Space station crewmembers land after 166-day missio

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Published: 4:33PM Wednesday September 11, 2013 Source: Reuters

Two Russian cosmonauts and a US astronaut left the International Space Station on Tuesday, leaving a skeleton crew to maintain the outpost until replacements arrive later this month.

Outgoing station commander Pavel Vinogradov, NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin bid their crewmates good-bye and climbed aboard their Russian Soyuz capsule to prepare for a 3.5-hour flight back to Earth after 166 days in orbit.

"The time has gone by so incredibly fast," Cassidy said during an inflight interview last week.

"It'll be really sad to leave. This is an incredible experience ... but by the same token, I'm ready to go. It's time for some other people to come ... and I'm really excited to go back and see my friends and family."

Before leaving, Vinogradov, a veteran of three spaceflights, transferred command of the $100 billion station, a project of 15 nations, to fellow cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, who remains aboard with Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA's Karen Nyberg.

"We had a great environment here, very friendly and very warm," Vinogradov said through a translator in a ceremony on NASA TV on Monday marking the change in command.

Strapped inside their Soyuz capsule, Vinogradov, Cassidy and Misurkin pulled away from the station's Poisk module at 7:35 p.m. EDT/1135 GMT as the two ships sailed 415 km above Mongolia, said NASA mission commentator Brandi Dean.

Three hours later, the Soyuz hit the top of Earth's atmosphere, giving the men their first sampling of gravity since their launch on March 28.

The final leg of the journey took place under parachutes, with the capsule finally coming to a stop on the steppes of Kazakhstan at 10:58 p.m. EDT/0258 GMT, marking the end of the Expedition 36 mission.

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Space station crewmembers land after 166-day missio

After nearly six months in space space station, astronauts return to Earth

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Expedition 36 to the International Space Station landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, after spending 166 days in space.

Three crew members of Expedition 36 to the International Space Station touched down in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, after spending 166 days in space.

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In a video from NASA, American astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian astronauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin exchange farewell hugs with the Expedition 37 crew as the group prepares tode-board the station (in space, hugs look like a slow-motion take of two would-be lion kings lunging into combat).

The departing team then nips into the Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft, the hatch is screwed closed, and the craft undocks from the Poisk module on the International Space Station at 6:36 P.M CST.

Once undocked, the craft is seen drifting slowly away from the ISS before performing a de-orbit burn as it heads for Earth. In the final phase of the trip home, the capsule makes a parachuted landing, on its side, on Kazakhstans steppes at 10:58 CST.

The entire trip took just over four hours, about an hour less than a commercial flight between California and New York.

After spending almost half a year in space, the astronauts are not yet prepared for Earths gravity. Instead, the group is helped into reclining chairs and hoisted into an inflatable medical tent, where researchers will conduct biomedical tests on their adaptation back to gravity, in addition to the standard medical examination. Mr.Vinogradov, who at 60-years-old is the oldest person ever to land in a Soyuz vehicle, is exempt from some of the experiments.

ISS Expeditions are composed of two teams of three astronauts. The team that landed Wednesday arrived on the ISS on March 28 to join Expedition 35, which had kicked off about two weeks earlier with the arrival of three other astronauts. Expedition 36 began on May 14, when Expedition 35s original team of three left the station.

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After nearly six months in space space station, astronauts return to Earth

Space Station Crew Lands, Wrapping Up 166 Days in Space

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Expedition 36 crew members Chris Cassidy of NASA and Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin of the Russian Federal Space Agency have returned to Earth from the International Space Station, landing safely in Kazakhstan at 10:58 p.m. EDT Tuesday (8:58 a.m. Sept. 11, Kazakh time).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO )

Cassidy, Vinogradov and Misurkin, who launched to the station March 29, spent 166 days in space. They completed 2,656 orbits of Earth and traveled more than 70 million miles. Vinogradov conducted one spacewalk, bringing his career total to seven spacewalks with an accumulated time of 38 hours, 25 minutes. Misurkin conducted three spacewalks for a total of 20 hours, 1 minute. Cassidy conducted three spacewalks, bringing his career total to six with an accumulated time of 31 hours, 14 minutes.

During their time aboard the orbiting laboratory, the crew saw the arrival of the European ATV-4cargo spacecraft, the Japanese HTV-4 cargo spacecraft and two Russian Progress resupply crafts. The crew members also worked on hundreds of research experiments and science investigations that will have benefits for future human spaceflight and life on Earth.

Vinogradov now has logged 547 days in space on three spaceflights. This puts him 10th on the all-time endurance list. Cassidy has accumulated 182 days in space on his two spaceflights. This was Misurkin's first flight, for a total of 166 days.

For information on the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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Space Station Crew Lands, Wrapping Up 166 Days in Space

Soyuz capsule brings 3 back to Earth from space station

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Updated 11:16 PM ET

Closing out a 166-day stay in orbit, two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut strapped into a Russian Soyuz spacecraft Tuesday, undocked from the International Space Station and fell back to Earth, settling to a jarring rocket-assisted touchdown on the steppe of Kazakhstan.

Suspended below a large red and white-striped parachute, the Soyuz TMA-08M descent module completed the final stages of the flight within easy view of Russian recovery forces and long-range tracking cameras, setting down at 10:58 p.m. EDT (GMT-4; 8:58 a.m. Wednesday local time).

Recovery crews and flight surgeons quickly rushed to the scorched descent module to help commander Pavel Vinogradov, flight engineer Alexander Misurkin and NASA SEAL-turned-astronaut Christopher Cassidy out of the cramped spacecraft.

After initial medical checks and satellite phone calls to family and friends, the station fliers were to be moved into a nearby medical tent for more extensive checks as they begin readjusting to gravity after five-and-a-half months in the weightless environment of space.

Cassidy planned to participate in a new project to help researchers get a better idea of how long-duration spaceflight might affect astronauts on eventual flights to Mars.

"This will be the first opportunity where we ask the crew members post landing to do some exercises," said Mike Suffredini, space station program manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The idea is to get a better idea of what hurdles a Mars crew might face after a year-long flight without a medical team standing by to help out.

"And the question is, what is their condition, what can we expect them to do?" Suffredini said. "And it will kind of lead our thinking on how the first few days of any exploration mission would take place to make sure the crew doesn't hurt themselves in the process of landing and getting themselves ready to operate on the surface of a foreign planet."

As a former Navy SEAL and veteran of a 2009 shuttle flight, Cassidy is more familiar than most with physical fitness. But he said he expects vestibular difficulty -- poor balance and coordination -- to be more of an issue than physical strength.

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Soyuz capsule brings 3 back to Earth from space station

Soyuz undocks from space station

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Updated 11:16 PM ET

Closing out a 166-day stay in orbit, two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut strapped into a Russian Soyuz spacecraft Tuesday, undocked from the International Space Station and fell back to Earth, settling to a jarring rocket-assisted touchdown on the steppe of Kazakhstan.

Suspended below a large red and white-striped parachute, the Soyuz TMA-08M descent module completed the final stages of the flight within easy view of Russian recovery forces and long-range tracking cameras, setting down at 10:58 p.m. EDT (GMT-4; 8:58 a.m. Wednesday local time).

Recovery crews and flight surgeons quickly rushed to the scorched descent module to help commander Pavel Vinogradov, flight engineer Alexander Misurkin and NASA SEAL-turned-astronaut Christopher Cassidy out of the cramped spacecraft.

After initial medical checks and satellite phone calls to family and friends, the station fliers were to be moved into a nearby medical tent for more extensive checks as they begin readjusting to gravity after five-and-a-half months in the weightless environment of space.

Cassidy planned to participate in a new project to help researchers get a better idea of how long-duration spaceflight might affect astronauts on eventual flights to Mars.

"This will be the first opportunity where we ask the crew members post landing to do some exercises," said Mike Suffredini, space station program manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The idea is to get a better idea of what hurdles a Mars crew might face after a year-long flight without a medical team standing by to help out.

"And the question is, what is their condition, what can we expect them to do?" Suffredini said. "And it will kind of lead our thinking on how the first few days of any exploration mission would take place to make sure the crew doesn't hurt themselves in the process of landing and getting themselves ready to operate on the surface of a foreign planet."

As a former Navy SEAL and veteran of a 2009 shuttle flight, Cassidy is more familiar than most with physical fitness. But he said he expects vestibular difficulty -- poor balance and coordination -- to be more of an issue than physical strength.

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Soyuz undocks from space station

Nasa joins Instagram: the best pictures so far

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"We believe we have some of the most engaging images on and off the planet -- and we cant wait to engage with Instagrammers."

Nasa photographed the launch of the moon orbit called the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)

(Nasa/Chris Perry

LADEE will gather detailed information about the lunar atmosphere, conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust.

Nasa also posted an image of Earth as seen by the Geostationary Satellite system (GOES). Geostationary describes an orbit in which a satellite is always in the same position with respect to the rotating Earth.

This allows GOES to hover continuously over one position on the Earth's surface. GOES satellites watch out for atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes.

(Nasa/NOAA GOES Project)

An Instagrammed image from the Hubble Space telescope captured a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Antlia, other wise known as the Air Pump.

The galaxy lies more than 110 million light-years away from Earth.

(Hubble/European Space Agency and Nasa)

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Nasa joins Instagram: the best pictures so far

NASA TV Coverage Set for Orbital Sciences Demonstration Mission

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NASA Television will air pre- and post-launch news conferences and provide live launch coverage of Orbital Sciences Corporation's cargo resupply demonstration mission to the International Space Station.

The company's Cygnus cargo carrier will be the first spacecraft launched to the orbiting laboratory from Virginia. It will be launched aboard Orbital's Antares rocket at 11:16 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 17, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.

NASA TV launch commentary coverage will begin at 10:45 a.m. Video b-roll of launch preparations will air at 10:30 a.m. A post-launch news briefing will begin at approximately 1 p.m. at the Wallops Visitors Center. NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will operate a phone bridge for the pre- and post-launch briefings. To participate in any briefing by phone, reporters must call the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 at least 15 minutes before the start of the briefing.

Cygnus will deliver about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo, including food and clothing, to the Expedition 37 crew aboard the space station. Future flights of Cygnus will significantly increase NASA's ability to deliver new science investigations to the nation's only laboratory in microgravity.

NASA will preview the launch and mission in a news conference at 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, at the Wallops Visitors Center. NASA TV and the agency's website will air the briefing live with question and answer capability available from participating NASA centers or on the telephone. Questions also can be asked during the briefings via Twitter by using the hashtag #askNASA.

The briefing participants are:

-- Alan Lindenmoyer, program manager, NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program -- Frank Culbertson, executive vice president, Orbital Sciences Corp. -- Mike Pinkston, Antares program manager, Orbital Sciences Corp. -- Sarah Daugherty, test director, NASA's Wallops Flight Facility

The deadline to apply for accreditation to attend the launch is 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 for media who are U.S. citizens. The deadline has passed for non-U.S. citizens. For additional information regarding accreditation contact Keith Koehler at keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov.

Rendezvous with the space station is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 22. NASA Television coverage will begin at 4:30 a.m. and will continue through the capture and installation of the Cygnus spacecraft. Capture is scheduled for about 7:17 a.m. with installation of the craft beginning about 9 a.m.

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NASA TV Coverage Set for Orbital Sciences Demonstration Mission

NASA's Plans For The Future And Present

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September 11, 2013

Image Credit: NASA

[ Watch The Video - NASA From the Ground Up ]

NASA

Space exploration has always created benefits for humankind from new technologies and discoveries, to deepening international relationships and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

For more than 50 years, NASA has led the world in space with missions to extend human reach and transform our capabilities and understanding. Were currently implementing an ambitious plan that integrates NASAs activities across exploration and science. It focuses on new technologies to carry out robotic and human missions to the moon, an asteroid and Mars, while enabling us to live and work in space for the long term. This week, I will join with others in government, industry and academia at the AIAA 2013 conference in San Diego to discuss NASAs plans for the future and present a paper that captures the meaning of the phrase Off the Earth, For the Earth from the International Space Station Expedition 34 patch.

As we prepare to explore farther into our solar system, we have to do things differently. Thats why were partnering with American companies to conduct routine flights to the International Space Station, so that NASA can focus on developing the spacecraft and technology to carry out deep space missions. And its why weve worked so hard to create a vision of shared exploration objectives with our international partners, recently detailed in the Global Exploration Roadmap.

Advances weve made in robotics and human spaceflight enable us to begin developing a mission to capture and redirect an asteroid closer to Earth so astronauts can visit it, but this is only a beginning. Our new asteroid mission and many related activities will not only take us to new destinations more importantly, theyll lay the groundwork for exploration achievements for years to come.

Web feature: Whats Next for NASA?

Off the Earth, For the Earth offers an animating title for the framework for Americas space program based on todays needs and tomorrows opportunities. The pieces to begin implementing this framework exist starting with the full realization of the potential of the International Space Station. It also includes the groundbreaking work now taking place at NASA and around the world to accelerate the pace of technology development and solidify the role of commercial providers of cargo and soon, crew, transportation to low Earth orbit.

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NASA's Plans For The Future And Present

Associations Appoint New Editor-in-Chief of American Journal of Preventive Medicine

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Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 11, 2013

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) have announced the selection of Matthew L. Boulton, MD, MPH, FACPM, as the new editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM), an international peer-reviewed medical journal published monthly by Elsevier, Inc. Dr. Boulton is Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Associate Professor of Health Management & Policy, and Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Michigan (UM) School of Public Health, with a secondary appointment as Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in Infectious Diseases at the School of Medicine. He is also Director of the federally-funded Center of Excellence in Public Health Workforce Studies, Director of the Preventive Medicine Residency (PMR), and previously served 6 years as Associate Dean for Public Health Practice.

Dr. Boulton is an active researcher and has published extensively in the peer review public health and medical literature for many years. He is considered a leading national expert on the public health workforce and has research and programmatic expertise in infectious disease epidemiology and surveillance, vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization services, preventive medicine education, and public health in China and India. He currently serves on four editorial boards and is a peer reviewer for 15 other leading public health and medical journals, including AJPM. He also has served as the chief editor and/or primary author on a number of major technical reports for national public health professional groups, the U.S. CDC, HRSA, and RWJF, in addition to authoring a number of book chapters on the epidemiology and field control of infectious diseases. .

Dr. Boulton is a national leader in public health who brings more than editorial expertise to the position. He is a board-certified specialist in general preventive medicine and public health, a Fellow of ACPM, and an active member of APTR as well as recipient of the their Duncan Clark Award (2012) for lifetime achievement in preventive education and public health and the APTR F. Marian Bishop Outstanding Educator of the Year Award. He has received numerous other national, state, and university honors including the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Distinguished Partner of the Year, the Association of Schools of Public Health/Pfizer Faculty Award for Excellence in Academic Public Health Practice, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health John H. Romani Award for outstanding leadership in public health, all awarded in 2012. Dr. Boulton has many years experience as a member of the national public health practice and preventive medicine community having worked 16 years in Michigans state and local public health system, including serving as the governors Chief Medical Executive and State Epidemiologist. In that role he was the lead physician at the state for public health, Medicaid, substance abuse, mental health, and services to the aging. He has been continuously engaged at a national level with the public health practice community, serving on a number of national advisory boards including the U.S. CDCs Board of Scientific Counselors for Infectious Diseases.

We are very fortunate to find someone of Dr. Boultons caliber to lead the journal in these exciting times for preventive medicine and public health, noted ACPM President and AJPM Board of Governors member Halley Faust, MD, MPH, FACPM. He brings the full packageextensive public health leadership, national credibility and recognition, editorial expertise, and the vision and business acumen to navigate the journal through an era of health reform, relentless technological innovation, and evolving business and readership models. Stephen A. McCurdy, MD, MPH, APTR Board of Directors member and Chair of the AJPM Board of Governors, added "Dr. Boulton is a highly successful academician at the University of Michigan Schools of Public Health and Medicine and he brings a wealth of experience and accomplishment in preventive medicine, most notably as a practicing public health physician in the governmental sector. Dr. Boulton brings a vision of increased engagement and growth in the national and international arenas that is extremely exciting.

Dr. Boulton will assume full editorial responsibility for AJPM on January 1, 2014, replacing Kevin Patrick, MD, MS, FACPM. Dr. Patrick has served as the journals chief editor for the past 18 years and taken the journal to new heights with regard to its impact, visibility, recognition, and growth as a scholarly medical and public health journal. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine is one of the premier public health and preventive medicine journals in this country and it is an honor for me to serve as the next Editor-in-Chief, said Dr. Boulton. My goal is to continue the tradition of outstanding journal stewardship, as has been provided by Dr. Patrick and his team, and orchestrate the next step in the journals development with the assistance and advice of my colleagues on the AJPM Board of Governors, key partners at ACPM and APTR, and the members of our editorial team. # # #

About American College of Preventive Medicine Founded in 1954, the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) is the premier U.S.-based physician organization focused on practice, research, publication, and teaching of evidence-based preventive medicine. As the umbrella society for the specialty of Preventive Medicine and physicians dedicated to prevention, ACPM seeks to improve the health of individuals and populations through evidence-based health promotion, disease prevention, and systems-based approaches to improving health and health care. For more information, visit http://www.acpm.org.

About Association for Prevention Teaching and Research Established in 1942, the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) is the professional organization for individuals and institutions that advance the education of physicians and other health professionals in prevention and population health. Members include faculty from preventive medicine and public health departments within medical schools and health professions institutions and the accredited and emerging graduate programs in public health. For more information, visit http://www.aptrweb.org

About AJPM

AJPM, published monthly by Elsevier, is the official journal of the American College of Preventive Medicine and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. The journal publishes cutting-edge articles in prevention research, teaching, practice and policy. Original research is published on interventions aimed at the prevention of chronic and acute disease and the promotion of individual and community health. Papers also address educational initiatives aimed at improving the ability of health professionals to provide effective clinical prevention and public health services. Papers on health services research pertinent to prevention and public health are also invited. AJPM annually receives approximately 1,300 unsolicited manuscripts, and regularly publishes theme issues or supplements to the Journal devoted to areas of current interest to the prevention community.

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Associations Appoint New Editor-in-Chief of American Journal of Preventive Medicine