Tim Peake: British astronaut prepares for 2015 mission to International Space Station – Video

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Tim Peake: British astronaut prepares for 2015 mission to International Space Station
Major Tim Peake has been named as the UK #39;s first official astronaut and will take part in a mission to the International Space Station in 2015. It is hoped t...

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Tim Peake: British astronaut prepares for 2015 mission to International Space Station - Video

Prominence eruption, northwest of the Sun – NASA images of a solar flare (May 21, 2013) – Video Vax – Video

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Prominence eruption, northwest of the Sun - NASA images of a solar flare (May 21, 2013) - Video Vax
Prominence eruption at the northwest of the Sun, May 21, 2013 around 22:00 UT. The CME (coronal mass ejection) is visible on the images of the SOHO spacecraf...

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Prominence eruption, northwest of the Sun - NASA images of a solar flare (May 21, 2013) - Video Vax - Video

Pizza printouts? NASA funds project to make space meals with 3-D printer

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In a video made for Tested.com, chef Traci Des Jardins helps Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield spice up his meals on the International Space Station. Avoiding food boredom is one of the issues facing long-term spacefliers. Will 3-D-printed pizzas help?

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

NASA won't be printing out pizzas on Mars anytime soon, but the space agency is paying out $125,000 to study the use of 3-D printing technology for food preparation in space.

"We will be building the components for a prototype" over the grant's six-month period, David Irwin, principal investigator for the project at Texas-based Systems and Materials Research Consultancy, told NBC News.

The ideas is to use a 3-D printer to turn generic mixes of starch, protein and fat into textured foodie-type elements, and then add flavorings with an inkjet device. The result? Theoretically, you could have a warm slice of crusty-type starch material topped with fake cheese, sauce and pepperoni.

SMRC's Irwin was reluctant to discuss the project in detail, in part because the contract with NASA for a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant had not yet been signed. But he was optimistic about the long-term prospect: "We're going to do great things," he said.

NASA spokesman David Steitz said the contract was finally signed on Wednesday. The project is part of the space agency's effort to widen the menu options for future space travelers when they head out to Mars or a near-Earth asteroid. Right now, astronauts are eating mostly pre-packaged, pre-processed, shelf-stable foods. But that won't work for a trip to the Red Planet.

"The current food system is not adequate in nutrition or acceptability through the five-year shelf life required for a mission to Mars, or other long-duration missions," Steitz said in an email.

Steitz stressed that the Phase I study is just one small step in what's likely to be a years-long effort to build a 3-D space food printer. "There's a lot between this and a pizza," he told NBC News.

Hello, 'Star Trek' 3-D printing technology could open the way toward the kinds of food synthesizers you've seen in 45-year-old episodes of "Star Trek." Basic unflavored ingredients could be kept in long-term storage up to 30 years, according to a report on the project published by Quartz. The 3-D printercould build up different blends of the basics with different textures. Food-specific flavorings could be sprayed onto the components of synthetic food. Thus, the same device could turn out pizzas on one day, and tacos on the next.

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Pizza printouts? NASA funds project to make space meals with 3-D printer

NASA Hosts Google+ Hangout with Recently Returned Space Station Astronauts

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NASA will host a Google+ Hangout with the three recently returned International Space Station astronauts from 3-4 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 23.

This event will connect the agency's social media followers with NASA astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn and Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency. The three are back home in Houston and undergoing rehabilitation after living and working aboard the laboratory orbiting 250 miles above Earth.

The Expedition 34 and 35 astronauts will answer questions and provide insights about life, scientific research, maintenance and spacewalks conducted during their stays on the outpost. Their life aboard the station in near-weightlessness requires different approaches to everyday activities such as eating, sleeping and exercising.

Google+ Hangouts allow as many as 10 people or groups to chat face-to-face, while thousands more can watch the conversation live on Google+ or YouTube. The hangout also will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

NASA's social media followers may submit questions on Google+ or Twitter in advance and during the event using the hashtag #askAstro. Before the hangout begins, NASA will open a thread on its Facebook page where questions may be posted. Unique and original questions are more likely to be selected.

The hangout can be viewed live on NASA's Google+ page or on the NASA Television YouTube channel. To join the hangout, and for updates and opportunities to participate in upcoming hangouts, visit the NASA's Google+ page at: http://www.google.com/+NASA

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station

To follow Marshburn and Hadfield on Twitter, visit: http://www.twitter.com/AstroMarshburn and http://www.twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield

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NASA Hosts Google+ Hangout with Recently Returned Space Station Astronauts

NASA investing in 3-D food printer for astronauts

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By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - In a scene right out of Star Trek, a Texas company is developing a 3-D food printer for astronauts to create custom meals on the fly.

With support from NASA, the firm, Systems and Materials Research Corp of Austin, intends to design, build and test a food printer that can work in space.

"This project is to demonstrate we can create and change the nutrition of the food and be able to print it in a low-gravity environment," the company's research director and lead chemist, David Irvin, told Reuters.

Three-dimensional printers create solid objects by depositing droplets of material one layer at a time.

Systems and Materials intends to create nutritionally rich, aesthetically appealing and tasty synthetic food by combining powdered proteins, starches, fats and flavors with water or oil to produce a wide array of digital recipes.

All the ingredients are designed for extremely long shelf-lives, making them suitable for long stays in space.

"The 3-D printing system will provide hot and quick food in addition to personalized nutrition, flavor and taste," the company wrote in its proposal to NASA.

"The biggest advantage of 3-D printed food technology will be zero waste, which is essential in long-distance space missions," it added.

Ultimately, the company sees food printers as a way to help feed a world population that is estimated to reach 12 billion by the end of the century. The technology may also have implications for the military.

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NASA investing in 3-D food printer for astronauts

NASA's Asteroid Mission a Dead-End to Mars?

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NASAs newly announced plan to capture an asteroid and re-position it around the moon for an astronaut visit sounds cool, but its a side-show on the road to Mars, scientists and long-time space mission managers told Congress.

To me, the connection between the asteroid retrieval mission, which involves proximity operations with a rock that would fit comfortably in this hearing room, I see no obvious connection between that and any of the technologies and capabilities required for Martian exploration, Cornell University planetary scientist Steve Squyres told the House Subcommittee on Space on Tuesday.

VIDEO: The Moon is so Damn Awesome

A better stepping-stone for human expeditions to Mars is the moon, argued Paul Spudis, senior scientist with the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.

It has partial gravity like Mars. It has a dust environment that you have to learn to deal with. You can learn how to explore and how to get the most out of the missions, Spudis said.

NASA planned to follow the space shuttle and International Space Station programs with a return to the moon, but President Obama canceled the project, known as Constellation, in 2010 due to funding shortfalls.

NASA salvaged Constellations heavy-lift rocket and deep-space Orion capsule and set about crafting a more flexible exploration initiative that would first send astronauts to an asteroid and eventually to Mars.

NEWS: NASA to Hunt Down and Capture an Asteroid

President Obamas spending plan for NASA for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 requests $105 million to begin work on a revamped asteroid mission which combines a robotic precursor spacecraft to fetch a 23- to 33-foot diameter asteroid with a follow-on expedition by astronauts.

NASA has not yet said how much the asteroid-retrieval mission would cost, but expects it would be less than the $2.65 billion estimate made last year by the California Institute of Technologys Keck Institute for Space Studies.

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NASA's Asteroid Mission a Dead-End to Mars?

Nanotechnology by NASA – Nanoscience applications in space – National nanotechnology initiative – Video

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Nanotechnology by NASA - Nanoscience applications in space - National nanotechnology initiative
Nanotechnology is being studied at Nasa #39;s Goddard Space Flight Center. Nasa has been investing in nanotechonology for a while now in order to apply nanoscien...

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Nanotechnology by NASA - Nanoscience applications in space - National nanotechnology initiative - Video