Category Archives: Living in Space

Living in Space, Space industry and microgravity R&D, SpaceCasts

Videos: “Space to Ground” ISS report – Jan.19.2018

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Here is the latest Space to Ground report from NASA on activities related to the International Space Station:

And a video about a muscle tissue experiment on the ISS:

Plus a couple of Time-Lapse Videos from NASA’s Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth:

** Atlantic Ocean to Kazakhstan

This video was taken by the Expedition 53 crew on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots were taken on November 5, 2017 from 22:29:56 to 23:03:24 GMT, on a pass from the South Atlantic Ocean to Kazakhstan. The video begins with a calm, dark sky and the moon’s reflection lingering on the tops of clouds and the ocean surface. While travelling over Africa, the ISS passes several lightning storms that flash below like paparazzi. The lightning subsides when the ISS reaches the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf, and the Zagros Mountains that curve around off the coastline. The pass continues over Central Asia and Kazakhstan with heavy clouds, ending just before sunrise.

** Spectacular Aurora Borealis over Canada

This video was taken by the Expedition 53 crew on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken on September 28, 2017 from 07:38:56 to 07:55:34 GMT, on a pass from the northern Pacific Ocean, just south of Alaska, to the Gulf of Mexico, south of Florida. The north-facing camera catches the Aurora Borealis over Canada as the ISS travels from northwestern United States southeast. Large cities like Chicago, Nashville, and Atlanta stand out as the ISS flies southeast toward Florida.

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Living in Space, Space Systems, SpaceCasts

Video: “Space to Ground” ISS report – Jan.12.2018

Here is the latest Space to Ground weekly report from NASA about activities related to the International Space Station:

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Living in Space, Mars, Simulators

A year on Mars on Mauna Loa

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German physicist and engineer Christiane Heinicke describes her one year stay with five other people in the HI-SEAS (Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) habitat by the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii (see previous posts here about HI-SEAS): My Year on “Mars” – Scientific American –

Cut off from civilization, we were dependent on ourselves and on each other. We had to perform any work that needed doing and fix anything that broke. All we had was the material contained in the storage unit dubbed the “sea can.” The nearest supermarket was months away. We received news “from Earth” electronically – with a 20-minute delay. That is about how long it takes for signals to travel the maximum distance of 240 million miles between the two planets.

To be honest, it took weeks for me to realize just what I had gotten into. 

She describes various difficulties and challenges that arose during the analog Mars mission but none were so terrible that they would discourage her from going to the Red Planet if she had the opportunity:

Studies such as HI-SEAS are designed to increase the chances that the first Mars crew will survive, and to create a setting in which its members can concentrate on seeking out signs of life rather than squandering their energies in conflicts and petty competition.

If it were possible for me to fly to Mars today, I wouldn’t hesitate – provided that I got along well with the crew and knew that I would get back in one piece. My year-long experience gave me a good understanding of the negative aspects of life away from Earth, and I know that I have what it takes. While my time on our Hawaiian Mars did not transform me into a completely new person, I have become much calmer in the face of enormous psychological stress. It now takes a lot to make me lose my equilibrium. For the privilege of delving into the secrets of an alien planet I would gladly forgo fresh raspberries for a few years.

 

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Living in Space, Space Systems, SpaceCasts

Videos: “Space to Ground” for Dec.23.2017

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Here is the latest “Space to Ground” report from NASA on activities related to the International Space Station:

A Christmas on the ISS:

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Living in Space, Space industry and microgravity R&D, Space Systems

Videos: Dragon berths to the ISS + Russian Soyuz with 3 new ISS crew members + “Space to Ground” report

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This morning the SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle that launched on Friday from Cape Canaveral caught up with the International Space Station (ISS) and was captured by a robotic arm under the control of NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba. They carefully brought the Dragon up to the Harmony module and attached it. This video shows highlights of the rendezvous, capture, and berthing:

The Dragon is carrying 4800 pounds (2177 kg) of science/technology experiments and equipment plus supplies for the crew and station maintenance: NASA Sends New Research to Space Station Aboard Resupply Mission | NASA

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Also today, a Russian Soyuz rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with three new crew members for the Station: Three New Crew Members on Voyage to International Space Station | NASA

The Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA’s Scott Tingle, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is scheduled to dock to the space station’s Rassvet module at 3:43 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19. Coverage of docking will begin at 3 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website, followed at 5 a.m. by coverage of the opening of hatches between the spacecraft and station.

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And here is the latest episode of NASA’s weekly Space to Ground report on activities related to the ISS:

 

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