The mission

AMS-02 came to the ISS in 2011 on the space shuttle Endeavour. After it was attached to the outside of the ISS, operators planned was to run the experiment for only three years. But eight years later, the instrument is still operational but is in dire need of repairs.

AMS-02 is designed to search for antimatter and dark matter, allowing physicists to learn more about these mysterious substances. Since its installation, the instrument has challenged current thinking about physics as scientists analyze the cosmic particles it processes.

The instruments cooling pumps, which are essential for AMS-02 to continue running, have been failing for a few years now. When the pumps started to malfunction, engineers at NASA knew they needed to come up with a plan to fix them.

After four years, the repair plan is finally ready.

Were all very excited to stop talking about it and start executing, said Kenny Todd, the manager of International Space Station Operations Integration, at the press briefing on November 12.

Currently, the team is planning on four spacewalks to repair the pumps and upgrade AMS-02, but because of the complex nature of the tast, the last two have not been scheduled yet and a fifth excursion could be added.

During the first walk on Friday, Parmitano and Drew will be doing prep work for the upcoming excusrions, including adding handles on the outside of the ISS for stability when performing the walks and removing the debris shield thats currently protecting the instrument.

The next walk will be on November 22, but the real work on repairing AMS-02 wont begin until the third or fourth spacewalk.

One of the biggest challenges of repairing AMS-02 is that it wasnt designed to be repaired. Because of the expected three-year life span of the instrument, the initial design wasnt created with consideration for fitting spacesuit gloves into the instrument. Other devices, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, have been designed with the intention of astronauts fixing it from inside space suits.

To overcome a lot of these challenges, teams of engineers have been working to create tools and ways for the astronauts to work around the sharp corners of the instrument. They reached out to college programs as well, encouraging student engineers to design a tool that will help the astronauts cut zip ties inside AMS-02 and retrieve them safely in zero gravity.

Both Parmitano and Drew have been performing test repairs with the tools and NASA officials stated in the press briefing that they feel confident in the astronauts abilities to complete the task at hand.

The schedule for the spacewalks also brings challenges. Boeing will be performing orbital tests of their uncrewed capsule, Starliner, at the beginning of December. This could hit pause on the spacewalks as the crew turns their attention to the Starliner tests. Plus, on December 7, a SpaceX Cargo Dragon will be making a resupply run to the ISS, taking even more time away from the walks.

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Watch live: Spacewalks to fix important Space Station instrument - Astronomy Magazine

Six of the astronauts experienced stagnant or reverse blood flow, one had a blood clot and another was found to have a potential partial blood clot.

This is the first time researchers have observed these conditions in astronauts and the implications of their discovery could impact future long-term spaceflight, such as a mission to Mars.

After more than 50 years of human spaceflight, researchers know some of the risks posed to the human body by being in zero gravity. Space motion sickness happens in the first 48 hours, creating a loss of appetite, dizziness and vomiting.

Over time, astronauts staying for six months on the station can experience the weakening and loss of bone and atrophying muscles. Astronauts also experience blood volume loss, weakened immune systems and cardiovascular deconditioning, since floating takes little effort and the heart doesn't have to work as hard to pump blood. Scott Kelly and other astronauts in their late 40s and 50s have also complained about their vision being slightly altered. Some of them have required glasses in flight.

And the Twins Study, comparing changes in astronaut Scott Kelly during his yearlong spaceflight mission while his twin, Mark, was on Earth revealed numerous other changes affecting gene expression and the microbiome.

The weightless environment of zero gravity causes a fluid shift in the body toward the head, the opposite of what we experience standing on Earth. On Earth, humans spend about two-thirds of the day in an upright position and about a third laying down at night. This causes a daily fluid shift that varies based on our position.

But for astronauts, the fluid shift is sustained for long periods of time. It causes puffiness in the face, "bird leg" syndrome where the legs lose volume, and decreases plasma volume while increasing stroke volume -- the volume of blood pumped per beat.

"A recently identified medical issue with long duration spaceflight on the International Space Station is a constellation of neuro-ocular issues that we've coined SANS -- Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome," said Michael Stenger, study author and director of NASA's Johnson Space Center Cardiovascular and Vision Laboratory.

"Approximately 10 years ago, we noticed that astronauts were developing optic disc edema, globe flattening, choroidal folds and permanent refractive error changes. The purpose of our experiment was to quantify the headward fluid shift in all astronauts by examining arterial and venous structure and flow characteristics in the head and neck (as well as several other parameters) and determining the relationship between these parameters and ocular structural and functional changes."

The researchers wanted to assess how this fluid shift affected the left jugular vein. This vein carries deoxygenated blood from the head and neck to the vena cava, the largest vein in the upper body.

The researchers disclosed that one limitation of the study is that they did not image the right jugular vein, but it has been analyzed in previous spaceflight studies and there was no sign of stagnation or clotting.

The astronauts provided blood flow measurements before and after spaceflight while seated, laying down and angled at a 15-degree downward head-tilt. Measurements during the flight were taken on days 50 and 150 of the mission.

The astronaut who developed a blood clot was treated with anticoagulants for the rest of the spaceflight and did not participate in the study past day 50.

The observation that blood was clotting in otherwise healthy astronauts, both male and female, due to weightlessness was a surprise to researchers, who are concerned due to the other issues blood clots can cause.

"Blood clots that are newly formed and small are easily filtered out of the circulation in the lungs," Stenger said. "If one were to grow excessively large and solidify, then one would be at risk of a pulmonary embolism. This formation of clots is the primary concern related to flow stasis."

The idea of reverse blood flow requires more scrutiny.

"Reverse flow is really interesting, and we're uncertain if it harmful," Stenger said. "Reverse flow in the jugular vein could be completely harmless as the blood is simply leaving the head via one of the other venous pathways. However, reverse flow implies altered venous pressure dynamics, which could impact the ability of the brain to drain cerebral spinal fluid and possibly increase pressure in the brain. This is something we're continuing to investigate."

A possible way to reverse the head-ward fluid shift is to apply lower body negative pressure.

The Russian side of the space station includes a Chibis suit that was used to test this method. The suit basically acts as vacuum-sealed pants, according to the study authors.

"It encompasses the lower limbs in a hard enclosure that is sealed at the waist and connected to a vacuum pump to decrease the pressure in the chamber around the lower limbs to subatmospheric pressure," the authors wrote. "Lower body negative pressure sequesters fluid volume, mainly venous blood, in the lower extremities and is used by cosmonauts on the ISS as a countermeasure for postflight orthostatic intolerance."

Other possible ways to shift fluid from the upper body could include thigh cuffs, resistance breathing devices and acceleration via cetrifugation, Stenger said.

Stenger pointed out that research should be fast-tracked to better understand the issue, as well as considering the limits on medical and research capabilities on vehicles used in future exploration missions.

"As potentially scary as this may sound, this novel and interesting finding isn't terribly concerning," Stenger said. "The reality is that this has probably been happening since we started flying in space, we just never looked before. This gives us the opportunity to now conduct further research to determine what is causing this before speculating too much on potential consequences.'

Of the 17 sessions with the Chibis suit during flight, 10 were associated with improved blood flow, two actually showed worsened flow and five did not cause any changes, according to the study. During sessions when blood flow improved, three astronauts actually went from stagnant or reverse blood flow to regular.

"This study underscores the need to monitor vascular changes in astronauts," said Christopher Mason, one of the Twins Study authors and an associate professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine. Mason was not affiliated with this study. "Stagnant and retrograde blood flow can lead to complications, such as thrombosis [blood clotting], but fortunately can be tracked and treated. Also, just like taking a long flight, the risk of this would almost certainly resolve upon landing back on Earth."

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Astronauts experienced reverse blood flow and blood clots on the space station, study says - CNN

SpaceX is going to launch a payload for client Nanoracks aboard one of its new rideshare missions, currently targeting late 2020, that will demonstrate a very ambitious piece of tech from the commercial space station company. Nanoracks is sending up a payload platform that will show off how it can use a robot to cut material very similar to the upper stages used in orbital spacecraft something Nanoracks wants to eventually due to help convert these spent and discarded stages (sometimes called space tugs because they generally move payloads from one area of orbit to another) into orbital research stations, habitats and more.

The demonstration mission is part of Nanoracks Space Outpost Program, which aims to address the future need for in-space orbital commercial platforms by also simultaneously making use of existing vehicles and materials designed specifically for space. Through use of the upper stages of spacecraft left behind in orbit, the company hopes to show how it one day might be able to greatly reduce the costs of setting up in-space stations and habitats, broadening the potential access of these kinds of facilities for commercial space companies.

This will be the first-ever demonstration of structural metal cutting in space, provided the demo goes as planned, and it could be a key technology not just for establishing more permanent research families in Earths orbit, but also for setting up infrastructure to help us get to, and stay at, other interstellar destinations like the Moon and Mars.

Nanoracks has a track record of delivering when it comes to space station technology: Its the first company to own and operate its own hardware on the International Space Station, and it has accomplished a lot since its founding in 2009. This demo mission is also funded via a contract in place with NASA.

Also going up on the same mission is a payload of eight Spire LEMUR-2 CubeSats, which Nanoracks ordered on behalf of the global satellite operator. That late 2020 date is subject to change, as are most of the long-tail SpaceX missions, but whenever it takes place, itll be a key moment in commercial space history to watch.

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Nanoracks just booked a SpaceX launch to demo tech that turns used spacecraft into orbital habitats - TechCrunch

Right now, there are six astronauts aboard the International Space Station, floating 408km above our heads. But soon things could be about to get a lot lonelier up there. Delays in building new spacecraft to get astronauts into space mean that the next trio of astronauts set to join the ISS in April 2020 are facing the possibility of being the space stations lone occupants for six months.

It'll be the first time the ISS has had only three semi-permanent occupants since 2009, when it was expanded so it could comfortably fit six occupants at any one time. But for the last 10 years a crew of six has kept up with the ISS endless list of maintenance tasks and research projects. What will happen when this floating workforce is cut in half?

The next three astronauts to be sent up American Chris Cassidy, and Russians Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin will travel in a Soyuz capsule. Since the retirement of the US Space Shuttle in 2011, all journeys to the ISS have taken place in these Russian-made spacecraft, which bring three people at a time. One Soyuz capsule is attached to the ISS, like a lifeboat, at all times, and the crew members who have been there the longest will take this capsule home. Three new astronauts arrive a couple of weeks later so apart from the short periods while crews are changed over, there are usually six astronauts and cosmonauts on the ISS at any one time.

This system has worked worked for nearly a decade, but for 2020, Nasa decided that instead of buying seats on Soyuz, it would rely on contracts with commercial companies SpaceX and Boeing for extra crew launches. But development of the commercial capsules has been delayed, with Boeing having trouble with their parachutes and SpaceXs Crew Dragon capsule exploding during tests.

In 2010 when Nasa prepared to shut down their Space Shuttle program, they gave commercial companies a combined $50m (38m) to design their own transport spacecraft. Its uncertain exactly when the commercial capsules will be ready as they need to pass rigorous safety tests first, so rather than paying for an extra Soyuz, Nasa has decided to prepare the next group of astronauts for what might happen if theyre left alone.

Over the years, ISS expedition experiments have made discoveries which will be vital if humanity wants to explore space further. Previous missions have revealed the effect of microgravity on the human body and the source of cosmic rays. But if the crew need to do general maintenance on the station, with fewer people on board there will be less time for other activities.

A large amount of experiments can be done with commanding from the ground so we're trying to to give preference to those, says Ruediger Seine, space training team leader at ESA's European Astronaut Centre. Space agencies managing experiments will have to pick which of their projects theyd like the astronauts to devote their limited time towards, and press pause on experiments that require more human intervention.

But some experiments might fare between without humans getting in the way. Some experiments actually might benefit from less people because of vibration, says Laura Forzcyk, founder of the consulting firm Astralytical who used to work for the ISS US National Laboratory. Even with three there are still a lot of vibrations. Some experiments just want to be left alone.

The limited crew will also mean more sharing of resources. The ISS itself is split into two sides Russian and American. The Russians usually operate on their side, while astronauts from the United States, Europe, Japan, and Canada operate on the other. However with such a small number of people on board, they need to work more cohesively. With only one American, the two Russians have been trained on how to use the US equipment. For example, each side has its own space suit both with different ways of operating but the astronauts and cosmonauts need to be trained in how to use both. Its a case of being prepared for all situations.

It's not easy to get from the Russian airlock to the American segment of the International Space Station. The additional training for the remaining crew members is to make sure that we're covering all contingencies, says Seine.

And while the experiments may appreciate being alone, the people may not. Experiments only take up part of astronaut's time on board the ISS. Like a typical working week on Earth, they have time off, in the evenings and on the weekends. Chris Cassidy, Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin may not see another person from spring 2020, to when their mission finishes at the end of the year.

And 2020 could be the last point the ISS gets this quiet for a while. In 2019, Nasa announced that it would let tourists fly to the ISS from 2020 if they were willing to pay the 27,500 for the privilege. This isnt the first time this has happened seven people who arent employed by a space agency have gone to the ISS before. And it wont mean they are dead weight; anyone who gets sent up, professional or not, will be given tasks and help out in any way they can.

But until then, the trio of astronauts will have to endure the mental stress that comes with isolation. Research has found that along with psychological effects caused by adjusting to the novel situation of being in space, astronauts also often struggle with anxiety and depression. ISS astronauts, despite being kept busy with experiments, will still have opportunities to socialise they try to have at least one shared meal a day, and receive plenty of contact from their friends and family.

Michael Lopez-Alegria, who has flown the longest US space station mission to date, went up to the International Space Station in 2006 when the crew was still small. He was there with only two other people at a time, but managed to not feel too lonely during the mission.

I like the small size crew, because we tend to bond more as a unit, he says. Sometimes there can be a divide by culture when there are more people. We had one Russian, me and then the third person was either a German or an American, and so we tended to be more cohesive and spend more time together.

Lopez-Alegria found that looking out at Earth helped him feel closer to home, and in 2010, an observatory module was added to the ISS to create an even bigger window to help with astronauts mental health. I wish I were going back myself, he says.

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Life on the Space Station is about to get really weird and lonely - Wired.co.uk

He makes no secret of his current views that the space agency is on the wrong track by continuing to put so much of its scarce resources into the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule after so many years of delays and when new and cheaper commercial alternatives are so promising.

People have fallen in love with them but they got old and expensive, and I think they're more worried about keeping some of the aerospace companies in fit shape than the American taxpayer, he complains.

Gibson supports returning astronauts to the moon, but he's also among the vocal group of space insiders who contend that building a lunar Space Station first will just slow things down.

Nor is he convinced that extending NASAs primary role in running the International Space Station makes sense, given all the other competing goals.

Gibson sat down with POLITICO last weekend on the sidelines of Space Vision 2019, hosted by Students for the Exploration and Development of Space at Arizona State University.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

You were among the first astronauts who were scientists and not military pilots.

The test pilots thought they were going to rule the world forever. Congress said, 'Youve got to get some science in the program, and the way to do that is get some who have science backgrounds to go flying in space.'

So, begrudgingly NASA did that, and I think the test pilots in the program said, 'All right, bring them in here. They'll quit, flunk out, or kill themselves. And we won't have to deal with them again.' But when we came in there, they found out we could walk and chew gum at the same time.

Once we got working with each other, we gained respect for each other and it started to come together.

Do you think returning to the moon should be NASAs main exploration goal?

I know we are very limited in our budget, and I want to see things happen quickly. I think the best place is a facility right there on the moon itself.

So, go directly to the surface and not build the lunar Gateway? I just don't see the advantage of it. I listened, and I've studied, and I've tried to see the advantage of that Space Station. But to me it never registers as superior, or even better than doing it the simple way.

Get back to the moon and forget the orbiting Space Station. If that is needed in the future, show that it really is needed.

You've got the ability to produce oxidizer and fuel from the resources on the moon. So, why don't we go there, create those things at some point on the surface either the North or South Pole?

The South Pole, I think, is a little bit better. And if you want to go up to the pole and study the ice and other resources from there, it's a small hop ... to get to any other spot in that hemisphere. And that can be happen very easily.

You've spent a lot of time in space. Are we prepared for the physical rigors of such long duration missions to deep space?

I think there's a real issue. You don't want to living in lunar orbit or Mars orbit for a long period of time. That's why I think it's great to just go to the surface to shield yourself [from the radiation].

Then, if you want to go somewhere, you go out and, obviously, you've got to suffer whatever radiation there is, and youve got to have your spacecraft or your spacesuit to give you some added protection.

You have also expressed concerns about the cost and capability of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft.

SpaceX could be a lot cheaper than what we're going to do with the SLS and maybe even the Orion, as nice as those programs are.

People have fallen in love with them, but they got old and expensive. ... I think they're more worried about keeping some of the aerospace companies in fit shape than the American taxpayer.

Do you think NASA should extend operations on the ISS beyond 2024?

The question is, What are we getting for it, versus other things that we can do with that money? We can cut back a little bit, let the other nations pick up even more.

I have to ask what we're getting back from it and what else we want to do in space? I think as we get to where we're wanting to go back to the moon and onto Mars the Space Station is probably going to lose some of its support.

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'Get back to the moon and forget the orbiting space station' - Politico

China that last sent people to space back in 2016 hasn't been idle. Its manned space program's main designer Zhou Jianpingsaidthis weekend that by 2022 China will have a 100-tonne space station suitable for 3 astronauts to work and live, up and running. The station, he added, will be technically adjustable for further expansion

The space station designed to become the nation's chief space research platform will be well-suited for long scientific missions, ensuring protection of health, and personal safety, of the people aboard, while a space laboratory will provide them with the latest technological developments for successful work.

'The main goal of the construction of the space station is to enable Chinato become a country independently mastering the technology for long-term manned flight in near-Earth space,' Zhou explained as he talked of the project at the 4th China Summit Forum on Human Factors Engineering at theSun Yat-sen Universityin the Guangdong Province in the South of China on November 16 and 17.

The station will present excellent opportunities for long-duration near-Earth scientific work, along with the utilization of space resources, he added.

China has already extended an invitation to international colleagues to work at its space station together with Chinese astronauts, explicitly mentioning that its space station's initial capacity will eventually be enlarged.

Back in 2016, Zhou said that the expected operational lifespan of China's space station will be about ten years, which is short compared with Mir's fifteen years and the currently functioningISS launched in 1998, which, if, as planned, serves until 2024, will have been active for 26 years at the time.

2016 was the year that last saw Chinese astronauts in space, working aboard the Tiangong-2 orbital lab for 33 days. Its predecessor Tiangong-1 prototype station might have had bad luck, but all of the work done has constituted preparatory steps for putting the Chinese Space Station in orbit, to provide Chinese astronauts and scientists, as well as their international colleagues, with new space research opportunities.

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China's Own Space Station to Start Operation in Two years' Time - Asgardia Space News

Typically, this is good advice, but for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, tasked with baking the first batch of cookies in space, it may be tough to follow. And understandably so. For the last year and a half, husband and wife duo Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum, founders of Zero G Kitchen, have been developing the first zero-gravity oven that could revolutionize space food and bring a taste of home to astronauts who dearly miss it. Last week, the oven arrived at the space station. No date has yet been announced for it to be tested.

The Fichtenbaums' mission is both simple and highly technical: "We want to build a kitchen in space, one piece at a time, and partner with companies, educators and researchers all along the way," said Ian Fichtenbaum.

Designing an oven capable of baking space cookies is no easy feat. Everyday tasks are more difficult in space, which lacks the force of gravity to keep objects from floating around -- and baking presents its own unique challenges. Traditional convection ovens function by utilizing gravitational properties; "the hot air rises, the cool air falls," explained Abby Dickes, Nanoracks' marketing director.

Then there's the challenge of keeping food secure and stationary while it bakes. To complicate things further, the oven must run on a limited power supply, so as not to blow a fuse on the space station.

But the zero-gravity oven was designed to circumvent these issues. It's composed of a sleek, cylindrical chamber that houses an insertable silicone frame, which surrounds the food to hold it in place. Cylindrical heating coils focus the heat on the food in the center of the chamber and rise to temperature much more slowly than traditional ovens, to accommodate the power constraints.

"The oven went through a few different iterations, but the final creation ended up being very chic, very beautiful, and now it's up on the space station ready to bake some DoubleTree cookies -- and hopefully after that, all kinds of other creations," says Ian Fichtenbaum.

What might those other creations be? "Right now it's best to stick with things that are patty-size and shape -- a roll, a meatball," said Jordana Fichtenbaum.

What about more composed dishes? A tiny casserole, perhaps? "Yeah, maybe a mini casserole," says Ian Fichtenbaum.

But first, cookies. The irony, of course, is that the cookies are not technically meant to be eaten. They are, after all, the product of a science experiment and, what's more, one that's never been conducted before.

"The top priority for everyone who works on the space station is the safety of the crew on board," said Dickes. Some cookies will be reserved for analysis. For the rest, taste-testing will be at the baker's discretion.

For astronauts who choose to eat the cookies, the real question will be whether they taste just as good as those you get at any DoubleTree here on Earth. While the proof will be in the pudding, Dickes has high hopes.

"You have to start with great ingredients, which we know we're doing because we've eaten far too many of these cookies," she said. "I think they're going to look different -- like more of a spherical blob shape, which honestly just sounds gooey and delicious."

But just in case the first batch doesn't turn out to be edible, a tin of pre-baked DoubleTree cookies was sent up to the space station along with the oven.

The shape of the cookie may lend itself perfectly for this experiment, but that's not the only reason it was chosen for the zero-gravity oven's maiden voyage.

"It's a symbol of hospitality and we're trying to make space travel more hospitable for the future," said Dickes. "A cookie represents the perfect symbol of everything we're trying to do in this mission."

Oh yeah, and it's delicious.

Read more from the original source:

The story behind the first batch of cookies in space and the first zero-gravity oven - CNN

Astronauts have never had a home-cooked meal in space aboard the International Space Station.

Instead, their sustenance is prepared in briefcase-like "food warmers" strapped on to the walls.

"It all kinda starts tasting the same after a while," NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson previously told Business Insider.

But any day now, the smell of a freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie will tantalizingly waft through the cramped quarters of the ISS, right under six astronauts' noses.

A first-of-its-kind space oven, and enough dough for five chocolate chip cookies, has been dispatched to the station to test what happens when food is cooked in the microgravity environment. The inaugural ISS cooking attempt is a three-way partnership between space-outfitter NanoRacks, cookie-maker DoubleTree by Hilton, and ZeroGKitchen, a New York City-based husband-and-wife startup that's paying to develop the space oven.

Retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson says she misses floating the most. NASA via AP

The astronauts won't get to eat any of the fresh-baked cookies, however.

"They definitely won't be doing that," NanoRacks Senior Internal Payload manager Mary Murphy, the project manager for the new oven, told Insider. "We will have them taking pictures and recording the results as they remove it from the oven."

After that data's been recorded, three of the five cookies will get sent back to Earth, while the other two will get tossed in the trash. (Wouldn't want the space travelers to accidentally eat any raw dough.)

"We did send the crew some pre-baked cookies that they could eat instead," Murphy said.

Astronauts have been fed cookies in space before, but never the freshly-baked kind.

As early as 1964 on the Gemini missions, NASA's space travelers were given sugar cookie cubes designed to be eaten in a single bite. (The cookies had to be coated in goo, to prevent wayward crumbs from clogging up the spacecraft's instrumentation.)

In the microgravity environment aboard the ISS, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding what might happen when astronauts attempt to bake cookies fresh. The first batch of space cookies are set to heat up in-near Earthly conditions, at a temperature of 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 minutes.

The cookie recipe is the exact same one that DoubleTree by Hilton hotels uses for its guests on Earth. But the oven setup, and the environment around it, will be completely different from what happens when we bake cookies with the benefit of Earthly gravity.

"On the ground you have the differential between cold and hot air, where the hot air actually rises while the cool air sinks," Murphy said, explaining that type of baking convection is completely absent in space. "The space inside the oven is heated through contact, instead of through that convection current."

The cookies will be baked one by one, in the middle of a cylindrical, shoebox-sized oven, heated by a circle of electric elements that wraps around the bake zone.

DoubleTree by Hilton / YouTube

The goal is to learn enough from these experiments that one day, a bigger oven, capable of actually feeding a crew headed into the far reaches of the solar system, could be dispatched.

"When we look at those longer duration space flights going farther and farther from Earth, we're not going to have the luxury of being able to provide all of the food that a particular crew is going to need for a mission," Murphy said.

The five test cookies will be baked on a silicone baking tray, which sandwiches each cookie in between two sheets so it doesn't float off while it's cooking.

Cookie dough will be baked in between 2 layers of silicon in space, a full-coverage baking sheet. . zerogkitchen / Instagram

"In microgravity, the cookie dough itself will want to hold itself together and it will pull itself to itself," Murphy said. "There are some theories that we might see a kind of a funky shape, and it might kind of a ball up a little bit."

The couple contracting with NanoRacks and DoubleTree to get the cookies in space know a thing or two about living with a less-than-ideal oven.

"We have a New York City rental apartment oven," ZeroGKitchen co-founder Jordana Fichtenbaum said. It isn't even big enough for some larger cookie sheets.

Fichtenbaum and her husband Ian financed and helped develop the space oven, and partnered with DoubleTree for the space dough, a collaboration that all started with a tweet about Elon Musk's Starman possibly needing an interstellar snack.

The space oven, they said, does cost a little more than their apartment's Avanti.

"We do know that amount, but that's not an amount we're going to publicize," Ian said.

They started working on the oven right around the time they got married, about two years ago, and they say now that the appliance is in orbit, there may be other space station kitchen items in store from ZeroGKitchen.

DoubleTree by Hilton / YouTube

"A blender, a freezer, a waffle maker," Ian said.

No matter what happens with the future food situation in space, there's a chance that the space cookies could make for better cookie-baking here on Earth.

"As we try to be creative and solve these problems in terms of how do we do things in these unique environments, we tend to learn a lot of things that then become applicable to people on the ground here as well," Murphy said. "It's certainly possible that we'll learn something from this that could then cause better efficiency, for instance, in ovens here on the ground."

See the article here:

Chocolate chip cookies are about to be baked in outer space, the first test of an oven in microgravity - Business Insider

Artificial lighting at night affects the behavior of urban wildlife, according to a recent study published in Nature Scientific Reports, which examined animals in the laboratory and the field. The researchers mapped light levels in the city of Chicago using publicly available images of Earth taken by astronauts from the International Space Station.

The study is only one example of the wide variety of scientific research based on images taken by crew members from space using the Crew Earth Observations (CEO) facility. Other recent research used these images to show that urban green areas, which contribute to human well-being, are rarely in close proximity to where people live. Another study relied on CEO images to create population maps, an important tool for urban planning, resource allocation and disaster prevention and response.

"Astronaut photography from the space station provides regional and global perspectives of land surfaces and what is changing on those land surfaces," said William Stefanov, manager of NASA's Exploration Science Office at Johnson Space Center and principal investigator for CEO. "The images allow a look at a much broader area, and those regional processes and relationships often become much more obvious when seen from that perspective. It allows you to see the whole picture beyond the fine view you have on the ground."

Most orbiting satellites collect data at the same place and about the same time of day for set intervals of time. The space station's inclined equatorial orbit takes its cameras over different parts of the planet at different times, and the station revisits sites at variable intervals, making it possible to collect images from many areas at varying times of day and night.

"That opens up possibilities to investigate a lot of processes," said Stefanov. "Researchers can compare areas to each other and see changes on a broader scale that you might not notice on a smaller spatial scale and fixed time interval. Things such as how urban lighting patterns change over time, or tracking the recovery of power following a major storm, as represented by lighting."

CEO images currently support a number of urban night lighting studies, glacier and volcano monitoring, and studies of atmospheric processes such as the frequency of lightning flashes. The images also are used in ecological studies, including a collaborative project called Aviation Migration Aerial Surface Space (AMASS), which tracks bird migration routes and the effects of changes occurring along those routes.

Astronaut photography also supports NASA Disaster Response, a program that works with a number of NASA centers to collect data before, during and following a disaster. "The CEO facility is still the workhorse for data collection on the space station for responding to disasters," Stefanov said. "Images can show the structure of hurricanes and tropical storms before landfall, and post-storm images of affected areas reveal the extent of flooding and damage." For wildfires, the images can identify smoke plume location and extent.

In addition, NASA delivers imagery to the US Geological Survey's Hazards Data Distribution System, which provides access to remotely sensed imagery and other data as they become available during a disaster response. Internally, images support NASA astronaut candidate training.

Apart from supporting scientific research, images from the space station often show up in movies, YouTube productions, and advertising, and contribute to educational uses, including school science projects.

One advantage of the photographs, taken with handheld digital cameras, is their similarity to those people might take out an airplane window, Stefanov points out. "You can look at an image and pretty much grasp what you are seeing without an explanation, as opposed to, say, a false-color hyperspectral image. You don't need to be a remote sensing expert to understand the data. That's very powerful, particularly on the education side."

CEO imagery is free to the public. Users can access the database at any time at Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. A query page offers several ways to investigate existing data, and researchers and educators can request new imagery as well.

NASA's Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit (ESRS) at Johnson Space Center works to enhance the scientific usefulness of astronaut photography from the space station, adding geo-referencing to disaster response images to help users incorporate data into response activities, for example. NASA is also developing machine-learning applications to classify features in the images automatically.

The agency has collected photographs of Earth from space since the early Mercury missions beginning in 1961, Stefanov adds. "This is a pretty incredible data set."

Related LinksGateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application

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Science around the planet uses images of Earth from the Space Station - Space Daily

Toronto-based startup Luna Design and Innovation is a prime example of the kind of space company that is increasingly starting up to take advantage of the changing economics of the larger industry. Founded by Andrea Yip, who is also Lunas CEO, the bootstrapped venture is looking to blaze a trail for biotechnology companies who stand to gain a lot from the new opportunities in commercial space even if they dont know it yet.

Ive spent my entire career in the public and private health industry, doing a lot of product and service design and innovation, Yip told me in an interview. I was working in pharma[ceuticals] for several years, but at the end of 2017, I decided to leave the pharma world and I really wanted to find a way to work along the intersection of pharma, space and design, because I just believe that the future of health for humanity is in space.

Yip founded Luna at the beginning of this year to help turn that belief into action, with a focus on highlighting the opportunities available to the biotechnology sector in making use of the research environment unique to space.

We see space as a research platform, and we believe that its a research platform that can be leveraged in order to solve healthcare problems here on Earth, Yip explained. So for me, it was critically important to open up space to the biotech sector, and to the pharma sector, in order to use it as a research platform for R&D and novel discovery.

The International Space Station has hosted a number of pharma and biotech experiments.

NASAs work in space has led to a number of medical advances, inducing digital imaging tech used in breast biopsy, transmitters used for monitoring fetus development within the womb, LEDs used in brain cancer surgery and more. Work done on researching and developing pharmaceuticals in space is also something that companies including Merck, Proctor & Gamble and other industry heavyweights have been dabbling in for years, with experiments conducted on the International Space Station. Companies like SpaceFarma have now sent entire minilaboratories to the ISS to conduct research on behalf of clients. But its still a business with plenty of remaining under-utilized opportunity, according to Yip and tons of potential.

I think its a highly underutilized research platform, unfortunately, right now, she said. When it comes to certain physical and life sciences phenomena, we know that things behave differently in space, in what we refer to as microgravity-based environments [] We know that cancer cells, for instance, behave differently in short- and longer-term microgravity when it comes to the way that they metastasize. So being able to even acknowledge that type of insight, and try and understand why can unlock a lot of new discovery and understanding about the way cancer actually functions [] and that can actually help us better design drugs, and treatment opportunities here on Earth, just based on those insights.

Blue Origins New Shepard rocket. Credit: Blue Origin .

Yip says that while there has been some activity already in biotech and microgravity, were on the early end of this innovation, and goes on to suggest that over the course of the next ten or so years, the companies that will be disrupting the existing class of legacy big pharma players will be ones whove invested early and deeply in space-based research and development.

The role of Luna is to help biotech companies figure out how best to approach building out an investment in space-based research. To that end, one of its early accomplishments is securing a role as a Channel Partner for Jeff Bezos commercial space launch company Blue Origin. This arrangement means that Luna acts a a sales partner for Blue Origins New Shepard suborbital rocket, working with potential clients for the Amazon founders rocket company on how and why they might seek to set up a sub-orbital space-based experiment.

Thats the near-term vision, and the way that Luna will seek to have the most impact here on Earth. But the possibilities of what the future holds for the biotech sector start to really open up once you consider the current trajectory of the space industry, including NASAs next steps, and efforts by private companies like SpaceX to expand human presence to other planet.

Were talking about going back to the Moon by 2024, Yip says, referring to NASAs goal with its Artemis program. Were talking about going to Mars in the next few years. Theres a lot that we will need to uncover and discover for ourselves, and I think thats a huge opportunity. Who knows what well discover when were on other planets, and were actually putting people there? We have to start preparing for that and building capability for that.

Excerpt from:

Luna is a new kind of space company helping biotech find its footing in microgravity - TechCrunch

Enlarge / The 49th Beidou navigation satellite was successfully launched by a Long March 3b carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China on November 5, 2019.

Costfoto / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

In recent weeks, China's space program has made news by revealing some of its long-term ambitions for spaceflight. These includeestablishing an Earth-Moon space economic zone by 2050, which, if successful, could allow the country to begin to dictate the rules of behavior for future space exploration.

Some have questioned whether China, which has flown six human spaceflights in the last 16 years, can really build a large low-Earth space station, send taikonauts to the Moon, return samples from Mars, and more in the coming decade or two. But what seems clear is that the country's authoritarian government has long-term plans and is taking steps toward becoming a global leader in space exploration.

By one important metricorbital launchesChina has already reached this goal.

In 2018, the country set a goal of 35 orbital launches and ended up with 39 launch attempts. That year, the United States (29 flights) and Russia (20) trailed China, according to Space Launch Report. It marked the first time China led the world in the number of successful orbital launches.

This year, China is set to pace the world again. Through Sunday, the country has launched 27 orbital missions, followed by Russia (19), and the United States (16). Although nearly a month and a half remain in this year, a maximum of six additional orbital launches are likely from the United States in 2019.

To be fair, China's space launch program has not been without hiccups. The country's space program is still trying to bring its large Long March 5 vehicle back into service after a catastrophic failure during just its second mission, in July 2017. And the country had three failures in 2018 and 2019, compared to just one in the United States and Russia combined.

The United States has taken a step back this year in part due to decreased activity by SpaceX. The company launched a record 21 missions last year but has so far launched 11 rockets in 2019. A flurry of missions remains possible in the next six weeks for the company, including a space station resupply mission in early December, a commercial satellite launch, and additional Starlink flights.

Another big factor has been a slow year for United Launch Alliance. The Colorado-based company has launched just two Delta IV-Medium rockets this year, one Delta IV-Heavy, and a single Atlas V mission. The company may launch Boeing's Starliner spacecraft before the end of 2019, giving the Atlas V rocket a second launch.

It is possible that Rocket Lab, which has flown its Electron rocket from New Zealand five times in 2019 and is planning at least one more mission before the end of the year, will have more launches than United Launch Alliance for the first time. Sometime next year, Rocket Lab should also begin to add to the US tally for orbital launches as it opens a new facility at Wallops Island, Virginia.

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China now launches more rockets than anyone in the world - Ars Technica

Artist Andrew Nybergs work soon will be out of this world. Literally.

Nyberg who is originally from Mankato but now resides in Brainerd was asked to design the official patch for an upcoming mission by NASA and SpaceX to the International Space Station.

Nyberg, a graduate of South Central College, is a professional graphic artist whose work youve probably already seen if youre a fan of Mankatos downtown sculpture tour. But this latest development could launch his career to infinity and beyond.

OK, enough with the jokes. Heres our interview with Andrew.

We asked Nyberg to tell a little bit more about his work and how he was chosen to design that spacey patch.

The Free Press: Tell us how you got tapped to design this patch?

Andrew Nyberg: My uncle, Douglas Hurley, is one of the astronauts assigned to DM2 (Demonstration Mission 2) which will be the first manned mission aboard a U.S.-built craft to the International Space Station since the retirement of the Space Shuttle. He was also the pilot of the very last shuttle mission that retired the program. He is married to my aunt, Karen Nyberg, who is also a NASA astronaut and has had two missions aboard the ISS. Once on Space Shuttle Discovery in 2008 and another six-month mission during Exp. 36 and 37, which flew on the Russian Soyuz.

When Karen was going on her second mission, she commissioned me to create a patch for her mission. The patch was designed and was even printed and ready for their trip. At the last minute the commander for the mission changed. The commander has the final say in the mission patch design and went with one of his own artists. So my design got tabled. However, it wasnt before they had already printed a bunch. So I at least got a few of those created patches and Karen did fly it alongside their official patch on the ISS. There is a version of it aboard the ISS to this day.

When Doug got assigned to fly aboard the Dragon Capsule, he asked me if I would be willing to create their mission patch. Of course I accepted.

FP: Were there several drafts that had to be approved by NASA/Space X or was your original creation the one that was ultimately accepted?

AN: Yes. With most design work, we tend to go through a few different variations before the final design is accepted. They were actually very easy to work with and picked one of four different versions I had given them. From there it was fine-tuned to add all of the finer details required for the mission patch.

FP: Walk us through the design. Theres a lot going on here and it seems like every thing in it symbolizes or references something that might not be apparent to people who dont know the story.

AN: There is quite a lot, indeed. We did have a lot of stuff we needed to include on the patch and I tried my best to be as creative as possible when presenting all of the elements.

Some people may ask where the clover is hidden. SpaceX has a long tradition of including a four-leaf clover in all of their patch designs. The clover tradition began after the successful orbital launch of any privately funded and developed rocket which occurred on Sept. 28, 2008. I remind them that this is a patch for NASAs commercial crew program. SpaceX will most likely have their own mission patch as well.

FP: Do you do a lot of commission work like this?

AN: I sure do! I have had the honor of doing a lot of commissioned work for various people and businesses around the Mankato area, including some of the local colleges and schools in the area.

FP: Does something like this with high visibility give the artist any kind of boost? Will you get more work because of this?

AN: I certainly hope so! Ive already had a few inquiries about some business logos and other projects.

FP: Tell us about your other work. Didnt you have a piece in the Walking Sculpture Tour?

AN: I have done quite a few large projects while working for companies like SPX Sports in Mankato. Walking through MSU or either West or East High School and you can see many of the projects I helped with when I was a part of their team (large wall murals or over-sized banners and graphics). This was also eight years ago so many of those things may have been replaced by now. The wall graphics in the Myers Field House at MSU is one of the largest projects that comes to mind.

I have also done work for Z99 in town. I designed the wrap on their Punisher parade vehicle as well as the large white and black truck you may see at Rockin Ronnys.

Im a graphic designer by trade. But overall I just like to refer to myself as an artist. My grandfather, Ken Nyberg, is pretty well known for his larger-than-life sculptures that dot the roadside in central and northern Minnesota, many of which can be seen at NybergSculptures.com or our Facebook page by the same name.

So, following in my grandfathers footsteps, I started creating some sculptures of my own using scavenged metal objects. I have a wolf titled The Cog of the Wild on display in the Mankato art walk and can be seen on the corner of Main and Second streets. (Editors note: The Cog of the Wild was just named the Peoples Choice winner on this years tour. That means the sculpture remains in the community permanently.)

The largest of my sculptures is on display at the Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton, North Dakota. It is a life-sized moose made similarly to the wolf, with random metal objects welded together over a wire frame.

FP: Is creating art your full-time job or do you have a different 9-5?

AN: I am currently working as a graphic designer for Mills Automotive Group in Brainerd. Graphic design is art.

So, yes, creating art is my full-time job.

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Mankato native designed patch for upcoming NASA mission to the International Space Station - Mankato Free Press

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Space allows scientists to possibly one dayrecreateretinas and print3D human tissues.

Such possibilities mean it's in humanity'sbest interest to explore space but that requires commercial partners, saidJim Bridenstine, NASA administrator President Trump nominated in 2017.

"We are always, always, always thinking about what we can commercialize and the next step,"Bridenstine said Tuesday in Naplesduring a panel discussion titled "Space: The New Market Frontier," at the Global Financial Leadership Conference at The Ritz-Carlton along the beach.

Space industry leaders talk Nov. 19, 2019, on a monitor during the Global Financial Leadership Conference at The Ritz-Carlton by the beach in Naples. No media were allowed to shoot photos inside the auditorium.(Photo: Daily News staff)

Joining him for the discussion were Tim Hughes, senior vice president and general counsel of SpaceX, and Stephen Attenborough, commercial director for Virgin Galactic.

Chris Davenport, space editor for the Washington Post, served as moderator.

More: Oprah is coming, but where should she eat in Naples?

More: Oprah, Martha, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban will visit Naples this week: What to know

Bridenstine a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma has served in the post since 2018. He said the president has supported NASA and nearly two years ago signed Directive 1.

That policy provides for a U.S.-led, integrated program with private sector partners for a human return to the moon, followed by missions to Mars and beyond.

Hughes said SpaceX recently had its 77th launch and emphasized the importance of using rockets more than once.

"Reusability is kind of a holy grail of space," Hughes said.

SpaceX looks to one day develop the Starship, the largest spaceship launched from Earth that will one travel to the moon and Mars, Hughes said.

Attenborough said what's exciting is creating an opportunity for more people to visit space. So far, a total 579 people (mainly men) have traveled into space, he said.

"We have to fly in a commercially viable way," Attenborough said.

And SpaceXseeks to reduce the cost to access space and make humanity a multi-planetary species, Hughes said.

"Most importantly, human beings living and working in space is an exciting future, an American future," he said.

Space exploration will remain important as well for science, as Bridenstine pointed to scientific experiments on the International Space Station in microgravity such as experimenting with retina regeneration and making 3D human organs on a printer."

Such medical technology is less than a decade away, he said, noting that a "significant breakthrough on earth" is required to make it happen.

One aspect of space where the U.S. is different from other nations is its "exceptional willingness to fail," Bridenstine said.

Through trial and error, NASA has achieved because of trial and error, he said.

"In the United States of America, that's a learning point and we go forward," he added. "Other countries don't have that resolve."

The annual global conference draws up to 350 of the Chicago-based CME Group's top clients from around the world. The cost to attend is $2,995.

Terry Duffy, CME Group executive chairman and president, began the conference in Naples a dozen years ago.

Oprah Winfrey spoke immediately after the space panel discussion but media were barred from attending.

Past speakers have included former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger and others.

Actress Nicole Kidman and husband country music star Keith Urban were to host a dinner gala Tuesday night at the Ritz but the media was barred from that event as well.

Read or Share this story: https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/2019/11/19/what-leading-experts-space-said-naples-going-moon-mars/4239742002/

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Space leaders discuss the future of the industry at Naples conference - Naples Daily News

People all over the world could get a chance to step on board the International Space Station thanks to a mind-blowing new virtual reality experience.

The project, called "Space Explorers: The ISS Experience," was created with the help of a 360-degree camera. That instrument was launched to the space station so the astronauts onboard could use it to show how science and life unfold 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth's surface.

This virtual reality enterprise from Time and Felix and Paul Studios is not just an outreach project for NASA; it also provides a chance to demonstrate cutting-edge camera technology. The studio behind this project, Felix and Paul Studios, had a high-definition camera, but their typical camera was about the size of a 4-foot (1.2 meters) tall tree, according to a NASA statement, which is far too large for the space station.

Related: The International Space Station: Inside and Out (Infographic)

A more compact camera launched to space aboard SpaceX's 16th commercial-resupply services mission. in December 2018. The virtual reality project, which the crew on the station is still filming, has captured moments ranging from crew meals to science experiments. That includes growing vegetables in space and experimenting with floating robots called SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites).

"Our focus has been thinking about and finding science experiments that, when you see them, you're immersed in them," Flix Lajeunesse, co-founder and creative director of Felix and Paul Studios, said in the same NASA statement. "Your mind can start spinning, thinking about what technologies are going to come next and how that research leads to a future path."

Unlike most Hollywood movies, in this project, the astronauts are both the stars and the people behind the camera, since usually only up to six people are on the space station at one time. While the project has not been released, based on initial feedback from astronauts who have actually been onboard the space station, it manages to give the viewer an incredible, accurate experience and looks quite real.

"It was like I was back there in and on the International Space Station," astronaut Suni Williams said in the same statement. "You forget you have [a VR headset] on your head, and you just keep looking around. It gives [you] a huge appreciation to all that is inside the space station and how people live and work."

The next filming challenge for this project will be capturing a spacewalk. A release date for the project hasn't yet been announced.

"We are excited to be working with Felix and Paul Studios to bring this project to many different audiences, across many different platforms,"Mia Tramz, Time's Emmy-winning VR producer and editorial director of enterprise and immersive experiences, said in a statement from Time. "This project will have a life on digital, immersive and physical platforms, and will ultimately serve as an educational experience to inspire generations to come."

You can view the trailer and see project updates at time.com/issexperience .

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details from Time, Inc. on the Space Explorers VR project with Felix and Paul studios and NASA.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Need more space? Subscribe to our sister title "All About Space" Magazine for the latest amazing news from the final frontier!

(Image credit: All About Space)

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Virtual Reality Project Shows Life and Science on the Space Station - Space.com

You might want to save your pennies before you book that Walt Disney World vacation you've been longing for, as we've got an out of this world destination with a stellar view eclipsing anything available in sunny Florida.

The Gateway Foundation is ramping up their two-pronged plan to promote space tourism, a zero-gravity construction industry, and scientific research aboard a pair of orbiting superstructures, the Von Braun Rotating Space Station and The Gateway Spaceport. Both endeavors are scheduled to support scientific research and space commerce, but also function as an exotichotel for outgoing tourists.

With all the challenges and conflicts of such a momentous task ahead of them, The Gateway Foundation and partnering space construction company Orbital Assembly plan to build the first space station as early as 2025 as a vital initial step to colonizing space and other heavenly worlds.

This sleek rotating structure was partially-inspired by the visionary ideas of Dr. Wernher von Braun, the pioneering German military rocket scientist who was instrumental in the development of the behemoth Saturn V rocket and NASA's successful Apollo moon landing program.

Designed by Gateway Foundation executive team member and space station lead architect, Timothy Alatorre, the Von Braun Station is hoping to become the largest human-made structure in space and will be fully capable of accommodating up to 450 people.

This gleaming ring of technology will feature amenities ranging from restaurants, viewing lounges, and musical concerts, to bars, libraries, and sports programs, allowing passengers to take full advantage of weightlessness while on board.

"The inspiration behind it really comes from watching science fiction over the last 50 years and seeing how mankind has had this dream of starship culture," Alatorre told Space.com. "I think it started really with Star Trekand then Star Wars, and [with] this concept of large groups of people living in space and having their own commerce, their own industry, and their own culture.

"We expect the operation to begin in 2025, the full station will be built out and completed by 2027," he added. "Once the station's fully operational, our hope, our goal, and our objective is to have the station available for the average person. So, a family or an individual could save up reasonably and be able to have enough money to visit space and have that experience It would be something that would be within reach."

While this might seem like an unrealistic timeframe considering the obstacles, logistics, and inevitable delays involved with an expensive project of this magnitude, Allatore still believes it's totally possible.

What do you think of The Gateway Foundation's lofty goals and would you spring for a ticket into space when reservation lines open for its first guests?

Check out SYFY WIRE's exclusive images in the gallery below and imagine yourself comfortably floating above our Big Blue Marble with cocktail in hand!

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You could be booking an Earth-view room at the Von Braun Space Station by 2025 - SYFY WIRE

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy has spent 182 days in space and is well versed in the unexpected hazards of space travel as he prepares to return to the International Space Station next spring.

In 2013, during Cassidys first long-duration mission at the space station, he was tasked with an emergency spacewalk to troubleshoot a radiator leaking ammonia in the stations power system. The leak was repaired in less than 3 hours, a minor hiccup by space standards, but as Cassidy prepares to return to the space station in April with the Expedition 63 crew, he believes they are prepared for any new problems that should arise on their six-month mission.

The reason we train is to be ready for any contingency that happens, Cassidy said at a media briefing at Johnson Space Center with his crewmates, Russian cosmonauts Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin. You dont know what the next weird thing thats going to happen is, but we practice for all the weird situations that we can think of.

The Expedition 63 mission will be Cassidys third spaceflight and his second aboard the Russian Soyuz rockets that have been ferrying NASA astronauts to the space station since the agency shuttered its space shuttle program in 2011. Commercial rockets being built by SpaceX and Boeing are meant to alleviate that reliance, but those programs are behind schedule.

The Russian Soyuz spaceflights have not always gone smoothly. Astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin were scheduled to join the space stations Expedition 57 crew in October 2018, but they were forced to abort their mission when the Soyuz spacecraft transporting them to the space station experienced a rocket booster malfunction shortly after launch.

Russian officials later announced that the failed launch the first of its kind in 35 years was the result of a malfunctioning sensor, which caused the first and second stages of the rocket launching the Soyuz to crash into each other, breaking the second stage and forcing an emergency landing.

The abort was preceded by the discovery of an air leak-causing hole in a different Soyuz docked to the space station in late August.

Subsequent Soyuz launches have gone smoothly, but Cassidy acknowledged the risks that come with any rocket launch carrying a human crew. He said he is confident that both Russian and American engineers and scientists have worked to ensure the Soyuzs systems are as safe as possible.

If youre not a little bit nervous on launch day, you dont understand the physics behind you, Cassidy said. That being said, were all really well trained and I think (Hagues) aborted mission shows that the equipment actually is pretty robust too. Theres a reason theres an abort system, and theres a reason that its automated and things happen quickly.

Cassidy, Tikhonov and Babkin will be on the space station for six months, and aside from a brief overlap with the previous space station crew, the three of them will be the only humans on the space station during that period.

This is an interesting time because the astronaut and cosmonaut communities (are) very small and tight-knit, Cassidy said. So even though we are formally together for just a very short period of time, weve known each other for several years and our families have dined together in both countries, so theres a familiarity there thats rooted in friendship.

It will be the first spaceflight for the two cosmonauts, and Tikhonov mentioned that he was happy to have Cassidys prior space experience to lean on.

Tikhonov had previously been scheduled for space travel three different times before finally being named to the Expedition 63 crew. He said there was a point when he thought he would never make it to space and said he is proud to carry on the tradition of international collaboration in space, regardless of the occasionally tense Russian American relations on the ground.

Right now we have some different points of view, different understanding, maybe different traditions, Tikhonov said. The International Space Station actually shows us how its possible to not allow your traditions, your habitats, (to) affect international cooperation. Our partnership and friendship just continues through these years, 20 years of ISS. Its really wonderful and Im looking forward to these new steps.

nick.powell@chron.com

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New space station crew will rely on astronaut Chris Cassidys experience to prepare for the unexpected - Houston Chronicle

Will you be planning a trip to an orbiting "space hotel" as early as 2025?

The Gateway Foundation, a private company developing this "space hotel," thinks so. The organization plans to build what it describes on its website as "the first spaceport." This spaceport, the Von Braun Rotating Space Station, will orbit Earth and will accommodate not only scientific research but also visiting tourists looking to experience life away from our home planet.

But, while any timeline for the creation of such a structure would be daunting, the Gateway Foundation plans to build the spaceport as early as 2025 (with the support of the space construction company Orbital Assembly).

Related: In Pictures: Private Space Stations of the Future

This visualization gives a closer look at the design of the Von Braun "space hotel."

(Image credit: The Gateway Foundation)

According to Timothy Alatorre, the lead architect of this space station, who also works as the treasurer and an executive team member at the Gateway Foundation, the Von Braun station is designed to be the largest human-made structure in space and will house up to 450 people. Alatorre is also designing the interiors of the station, including the habitable spaces and gymnasium.

As its name implies, the concept for the station is inspired in part by the ideas of Wernher von Braun, who pioneered in the field of human spaceflight first for Nazi Germany and then for the U.S. This design is inspired by his ideas for a rotating space station, which were derived from other, older ideas. "He had inherited a lot of ideas from previous scientists and authors and theorists, so it wasn't entirely his idea for the torus-shaped, doughnut-shaped space station, but he kind of adopted it. He expanded upon it and eventually, he popularized it," Gary Kitmacher, who works for NASA in the International Space Station program, told Space.com. Kitmacher also has worked on the design of the space station, NASA's shuttle program, Spacehab and Mir, and has contributed as an author in textbooks and to the book "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space (Smithsonian Books, 2018)."

Additionally, "the inspiration behind it [this space station] really comes from watching science fiction over the last 50 years and seeing how mankind has had this dream of starship culture," Alatorre told Space.com.

A look inside the planned Von Braun space station.

(Image credit: The Gateway Foundation)

"I think it started really with 'Star Trek' and then 'Star Wars,' and [with] this concept of large groups of people living in space and having their own commerce, their own industry and their own culture, as it were," he added.

The team drew inspiration partially from Von Braun's concept of a rotating space station that utilizes artificial gravity for the comfort of its passengers. But, while this new design will use artificial gravity in areas of the station, it will also have spaces on board that will allow passengers to feel the weightlessness of space.

The ultimate goal for this station is to have it include amenities ranging from restaurants and bars to sports that would allow passengers to take full advantage of weightlessness on board the station. The station will also have programs that include the arts, with concerts on board. "We do hope, though, that people take the time to be inspired, to write music, to paint, to take part in the arts," Alatorre said.

Gateway Foundation officials acknowledge that the station might not be entirely finished by 2025, but the group aims to develop the station's main structure and basic functions by then. "We expect the operation to begin in 2025, the full station will be built out and completed by 2027. Once the station's fully operational, our hope, our goal and our objective is to have the station available for the average person," Alatorre said. "So, a family or an individual could save up reasonably and be able to have enough money to visit space and have that experience. It would be something that would be within reach."

He added that "once or twice a week, we would have new people coming up, and they would be able to spend a couple days or a couple weeks."

So how would this all work? Is it at all possible?

Related: Space Hotel? Orion Span's Luxury Aurora Station Concept in Images

Alatorre said that the Gateway Foundation feels that such a project is now possible because the growing success of commercial aerospace companies like SpaceX has made launch options more affordable.

He added that the company admits that it's possible its timeline is pushing it somewhat. "We completely understand that delays are almost inevitable with aerospace, but based on our internal projections and the fact that we're already dealing with existing technology, we're not inventing anything new. We really feel that the time frame is possible," he said.

The company also concedes that its plans are ambitious.

"I think you could do it," Kitmacher said. "You'd have to have the way to transport it into orbit."

"It might not be done the way in which we would go about doing it at NASA, but I think you can design and build hardware on a fairly rapid schedule," Kitmacher added.

Related: Space History Photo: Walt Disney and Wernher von Braun

But while it may be possible, there are a number of variables specific to space that the team will need to consider. For instance, the temperatures in space for those orbiting our planet range from extreme heat to extreme cold, depending on whether the astronauts are in direct sunlight or in the dark. "The real concern is to design the habitat the pressurized module that you're going to be living in [in] such a way that it can handle those kinds of temperature changes," Kitmacher said.

Kitmacher added that the company's current timeline might not be the most realistic. "If you look at something like a commercial airplane, typically a large, commercial airplane is in development for something like a 10-year period, so that's probably a more reasonable schedule," he said.

With a tight timeline and a number of difficult variables, Kitmacher said that the main obstacle the Gateway Foundation will have to overcome is actually cost. The "cost not only of designing and certifying and getting the whole thing into orbit but also the cost associated with taking the paying passengers, the tourists, up and back," he said.

The Von Braun space station is designed to be a vacation destination and aims to feature some artificial gravity on board.

(Image credit: The Gateway Foundation)

In addition to the technical challenges involved in building this space station, there are a heap of social concerns that could make its success more difficult.

For starters, if there is a "space hotel," that means the facility would have to have employees. That would mean extended periods of time in space, and research has shown that spaceflight and being in microgravity can have a number of effects on human health.

This would also mean that, if the space station actually becomes an accessible spaceport in orbit around Earth, more people (and not all of them highly trained astronauts) would be flying to space much more regularly than humans do today. There would likely be physical risks involved with such an increased amount of space travel for a wider variety of people, as well as significant legal red tape that the company would have to deal with to get this space station not only off the ground but also to allow for travel to this "space hotel."

Photos: Wernher von Braun, Space Pioneer Rememembered

Another issue that could affect the public's perception of this developing concept is its association with Wernher von Braun, who was a member of the Nazi party and an SS officer during World War II.

"We were drawing off of his [von Braun's] inspiration, which is why we started describing it as the von Braun station," Alatorre said. But, "there have been people who've questioned the name, definitely."

While many might disagree, Alatorre added, "our opinion on it is Wernher von Braun was a reluctant Nazi."

Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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(Image credit: All About Space)

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Yes, the 'Von Braun' Space Hotel Idea Is Wild. But Could We Build It by 2025? - Space.com

Next year, not one, but two Maine astronauts will be aboard the International Space Station.Remember, just a few people are on board the station at a time. Maine native Chris Cassidy will be mission commander for the next expedition to the ISS which is scheduled to launch in April 2020.Cassidy, of York, will be joined by two Russian flight engineers, Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin, who are going on their first mission to space.This will be Cassidys third trip into space, and his mission will overlap with another Maine astronaut, Jessica Meir, of Caribou.That's going to be pretty fun we'll overlap by 9 days I think right at the end before she comes home and right when I arrive and I hope we're able to set up some press conferences around the state with the two of us floating together it would be fun to share that excitement with the rest of the state.The mission is scheduled to end next October, just before the 20th anniversary of continuous habitation of the ISS.

Next year, not one, but two Maine astronauts will be aboard the International Space Station.

Remember, just a few people are on board the station at a time.

Maine native Chris Cassidy will be mission commander for the next expedition to the ISS which is scheduled to launch in April 2020.

Cassidy, of York, will be joined by two Russian flight engineers, Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin, who are going on their first mission to space.

This will be Cassidys third trip into space, and his mission will overlap with another Maine astronaut, Jessica Meir, of Caribou.

That's going to be pretty fun we'll overlap by 9 days I think right at the end before she comes home and right when I arrive and I hope we're able to set up some press conferences around the state with the two of us floating together it would be fun to share that excitement with the rest of the state.

The mission is scheduled to end next October, just before the 20th anniversary of continuous habitation of the ISS.

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2 Mainers to be aboard International Space Station at same time - WMTW Portland

Jan Schroder|Monday, 11 November 2019

In recent years, sportswear manufacturers have increasingly becomehigh-tech companies. With new materials and new production processes, theywant to help their top athletes sound out performance limits and ideally,break them. After all, innovation promises prestige - which then influencessales.

Searching for the ultimate promise of progress, some sportswearmanufacturers have recently joined forces with the industry thattraditionally embodies visions most radically: the space industry. Just afew weeks ago, US sportswear brand Under Armour unveiled fashionable outfits for commerical space flights withVirgin Galactic that looked as if they came straight out of a sci-fimovie.

Last week, German sportswear giant Adidas announced a long-term spacepartnership that is a bit more pragmatic: In the future, the company wantsto test new products for weightlessness. Therefore, it now works with theU.S. National Laboratory at the International Space Station (ISS), which ismanaged by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). Aspart of the partnership, the first Adidas products have already been testedat ISS: In October, astronauts tried out how footballs behave under minimalgravitational influence. But this is only the beginning: "The cooperationwith the U.S. National Laboratory at the International Space Station andCASIS - one of the world's most advanced facilities - will help Adidasdevelop new standards for performance innovations," says James Carnes, vicepresident of brand strategy for Adidas, in a statement.

Christine Kretz, vice president of program and partnerships at the U.S.National Laboratory at the International Space Station, explains theadvantages of such experiments: Only the ambience of the ISS makes it ispossible to study the turning behavior of a football "without air currentsdisturbing it and the necessity of a holding device". "Because we cancontrol certain variables, we have the option of running tests and gainingknowledge that would not be possible on Earth," she says in a statement.

Next year, things will become a bit more complex: "As the first brand,Adidas will test shoe innovations under the extreme conditions of space,"says the sportswear manufacturer. Strictly speaking, it is about theoptimisation of the brand's "Boost" cushioning technology, which is used inthe soles of the eponymous sneaker line.

However, the sportswear manufacturer is hoping for even morefar-reaching insights from the cooperation: Adidas wants to derive lessonsfor training its athletes from the astronauts preparatory programs. Inaddition, the space station is supposed to be the "ultimate testing ground"for new recycling methods and sustainable production processes.

Photos: Adidas

This article was originally published on FashionUnited DE. Editedand translated by Simone Preuss.

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Adidas tests gravity's limits at the International Space Station - FashionUnited UK

It's not often I get to write about astronauts and space travel. In fact, it's happened exactly... never. But now, thanks to a high-flying collaboration of Stanford researchers past and present, I get to write about something that's really out of this world.

Since 2006, iPS cells (short for induced pluripotent stem cells) have been at the forefront of groundbreaking research in biology and medicine. The cells' ability to become nearly any tissue in the body makes them an invaluable resource for physicians wishing to study the effect of drugs on specific, hard-to-obtain tissues or for researchers wanting to delve into the molecular missteps that lead to all manner of diseases.

Now iPS-derived human heart muscle cells called cardiomyocytes have found their way into space, as part of a study by cardiologist and stem cell researcher Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, graduate student Alexa Wnorowski and former Stanford graduate student Arun Sharma, PhD. With the help of NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, PhD, (also a former Stanford graduate student!), Wnorowski and Sharma studied the effect of the low gravity of the International Space Station on the heart cells' structure and function.

They published their findings today in Stem Cell Reports.

As Sharma, now a senior research fellow at Cedars-Sinai, explained in an email:

This project represented an opportunity for biomedical researchers to collaborate with astronauts and engineers in order to learn more about how a very unique environment, microgravity, affects the cells of the human heart.

Sharma, Wnorowski and Wu found that the cardiomyocytes cultured on the space station exhibited different patterns of gene expression than did their counterparts grown back here on Earth. They also displayed changes in the way they handled calcium -- an important regulator of contraction rate and strength.

Interestingly (and perhaps reassuringly for astronauts like Rubins), the cells appeared to return to normal when their five-and-a-half week jaunt into low Earth orbit ended.

"Working with the cells that launched to and returned from the International Space Station was an incredible opportunity," Wnorowski said. "Our study was the first conducted on the station that used human iPS technology, and demonstrated that it is possible to conduct long-term, human cell-based experiments in space."

All in all, the researchers were interested to see how nimbly the cells adjusted to their new, free floating life.

"We were surprised by how quickly human heart cells adapted to microgravity," Sharma said. "These results parallel known organ-level adaptations that happen to the heart during spaceflight."

Photos of Kate Rubins by NASA

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The final frontier? Studying stem cells on the International Space Station - Scope