Category Archives: Space participation

Activism, Education, Space participation

DreamUp sent 35 student experiments to the ISS via Cargo Dragon

An announcement in my email from the DreamUp education program:

Thirty-Five DreamUp Student Experiments Launch on SpaceX-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – December 6, 2020 – DreamUp, the leader in space-based educational offerings, is proud to announce the launch of thirty-five student-designed experiments to the International Space Station on today’s SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-21 rocket launch. These educational payloads, built by students from middle school to university around the world, represent their unprecedented perseverance as they continued to prepare their experiments for flight in unusually challenging circumstances due to COVID-19.

The student payloads launched in SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon alongside thousands of pounds of NASA cargo, supplies, more than 250 science and research investigations, as well as the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock, the first permanent, commercial addition to the International Space Station infrastructure. The Cargo Dragon is scheduled to dock to the Space Station tomorrow, Monday, December 7, 2020.

Specifically, the investigations on board are designed and built by a diverse range of students hailing from several countries and participating in programs led by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE), Orbital Space, The Ramon Foundation, and the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA).

Notably, “E. Coli Consuming Carbon Dioxide to Combat Climate Change (E. coli C5)” will be the first payload launched to the International Space Station from Kuwait. Designed by a team of students from the American School of Kuwait who won Orbital Space’s “Experiments in Space” competition, this Mixstix experiment will investigate how a genetically modified strain of E. Coli bacteria that uses atmospheric carbon dioxide as a food source will behave in the microgravity environment of the Space Station.

The Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance, supported by Flight Night, solicited Mixstix experiment proposals from students throughout Oklahoma in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. After participating in a two-phased selection process, six students from three teams were selected as winners. The three teams come from Jenks Southeast Elementary and Summit Christian Academy.

Twenty-eight Mixstix experiments from NCESSE’s Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 14 and three Mixstix from the Ramon Foundation’s Spacelab program represent long-enduring partnerships that reach students in a broad range of schools across Brazil, Canada, Israel, and the United States and inspire countless more.

“It is fitting that this notable launch for commercial space will be carrying such a large and diverse array of student investigations, and I am particularly excited to for the launch of the very first Kuwaiti experiment on the International Space Station!” said Allen Herbert, Interim CEO of DreamUp. “Student-designed microgravity research has the power to excite and engage not only young learners, but their parents, schools, and broader communities, and to equip them to pursue the challenges that humanity will face in the future. DreamUp is proud to support students as they pursue cutting-edge research on the most advanced commercial space platforms, and we congratulate them all on their persistence and tenacity in a challenging time.”

These launch opportunities were made possible via our partnership with Nanoracks and its Space Act Agreement with NASA.

For additional media inquiries, please email us at info@dreamup.org, and for continued updates, be sure to follow @DreamUp_Space on Twitter and Instagram.

About DreamUp: Based in Washington, DC, DreamUp is the first company bringing space into the classroom and the classroom into space. Uniquely positioned to inspire kids globally and engage them through scientific discoveries in space, DreamUp aims to foster an educational community where space-based research and projects will be available to all learners of all ages. DreamUp has a proven track record with more than 400 student research payloads from around the world launched on SpaceX and Northrop Grumman rockets to the International Space Station via a partnership with Nanoracks and its Space Act Agreement with NASA. For more information, visit https://www.dreamup.org/.

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Astronomy, Education, Space participation

Videos: Night sky highlights for December 2020

[  Update: What’s Up: December 2020 Skywatching Tips from NASA – JPL

What are some skywatching highlights in December 2020? Catch the year’s best meteor shower, the Geminids, in the middle of the month. Then witness an extremely close pairing of Jupiter and Saturn that won’t be repeated for decades. And mark the shortest day of the year on the northern winter solstice. Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/whats-up….

]

** Tonight’s Sky: December – Space Telescope Science Institute

Step outside on a cold December night when the stars shine bright to find the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, and Cepheus. They will help you locate a binary star system, a fan-shaped open star cluster, and a variable star. Stay tuned for space-based views of a ragged spiral galaxy, an open star cluster, and an edge-on galaxy.

** What to see in the night sky, December 2020 – BBC Sky at Night Magazine

What can you see in the night sky tonight? Astronomers Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel talk us through the best sights to see in the night sky throughout December 2020, including how to see the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn (03:30) and the Geminid meteor shower (08:48).

** What’s in the Night Sky December 2020 #WITNS | Great Conjunction | Solar Eclipse | Geminid Meteors – Alyn Wallace

** The Night Sky & A Telescope – The Night Sky Sights – December 2020 – Richard J. Bartlett

This month, Jupiter and Saturn are at their closest for 400 years, while Mars still shines in the evening hours. The Geminid meteor shower reaches its maximum on the 13th, and we’ll take a closer look at the Pleiades star cluster.

** More night sky advice:

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Astronomy, Education, Space participation

Videos: Night sky highlights for November 2020

** What’s Up: November 2020 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL

What are some skywatching highlights in November 2020? Cool autumn evenings are a great time to look for the Pleiades star cluster. You’ll also have a couple of great opportunities to observe the Moon with Jupiter and Saturn. Plus, check out the phenomenon known as Earthshine. Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/whats-up…

** Tonight’s Sky: November – Space Telescope Science Institute

In November, hunt for the fainter constellations of fall, including Pisces, Aries, and Triangulum. They will guide you to find several galaxies and a pair of white stars. Stay tuned for space-based views of spiral galaxy M74 and the Triangulum Galaxy, which are shown in visible, infrared, and ultraviolet light.

** What to see in the night sky: November 2020 – BBC Sky at Night Magazine

What can you see in the night sky tonight? Astronomers Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through November 2020’s night-sky highlights.

** What’s in the Night Sky November 2020 #WITNS | Leonids Meteor Shower | Lunar Eclipse – Alyn Wallace

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Astronomy, Education, Space participation

Videos: Night sky highlights for October 2020

[ Update:

** What’s Up: October 2020 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL

What are some skywatching highlights in October 2020? Not one, but two, full moons; Mars at opposition; and finding the Andromeda galaxy. Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/whats-up….

]

** Tonight’s Sky: October – Space Telescope Science Institute

Crisp, clear October nights are full of celestial showpieces. Find Pegasus, the flying horse of Greek myth, to pinpoint dense globular star clusters and galaxies, and keep watching for space-based views of M15, NGC 7331, and the Andromeda Galaxy.

** What to see in the night sky: October 2020 – BC Sky at Night Magazine

What can you see in the night sky tonight? Astronomers Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal their stargazing tips for October 2020, and show you the best things to see in the night sky this month.

** What’s in the Night Sky October 2020 #WITNS | Halloween Moon | Meteor Showers – Alyn Wallace

** Skywatch: What’s happening in the heavens in October – The Washington Post

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Activism, Space Arts, Space participation

Artists commissioned to create paintings on sides of Blue Origin New Shepard rockets

Uplift Aerospace is a company that

provides exclusive products forever transformed by their travel beyond our atmosphere in the realm of the stars. Our products symbolize humanity’s boundless capability and commitment to exploration.

One of Uplift’s projects is to use Blue Origin‘s New Shepard vehicles as canvases for original art pieces:

Uplift Aerospace is Using Rockets in Space as a New Platform
for Evolutionary Artwork

Uplift Aerospace is exploring the limits of evolutionary art by painting commissioned pieces on the exterior of a Blue Origin spacecraft and launching them to space and back on an upcoming New Shepard mission. Internationally renowned artists are collaborating with Uplift Aerospace and the heavens to create this historic artwork.

By painting the vehicle that humanity has used to explore the stars, the artwork will both symbolically and physically represent our search for knowledge and connection. Small details of the painting will transform throughout the journey to and from space as the artwork experiences the phases of a rocket launch from the ground, through the air at Mach speeds, in the vacuum of space, and landing back on Earth. Testing by Uplift Aerospace has ensured that adhesion, integrity, and relative coloration of the paints will endure the rigors of space travel.

“The Mona Lisa would not move today’s viewer quite so poignantly without the telltale signs of its now centuries-old story and its emergence from the brush of a Renaissance master. Journey and story will also leave a unique and indelible mark on Uplift Aerospace’s first artwork to return from space travel,” says Dakota Bradshaw, Museum Professional.

Artists Jeff Hein, recognized as a “living master” by the Art Renewal Center, and Mark R. Pugh, a master of surrealist painting, are working closely with engineers and material experts to ensure the highest retention of their artistic craftsmanship throughout the journey. Both artists have paintings in prestigious private and public galleries around the world and look forward to having their work forever transformed by the journey past Earth’s atmosphere:

“I’ve always felt that creativity is uniquely human. The things we make define us individually and collectively. It is thrilling to have an expression of my humanity propelled into outer space, far from our world, and toward infinite others. After 18 years of painting, I have been fortunate to show my work all over the world, but I’ve never shown in space. It’s truly amazing,” says Hein.

These unique pieces will inspire a new era of artistic collaboration. Not only will outer space wield its brush to put the final touches on the paintings, but the beautiful form of the rocket shows how world-class engineering is an art itself. This partnership represents humanity’s endless capacity for bringing together different frontiers, in this case technology and fine art, in novel and astonishing ways. Mark R. Pugh describes his involvement in this historic collaboration:

“I like to create art as a mix of traditional imagery with modern elements. Painting with a classical approach on the side of a rocket is an exciting way to merge the traditional with the modern. So much creativity goes into engineering these incredible machines, so to be able to have a piece of them displayed as an element in a work of art, particularly one that has spent time directly exposed to elements outside the Earth’s atmosphere, makes this truly a valuable piece of history, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”

After its mission, the artwork will be curated and delivered to its patrons, who will own a piece of art and aerospace history.

“The idea that the artwork will be lit by distant galaxies, with earth as a backdrop, is a beautiful visualization, and I think this characteristic will allow viewers a closer connection with the cosmos and the precious planet we call home,” says Josh Hanes, owner of Uplift Aerospace.

Uplift Aerospace is currently accepting bids for these unique murals. See the links below for media contact and additional information.

Additional Links for Media:

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