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NASA chooses Marquette University professor for gender-based space flight research

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MILWAUKEE -- According to research done by a team at NASA, female astronauts lose more strength and muscle mass, and also have a longer post-mission recovery period than male astronauts.

Dr. Sandra Hunter, associate professor of exercise science in the College of Heath Sciences at Marquette University is part of that team. The research is in conjunction with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, who examines the "Impact of Sex and Gender on Adaptations to Space."

Dr. Hunter is a leading expert in the area of gender-based neuromuscular research and NASA selected her to review her latest findings in the differences of gender during space flight.

Our review found that space flight in general resulted in marked reductions in muscle strength and power, as much as 20 to 30 percent in two to three months, Hunter says. Theres evidence that women have even greater losses of muscle strength and mass than men when talking about the effects of space flight.

The team also found that strength loss almost doubles the loss of muscle mass, and woman also may take longer to recover.

Our findings indicate that much more research is required to fully understand sex differences in response to muscle loss, Hunter says. But it also shows that there are definite differences that will be apparent.

The research teams will first present their findings at a NASA and NSBRI online workshop on Tuesday, June 25th.

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NASA chooses Marquette University professor for gender-based space flight research

NASA selects Marquette University professor for space flight research

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Posted on: 10:57 am, June 25, 2013, by Trisha Bee, updated on: 07:47pm, June 25, 2013

MILWAUKEE (WITI) NASA has selectedDr. Sandra Hunter, associate professor of exercise science in the College of Health Sciences at Marquette University, to conduct gender-based flight research.

Dr. Hunter is a leading expert in gender-based neuromuscular research. NASA selected Hunter to review the latest findings on sex and gender differences in the musculoskeletal system during space flight.

The review, coordinated in conjunction with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, examines the Impact of Sex and Gender on Adaptations to Space.

Our review found that space flight in general resulted in marked reductions in muscle strength and power, as much as 20 to 30 percent in two to three months, Hunter says. Theres evidence that women have even greater losses of muscle strength and mass than men when talking about the effects of space flight.

In addition, the team found that strength loss equates to roughly double the loss of muscle mass, and women may take longer to recover post-flight.

Our findings indicate that much more research is required to fully understand sex differences in response to muscle loss, Hunter says. But it also shows that there are definite differences that will be apparent.

The research teams will first present their findings at a NASA and NSBRI online workshop on Tuesday, June 25, and will publish their research at a later date. The purpose of the review and workshop is to identify research priorities specific to sex and gender physiology that could be mission-critical for future space flight missions.

NASA recently announced eight new astronauts its first group in four years and four of the eight are women, the highest percentage ever chosen.

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NASA selects Marquette University professor for space flight research

Two Guinness World Records Set With Help From Goddard Space Flight Center

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June 21, 2013

Image Caption: A record 526 participants gather in front of the full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope for an outdoor astronomy lesson at South by Southwest. Credit: Alex Evers/Northrop Grumman

NASA

Setting two world records in two consecutive months, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., helped share some of NASAs amazing accomplishments. The awards highlight the tremendous amount of work by many of the centers engineers, scientists and communicators.

At the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (now called Landsat 8) launch, the first of these two world records was announced. During the NASA social on Feb. 10, 2013, the Landsat team announced Landsat 5 had set the Guinness World Record for Longest-operating Earth observation satellite. Outliving its three-year design life, Landsat 5 delivered high-quality, global data of Earths land surface for 28 years and 10 months.

NASA launched Landsat 5 from Vandenberg Air Force base in Lompoc, Calif., on March 1, 1984. Landsat 5 was designed and built at the same time as Landsat 4 and carried the same two instruments: the Multispectral Scanner System and the Thematic Mapper.

Managed by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the Landsat Program, Landsat 5 completed more than 150,000 orbits and sent back more than 2.5 million images of Earths surface. On Dec. 21, 2012, USGS announced Landsat 5 would be decommissioned in the coming months after the failure of a redundant gyroscope. The satellite carries three gyroscopes for attitude control and needs two to maintain control.

Then on March 10, 2013, 526 space enthusiasts gathered to set the record for Largest Astronomy Lesson in Austin, Texas, at the South by Southwest festival. Looking up through hundreds of colored filters and spectral glasses, participants were instructed on the lawn of the Long Center for the Performing Arts.

In cooperation with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Coalition, NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute and Northrop Grumman organized the record-breaking event that was arbitrated by the Guinness World Records organization. In breaking this record, instructors aimed to shine a light on the importance of astronomy with the full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope as their backdrop.

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Two Guinness World Records Set With Help From Goddard Space Flight Center

UN marks contributions by women to human space flight

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New York, June 14 : The United Nations Thursday commemorated the first space flight by a woman over 50 years ago and the contributions by women to that endeavour since then, hailing these "trailblazers" as powerful role models for young women and men worldwide.

It was on 16 June 1963 that cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly into outer space aboard the Vostok-6 spacecraft, making history in a 70-hour flight during which she orbited the Earth 48 times.

"This milestone heralded the beginning of the contribution by women to human space flight," Mazlan Othman, Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), said at a news conference in Vienna to mark 50 years of Women in Space.

Since then, Othman said, nearly 60 women from Canada, China, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States have gone into space, "many of them trailblazers like Tereshkova; all of them powerful role models for young women and men who follow in their steps."

Joining Tereshkova at the event were Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in outer space; Chiaki Mukai, the first female Japanese astronaut; and Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman taikonaut.

Noting other milestones, Othman said that 18 June will mark the 30th anniversary of the first US woman in space, Sally Ride. In 1984, Svetlana Savitskaya conducted the first spacewalk by a woman. Sunita Williams, commander of Expedition 33 in 2012, holds the record for the longest single space flight by a woman.

Women astronauts have also served as the Mission Commander for both Space Shuttle and Space Station missions. In 2007, Peggy Whitson became the first female commander of the International Space Station.

"These are just a few accomplishments," said Othman. "And for every woman that has flown into space there are hundreds serving on the ground in almost every sector of space activities."

Speaking at a panel held Wednesday by the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), Tereshkova encouraged more women to take part in space programmes. "A bird cannot fly with one wing only. Human space flight cannot develop any further without the active participation of women," she stressed.

"More women should actively participate in space flight. There are many well educated women working in the space industry, they are very good candidates," she added at Thursday's news conference.

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UN marks contributions by women to human space flight

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Mr. Mark Foreman - Space Flight (CUT)

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Mr. Mark

China to launch next manned space flight June 11

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June 10, 2013 - 13:17 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - China will launch its next manned space flight on Tuesday, June 11, carrying three astronauts on a 15-day mission to an experimental space lab, the National Space Administration said, in the latest step towards the development of a space station, Reuters reported.

The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft will launch from a remote site in the Gobi desert in China's far west at 5:38 pm (0938 GMT), Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China's manned space program, told a televised briefing on Monday.

Once in orbit, the craft will dock with the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1, a trial space laboratory module, and the two male and one female astronauts will carry out various experiments and test the module's systems.

They will also give a lecture to students back on earth, Wu said.

China is still far from catching up with the established space superpowers, the United States and Russia.

But the Shenzhou 10 mission will be the latest show of China's growing prowess in space and comes while budget restraints and shifting priorities have held back U.S. manned space launches.

It will be China's fifth manned space mission since 2003.

China also plans an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover. Scientists have raised the possibility of sending a man to the moon, but not before 2020.

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China to launch next manned space flight June 11


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