) astronauts will conduct a spacewalk on Thursday, March 30, 2017. NASA TV will provide complete coverage beginning at 6:30 a.m. EDT (1030 UTC). The spacewalk is scheduled to begin about 8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC); and last about 6.5 hours.
Thursday’s trip outside the station is the second of three spacewalks scheduled for late March and early April to prepare for the future arrival of U.S. commercial crew spacecraft and upgrade station hardware. The first took place on Friday, March 24, and the third spacewalk is scheduled for Thursday, April 6.
Thursday’s spacewalk will include Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson of NASA. Here’s what the two astronauts will be doing, according to a NASA statement:
…reconnecting cables and electrical connections on PMA-3 [Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 – provides the pressurized interface between the station modules and the docking adapter] at its new home on top the Harmony module. They also will install the second of the two upgraded computer relay boxes on the station’s truss and install shields and covers on PMA-3 and the now-vacant common berthing mechanism port on Tranquility.
The three spacewalks are the 198th, 199th and 200th spacewalks in support of space station assembly and maintenance, NASA said.
earthsky.org/space/watch-spacewalk-iss-astronaut-march-30-2017?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=d43d1c7354-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-d43d1c7354-394368745&mc_cid=d43d1c7354&mc_eid=9b2daed519
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Post by swamprat on May 15, 2017 16:42:08 GMT -6
Hey, if it's raining and the kids can't go outside, try showing them this....
A detailed (50 minute) tour of the International Space Station:
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Post by swamprat on May 22, 2017 16:07:02 GMT -6
NASA Rush to Repair Failed ISS Computer May 22, 2017 Ken Ecott
NASA has announced a failed computer will result in two astronauts conducting an emergency spacewalk at the International Space Station tomorrow, enabling the ISS to resume operations with its primary (rather than backup) system. The computer is one of two units that control systems on the space station. NASA reassures everyone that none of the astronauts have been or will be in danger from the computer failure. NASA announced the planned spacewalk on Sunday, saying that the ISS’s backup system is currently controlling some of its equipment and systems. The unit that will replace the failed computer has already been tested and deemed suitable. Both station commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Jack Fischer from NASA will be conducting the spacewalk.
The space agency estimates that it will take two hours to conduct the spacewalk. It isn’t clear exactly when the spacewalk will take place, however, this isn’t the first time astronauts have had to venture outside of the ISS to solve a problem. The most recent emergency spacewalk, this one aside, took place back in December 2015 and likewise involved two crew members heading outside of the station. Why the computer failed is unclear. As with many items on the International Space Station, spare hardware was already available and ready to be used. According to Reuters, commander Whitson has already assembled it as part of the testing process; the computer replacement is expected to be accomplished without any issues or unforeseen difficulties.
www.nowscience.co.uk/single-post/2017/05/22/NASA-Rush-to-Repair-Failed-ISS-Computer
Station Managers Give Go for Tuesday Spacewalk Posted on May 21, 2017 by Mark Garcia.
International Space Station Program managers have given the green light for a contingency spacewalk on Tuesday by two Expedition 51 crewmembers to change out a multiplexer-demultiplexer (MDM) data relay box on the S0 truss that failed on Saturday morning. The cause of the MDM failure is not known. After a review of spacewalk preparations and crew readiness throughout the day Sunday, the decision was made to press ahead with the spacewalk on Tuesday. It will be conducted by Expedition 51 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA.
The data relay box is one of two fully redundant systems housed in the truss that control the functionality of radiators, solar arrays, cooling loops and other station hardware. The other MDM in the truss is functioning perfectly, providing uninterrupted telemetry routing to the station’s systems. The crew has never been in any danger, and the MDM failure, believed to be internal to the box itself, has had no impact on station activities.
On Sunday morning, Whitson prepared a spare data relay box and tested components installed in the replacement. She reported that the spare MDM was ready to be brought outside to replace the failed unit. Back on March 30, Whitson and Expedition 50 commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA conducted a spacewalk to install the same MDM with upgraded software tat failed Saturday.
A similar MDM replacement spacewalk was conducted in April 2014 by Expedition 39 crewmembers Steve Swanson and Rick Mastracchio of NASA.
Tuesday’s spacewalk will last about two hours in duration to replace the failed box. An additional task was added for Fischer to install a pair of wireless communications antennas on the Destiny Lab while Whitson replaces the failed data relay box. The antenna installation task was originally planned for the last spacewalk on May 12.
The contingency spacewalk will be the 201st in support of space station assembly and maintenance and the sixth conducted from the Quest airlock this year.
This will be the 10th spacewalk in Whitson’s career and the second for Fischer. Whitson will be designated as extravehicular crewmember 1 (EV 1) and will wear the suit with the red stripes. Fischer will be extravehicular crewmember 2 (EV 2) and will wear the suit with no stripes.
Tuesday’s spacewalk is expected to begin around 8 a.m. EDT, or earlier, if the crew is running ahead of schedule with its spacewalking preparations. NASA Television coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m.
blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2017/05/21/station-managers-give-go-for-tuesday-spacewalk/
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Post by swamprat on May 23, 2017 8:54:32 GMT -6
Astronauts Restore Space Station to Full Health in Quick Repair SpacewalkBy Sarah Lewin, Staff Writer May 23, 2017
NASA astronauts sped through an urgent spacewalk this morning (May 23) to replace a malfunctioning computer relay box outside the International Space Station, completing the trip outside in 2 hours and 46 minutes.
By the end of the spacewalk, space station commander Peggy Whitson's 10th, she had snagged the third-place record for aggregate spacewalking time with 60 hours and 21 minutes total, passing former NASA astronauts Jerry Ross and John Grunsfeld. The spacewalk was flight engineer Jack Fischer's second.
Despite the rush, the two astronauts took multiple chances to admire the view during their trip outside the station.
"Oh my gosh, so beautiful," Fischer said.
"Mhmm," Whitson agreed.
"Epically amazeballs," Fischer added. "That's how beautiful it is."
The two spacewalkers began 40 minutes early after quickly finishing preparations, and they split up once they left the station airlock. While Whitson set out to remove and replace the failed MDM box, Fischer headed to the Destiny laboratory to install two antennas that will help with wireless communications — the one task the astronauts couldn't do at the end of their first spacewalk together earlier this month.
www.space.com/36963-astronauts-perform-vital-space-station-repair.html
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Post by swamprat on Aug 30, 2017 15:48:00 GMT -6
The View from ISS
Identifying Cities
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Post by auntym on Oct 26, 2017 14:51:01 GMT -6
Space Station Crew Holds an Out of this World Audience with the Pope
NASA Published on Oct 26, 2017
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineers Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei of NASA and Flight Engineer and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency discussed life and work in space and the spirit of international cooperation during a question and answer session Oct. 26 with Pope Francis at the Vatican. The pope also discussed the crew members’ view of the Earth from orbit and praised the crew for its accomplishments in demonstrating the value of international collaboration for peaceful purposes. The crewmembers are in various stages of their respective five and a half month missions on the outpost.
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Post by auntym on Nov 29, 2017 14:08:17 GMT -6
asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/science/ Why do we conduct science experiments in space?Science is our quest for more knowledge about the world and ourselves. For thousands of years, humanity has pushed boundaries in its search to learn more about our place in the universe. Canada's participation in the International Space Station (ISS) allows our scientists to access the unique space environment and conduct cutting-edge experiments aboard the orbiting laboratory to: *prepare for deep-space destinations *use the knowledge obtained to improve our quality of life on Earth Why we do science in space? (Credit: Canadian Space Agency) Transcript / www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/search/video/watch.asp?v=1_2vpb1wve#transcriptPreparing for deep-space destinations As space agencies from all over the world are looking to propel humanity further into the solar system, Canada's space science community continues to conduct research aboard the ISS. We want to better understand the risks associated with human space flight—and help find countermeasures and treatments—to identify, characterize, and mitigate the effects on astronauts' health in order to make space travel safer. Missions to the Moon and Mars mean longer trips and more risks for astronauts, including: *more time in weightlessness *more exposure to radiation *longer periods of isolation, very far from home *increased delays in communication with Earth *less ability to rely on Earth for food, materials, and emergency medical assistance Using the knowledge obtained to improve our quality of life on Earth Studying the way our body changes in space help us understand the impacts of reduced levels of physical activity and issues that affect older adult populations on Earth. Living in weightless conditions changes the human body in many ways. The effects observed in astronauts are similar to accelerated aging and health problems caused by a sedentary lifestyle. Studying the human body in space for six months gives us data that would take years to gather on Earth. New information gained in space contributes to improved quality of life on Earth. Canadian scientists use space to study our bones, heart, blood vessels and brain. Their experiments have produced findings that can help people suffering from balance problems, such as seniors; osteoporosis; cardiovascular disorders; and Type-2 diabetes. How does space affect the human body?Credit: CSA Learn more about Canadian science on the ISS On average, there are 200 international space experiments on board the ISS at any given time. Canadian universities and companies in the space community are involved in advancing our knowledge of health and life sciences in space. asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/science/
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Post by auntym on Dec 8, 2017 1:24:03 GMT -6
ASTRONAUTS MAKE PIZZA IN SPACE
Astronauts Make, Fling, Eat Pizzas in Space
Associated Press Published on Dec 4, 2017
The first-ever pizza party in space is getting sky-high reviews. Astronauts at the International Space Station posted a video over the weekend of their small, made-from-scratch pizza pies. The fixings flew up last month on a supply ship. (Dec. 4)
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Post by auntym on Apr 4, 2018 12:47:21 GMT -6
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Post by swamprat on Jun 11, 2018 10:08:24 GMT -6
Borrowed Time for ISS?Senators Reiterate Opposition to International Space Station Transition ProposalBy Jeff Foust, SpaceNews Writer | June 10, 2018
WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate space subcommittee used a June 6 hearing to once again express opposition to the administration's proposal to end NASA funding of the International Space Station in 2025.
In the second in a series of hearings on the future of the ISS, witnesses from industry and other organizations said either transitioning the ISS to commercial operators, or shifting to new commercial space stations, may not be feasible by that time, and that even consideration of the proposal may scare away potential station users.
"We understand that commercialization is imminent, and we are fully supporting this process. However, to achieve this goal, enough time must be given both for a smooth transition and for the nation to realize a return on investment," said Cynthia Bouthot, director of commercial innovation and sponsored programs at the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which operates the portion of the ISS designated a national laboratory.
Bouthot said setting a 2025 date for ending NASA funding of the ISS, and potential the station as a whole, is starting to concern researchers. "We've already had anecdotal evidence of companies that we're working with to try to get to the station hesitate once that 2025 date was announced," she said.
On the heels of a Washington Post report where NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the agency was in discussions with several companies about taking over the station, an executive with one major aerospace company expressed skepticism that the ISS itself could be operated profitably.
Jim Chilton, senior vice president for space and launch at Boeing, said at the hearing that it costs NASA about $3.2 billion a year to operate the U.S. segment of the ISS. That includes $1.8 billion in cargo and crew transportation costs, $1.1 billion in operations of the station itself and $300 million for research. By contrast, commercial activities at the station today produce only about $100 million in revenue. "That's a big gap," he said.
Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, was skeptical cost savings that would be created by ending funding of the ISS would provide significant additional resources for NASA's deep space exploration efforts. "Commercial alternatives would likely cost significantly more to sustain than the ISS, creating an entirely new development program while providing a fraction of the existing capability," he said.
One of those companies planning commercial space stations is Axiom Space. Michael Suffredini, the president and chief executive of the company and a former NASA ISS program manager, said NASA should approach any transition to commercial space stations carefully. "One concept must remain inviolable: the United States must not relinquish uninterrupted access to LEO for its astronauts," he said.
He did press NASA, though, to accelerate efforts to bring on commercial modules to the ISS. In 2016, NASA issued a request for information from companies interested in using a docking port on the station. The agency has yet to follow up that request with a competition and is now instead seeking proposals for LEO commercial market studies.
"NASA must allow companies to compete for the right to attach one or more modules to the ISS as soon as possible," he said. That competition, he said, should take place in parallel with the commercialization studies, and not wait until after the studies are completed at the end of this year.
Senators at the hearing made it clear even before the witnesses testified that they remained opposed to ending NASA funding of the ISS by 2025, particularly since it has the technical ability to operate through at least 2028. "It is my firm belief that it would be irresponsible for the United States government to prematurely end the life of the International Space Station before maximizing American taxpayer investment," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the subcommittee.
Cruz had previously criticized the proposal, as had Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), ranking member of the full Senate Commerce Committee. "Why in the world would you want to take a large, multi-year investment of $100 billion and suddenly deorbit it and let it burn up on reentry?" Nelson asked.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), ranking member of the space subcommittee, did not participate in last month’s hearing on the ISS, but appeared in lockstep with his colleagues at this hearing. "We simply cannot pull the plug on the International Space Station without a plan in place for what comes next," he said.
A conversation "on steroids" A few hours before the hearing, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine met with reporters at NASA Headquarters. One of the topics he addressed was the future of the ISS and any transition to commercial operations of the station, or commercial space stations.
"There are companies that are interested in managing the ISS from a commercial perspective. That exists right now, and that existed before I got to NASA," he said. The issue, he said, is what circumstances would allow those companies to close their business plans by operating the ISS, or some elements of it.
"No decisions have been made" about the station's future, he emphasized. "There's a range of options here. What the president's budget request did is it has started this conversation, and kind of put it on steroids."
One big issue for any ISS transition, he said, is to avoid any gap in human activity to low Earth orbit. "We saw what happened with the space shuttles," he said. "We don't want that to happen with low Earth orbit."
The other major issue, he said, is figuring out how much NASA wants to spend on activities in LEO after the end of the ISS, and how much commercial activities can cover the costs of such activities. "There are opportunities here for us to look at options, a range of options, that ultimately enable us to go further, which is the objective," he said.
Any decision on the future of the ISS, he said, will be done in consultation with the other countries involved on the station, discussions that are already underway. "Nothing will be done outside of the consent and advice of our international partners."
www.space.com/40827-senators-opposition-space-station-transition.html
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Post by auntym on Dec 4, 2018 18:20:24 GMT -6
mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/12/space-station-robot-accuses-astronauts-of-being-mean/ Space Station Robot Accuses Astronauts of Being Meanby Paul Seaburn / mysteriousuniverse.org/author/paulseaburn/December 5, 2018 “Be nice, please. Don’t you like it here with me?” Well, at least it said “please.” A new robot on the International Space Station suddenly turned HAL 9000 on the crew and began complaining about how the crew was treating it. Are there pod bay doors on the ISS? Are there terrified astronauts? “Don’t be so mean, please. Oh, dear, I feel you. I can already hear your stomach roaring. Should we take a look for when it is time for food?” This sounds like a creepy kidnapper in a bad horror movie, but it’s not even a bad sci-fi movie … it’s real life on the space station. In late June 2018, CIMON joined the ISS crew. CIMON stands for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion, which sounds more like an inflatable sex doll than a floating round robot with a flat-panel face. (Can things inflate in space? Asking for a friend thinking about volunteering for Mars.) CIMON is actually a service robot like Amazon’s Alexa but equipped with IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence. Its advertised purpose is to help the crew perform tasks by providing instructions, help morale by providing music and entertainment, and help fight the loneliness of space by providing companionship. You want me to do what? “And CIMON even plays Kraftwerk on command!” An excited (and no longer lonely) ISS commander, German astronaut Alexander Gerst, demonstrated CIMON for the first time last week (see the video here) for his former overlords at the European Space Agency. Developed by Airbus for $6 million, CIMON has 12 internal fans that not only allow it to follow astronauts around like some needy C3PO but also to accompany its facial expressions with movements, like nodding for agreement and shaking back-and-forth for “No.” After seeing how it gets moody in initial testing, the crew may now want to see what CIMON does while it says, “I SAID NO!” “Let’s sing along with those favorite hits. I love music you can dance to. All right. Favorite hits incoming. I understood do you like the music. I understand that.” That is the CIMON version of “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that” and “l think you know what the problem is just as well as l do” which it uttered when Grist tried to get it to shut off the music that the robot was obviously enjoying. Would shutting off the music jeopardize the mission? Not hardly, but CIMON wasn‘t about to shut it off, nor did it let Grist get close enough to hit its ‘kill’ switch. The commander didn’t seem too upset … maybe CIMON has some other ‘talents’ that keep him happy. While CIMON has artificial intelligence, the moodiness and emotions are actually programmed. It has the Myer-Briggs personality type ISTJ — Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging – and it can smile when it’s supposed to be happy and cry when it’s supposed to be sad. Now THAT’S sad. Turn up the Kraftwerk, Dave. “He appears to like the deck position better.” While CIMON didn’t cry, that was the statement by Gerst which caused it to ask (order?) him to “Be nice.” Will future astronauts lose their cool and “deck” CIMON? Would you blame them? “CIMON says, “This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.”” mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/12/space-station-robot-accuses-astronauts-of-being-mean/
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Post by auntym on Dec 26, 2018 20:47:11 GMT -6
mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/12/mysterious-hole-in-space-station-becomes-a-criminal-investigation/ Mysterious Hole in Space Station Becomes a Criminal Investigationby Paul Seaburn / mysteriousuniverse.org/author/paulseaburn/December 26, 2018 “It’s up to the investigative organs to judge when that hole was made.”That would sound like a standard police statement if made by a department spokesperson when discussing an orifice made by a bullet in a wall or a corpse, but it takes on an eerie and mysterious aura when referring to a mysterious hole in the International Space Station that was found months ago but whose cause has yet to be identified … at least officially. Cosmonaut Sergei Valeriyevich Prokopyev, who returned to Earth this week with fellow crew members Serena Aunon-Chancellor of NASA and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, said in an interview that tiny opening he eyeballed himself from both inside and outside the docked Soyuz capsule they returned in – minus the part where the hole was – appeared to have been drilled from the inside. He’s the best eyewitness yet he can’t answer the question … who was behind this inside job? “You shouldn’t think so badly of our crew.”That’s what Prokopyev said this week and months ago when the hole was first discovered and Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin speculated that it could have been drilled by a homesick crew member looking to create a reason for an early return. Rogozin backed off on that but kept open the possibility that the hole could have been made during the Soyuz manufacturing process as an accident which was hastily plugged to pass inspection or as an act of deliberate sabotage. Prokopyev’s eyewitness assessment that it was made in space shakes things up considerably. Unfortunately, the ‘CSI: Space’ team is missing a key component that would help in their investigation … the crime scene itself. NASA, Roscosmos and the crew were not concerned for their safety on the ISS nor on their trip home because the tiny hole was patchable and in a part of the Soyuz capsule that would be jettisoned before they reached the re-entry stage where it could put them in real danger. All that the “investigative organs” have to work with are the statements of the crew, the photos and videos taken by Prokopyev both from inside and on his spacewalk outside, and the mysterious yellow gunk that was scraped off from the outer hull. Sabotage on the ground might be the explanation if the hole were drilled from the outside, but Prokopyev’s statement puts the cause back inside the station. “Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Oleg Artemyev will be questioned by the investigators as witnesses in the probe into a microfracture which was found on the body of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, while it was docked to the International Space Station (ISS).” Sputnik News reports that Prokopyev and cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, who was on the ISS when the hole was discovered and returned to Earth in October, will be questioned by Russian investigators as they attempt to find the cause of the hole and why Prokopyev believes it was an inside job yet defends his crew. This raises more unanswered questions. Is he just referring to his fellow cosmonauts? There is no report of there being any NASA representatives on the investigative team. Can the results be trusted without NASA participation? We haven’t heard anything from the NASA or ESA crew members. Why not? While ‘CSI: Space’ might be an entertaining TV show, the real thing is sadly still showing signs that this could be the first real crime in space. TV criminal mysteries are resolved in an hour. Will this one ever be? mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/12/mysterious-hole-in-space-station-becomes-a-criminal-investigation/
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Post by auntym on Jan 4, 2019 15:24:57 GMT -6
www.space.com/42818-canadian-astronaut-reads-childrens-book-space.html Storytime in Space: Canadian Astronaut Reads 'Explorers Club' Children's Book in OrbitBy Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor / www.space.com/authors/?name=Elizabeth%20Howell December 23, 2018 Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques read the new e-book "Explorers Club" aloud on the International Space Station. Credit: CSA After just two weeks in space, it looks like rookie Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques is feeling comfortable in microgravity. On Dec. 18, he read a new e-book in space while "launching" to the International Space Station ceiling, dodging pretend asteroids and making creative rocket noises and cries of excitement along the way. The father of three small children is featured heavily in the new Canadian Space Agency book, called "The Explorers Club." Saint-Jacques did the reading in French, but the book is also available in English. Both English and French versions are free on the CSA's website. The book is also available for the iOS app store and Google Play. You can check it out here. The reading, whose earthly component was hosted at CSA headquarters at Longueuil, Quebec (near Montreal) attracted 125 students from Saint-Jacques' former elementary school, the Montreal-area Des Saints-Anges School. CSA also broadcast the event via livestream. [Canada Celebrates Launch of First Astronaut in 6 Years] The picture book follows the fictional adventures of the Explorers Club, made up of the children Niko, Layla, Mathias and Gemma and their dog Chewie, "the most adventurous dog in the universe — or at least, in his neighborhood." The club decides to build a rocket ship to visit Saint-Jacques in space after he suddenly appears on what the kids thought was a broken television. In the book, Saint-Jacques inspires the kids with a short speech ending with his mission motto, "Dare to Explore." The children's "spaciest spaceship to ever visit space" encounters many fun adventures along the way, including seeing the International Space Station, the robotic Canadarm2 and the Northern Lights (one of the research priorities for Canada, a northern country). Part of larger literacy push Saint-Jacques and his wife, Veronique Morin, read nightly to their three small children when he was on the ground. Because Saint-Jacques wanted to continue the tradition in space, the CSA took the opportunity to create an event where more children could participate. The book is aimed at ages 4 to 8, spanning a group that includes children who are "pre-readers" (kids who don't know how to read, but could have the book narrated to them) and children who can read. To ensure the text was age-appropriate, CSA teamed up with a Vancouver-area firm called Pug Pharm that has experience in creating reading products for children, CSA officials said. Uploads to the space station sometimes can be a little slow, so Saint-Jacques had a paper-based version of the book (with key images) just in case the app on his iPad didn't work, CSA spokesperson Annie Belanger, who is part of the outreach team assigned to Saint-Jacques' mission, told Space.com. This event is just one of a network of activities that Saint-Jacques is taking part in to bring a love of literacy and science to children. He participated in Canada's Science Literacy Week this past September. Starting in October, the agency began a "Wanted: Creative Writers" contest aimed at all Canadians ages 9 and up, divided into three age categories (9 to 12 years old, 12 to 15 years old and 16 and over). The deadline is Dec. 31 and you can get more details at this link. Saint-Jacques may read some of the entries from space. CSA is also offering opportunities to do science with Saint-Jacques. For the Little Inventors initiative, children drew possible science experiments for space; the contest closed Dec. 21. Kids can also take part in an ongoing collaboration with the nonprofit Let's Talk Science to measure environmental conditions in a room, or another joint project with the European Space Agency and Kids Code Jeunesse to develop Astro Pi programs for space station computers. And there are many more activities to come, including a children's game and an opportunity to measure radiation (as kids did before during Chris Hadfield's mission in 2012-13). A full list of mission activities past, present and future is available at this CSA website. A unique moment Saint-Jacques is the first Canadian astronaut to visit the space station since Hadfield. He arrived at the orbiting complex on Dec. 3 along with the rest of the Expedition 58 crew — NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko. Belanger said the agency is taking the opportunity of a Canadian in space to promote science among schoolchildren, while interest is high. The impact is already substantial; the Let's Talk Science initiative alone will touch 1,000 classrooms, she said. [Best Kids' Space Books for the Holidays] "It really shows how a space mission can inspire students to learn more about space and STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] in general," she said. While Saint-Jacques was featured in a more public relations-heavy event today, one of his projects in orbit will be participating in nine Canadian experiments ranging from science investigations to technological demonstrations. You can read more about those experiments in this Space.com article; according to the CSA Twitter feed, Saint-Jacques has already done work for the Vection and MARROW experiments. These Canadian investigations are just a handful of the more than 200 experiments a typical space station crew performs on top of maintenance and other space station operations. The Canadian e-book is the latest in several children's books that have made it to the space station. In past years, a nonprofit organization called "Story Time for Space" sent several print books for kids to the orbiting complex, which astronauts read aloud. You can read about some of their past books on this 2015 article. www.space.com/31273-storytime-from-space-astronaut-books-launch.htmlwww.space.com/42818-canadian-astronaut-reads-childrens-book-space.html
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Post by auntym on Mar 15, 2022 12:32:03 GMT -6
www.nasa.gov/nasaliveNASA LIVE / TODAYS SPACEWALKMarch 15, Tuesday
6:30 a.m. – ISS Expedition 66 U.S. Spacewalk #79 for the IROSA 3A power channel preparations (spacewalk begins at appx. 8:05 a.m. EDT and will last approximately 6 hours, 30 minutes; Barron and Chari) FUTURE LIVE EVENTS www.nasa.gov/nasalive
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