Prayer, spirituality gets the doctors' nod

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New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Hardly anyone doubts the power of prayer and almost everyone has a turnaround tale - maybe personal, or of someone else's - that credits the "miracle" to a prayer. Now while science and spirituality may not always see eye to eye, holistic treatment is now finding greater acceptance, and spirituality, among everything else, is recommended by doctors as part of the healing process.

"Spirituality as a therapeutic modality has immense potential," eminent cardiologist Ashok Seth of the Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, told IANS. "Spirituality is as much about a disciplined, balanced approach to life as about pursuit of things metaphysical. In its various manifestations, for example music and prayer, spirituality has been observed to have a considerable impact in terms of preventing diseases and promoting healing," he added.

Seth's thoughts found resonance among other experts who believe that veering towards spirituality is walking towards a well-balanced, disciplined life that ultimately promotes health.

"A religious or spiritual person tends to live a disciplined life. Waking up early for prayers, which is a form of meditation that calms your mind and de-stresses you, is beneficial for one's health. Most people who call themselves religious or spiritual live healthy lives, shun alcohol and tobacco, eat simple, and are philanthropic, which are all antidotes in today's times," opined cardiologist Rakesh Sharma.

Sharma related the example of one of his patients, Saira Sheikh, who couldn't maintain a regular exercise regime and, after some discussion, decided to turn the spiritual way, and took to praying five times a day. "Praying regularly has helped me a lot. It has calmed my mind, plus, as the doctor says, it's a good exercise that I now do regularly," Sheikh said.

Mental health expert Sameer Malhotra of Max Super Speciality hospital also stressed that spirituality helps in the healing process.

"Spirituality reaffirms faith and hope and that helps in the healing process," Malhotra told IANS. "When you have hope, you have the will to get better. It improves the quality of life."

"What doctors are saying now we have known for ages," said Ranjana Das, a 50-year-old homemaker. "My sister fought breast cancer not just with medication but also with prayers. We all prayed for her together during those initial days, calling up each other to think of her every time she underwent therapy. After the initial loss of hope, she started believing that she could become better. And she did," Das added.

What all doctors, however, add is that spirituality or any other holistic treatment can only act as add-ons to the mainline allopathic treatment. "Such therapies do help, but not in lieu of allopathy," Seth said.

(Azera Rahman can be contacted at azera.rahman@gmail.com)

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Prayer, spirituality gets the doctors' nod

International Space Station Program, Science Briefing Set

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NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a news conference and social media event at 1 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. EDT) Wednesday, May 22, to preview the upcoming Expedition 36 mission aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Television and the agency's website will carry the briefings live. Social media followers, who will be at Johnson for a NASA Social focusing on scientific research aboard the space station, will participate in the briefing and ask questions.

The International Space Station Program and Science Overview briefing will cover mission priorities and objectives. The two expeditions will involve increasing research on the orbital laboratory; up to six spacewalks (four Russian and two U.S.); arrival of the next European, Japanese and Russian cargo ships; and the maiden flight of the U.S. commercial resupply vehicle, Cygnus, from Orbital Sciences Corp.

The briefing participants are:

-- Michael Suffredini, International Space Station Program manager

-- Gary Horlacher, Expedition 36 lead flight director

-- Tara Ruttley, International Space Station Program associate program scientist

NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano are scheduled to launch to the station May 28 on a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan. They will join Expedition 36 crew members Chris Cassidy of NASA and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin, who have been aboard the station since late March.

Nyberg, Yurchikhin and Parmitano will remain in orbit until mid-November and will be joined in September by three additional crew members, Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, who will replace Vinogradov, Cassidy and Misurkin after they return to Earth in mid-September.

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

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International Space Station Program, Science Briefing Set

ESA astronaut Timothy Peake set for Space Station

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ESA's Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain, announced today that ESA astronaut Timothy Peake has been proposed to fly to the International Space Station in 2015.

The decision was taken during the meeting of the ISS Multilateral Crew Operations Panel on Friday, 17 May.

"When we recruited the six new ESA astronauts in May 2009, I made a promise to secure flight opportunities for all of them. Thanks to the decisions of the Member States at the Ministerial Council last November, we will be able to fulfil our commitment to fly all six newly selected astronauts before the end of 2017.

"The first three astronauts already had their missions assigned. Today I am very happy to announce the assignment of Timothy Peake for a mission to the International Space Station. The two remaining astronauts, Andreas Mogensen and Thomas Pesquet, will be assigned before mid-2015 for flights at the latest in 2017."

Timothy Peake will join the crew of Expedition 46/47 for six months in 2015. He will be the first British citizen to live and work on the Space Station and it will be the eighth long-duration mission for an ESA astronaut.

Timothy's classmate ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano is preparing for launch to the orbital outpost on 28 May. Timothy's mission will follow those of ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Samantha Cristoforetti, both scheduled for launch in 2014.

"The value of Europe's astronauts and the training given at the European Astronaut Centre is reflected in the large number of mission assignments awarded to ESA astronauts," notes Thomas Reiter, ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations.

A former helicopter test pilot and Major in the British Army, Timothy is thrilled with his assignment: "I am delighted to be proposed for a long-duration mission to the International Space Station. This is another important mission for Europe and in particular a wonderful opportunity for European science, industry and education to benefit from microgravity research.

"Since joining the European Astronaut Corps in 2009, I have been training to work on the Station and I am extremely grateful to the ground support teams who make it possible for us to push the boundaries of knowledge through human spaceflight and exploration."

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ESA astronaut Timothy Peake set for Space Station

Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s space station guitar built in Vancouver

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For Larrive Guitars, the publicity was quite literally out of this world, and the dollar value from it continues to add up.

Images of Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield playing its Vancouver-made Parlor guitar sparked enough interest for the company to put the model back into production for a limited edition. The company has $100,000 in orders already for the commemorative model, which will sell for about $1,200, said Matthew Larrive, general manager of the companys California shop.

The three-quarter-size travel guitar, created and manufactured in the Vancouver factory of Larrive Guitars, spins around in front of the Canadian spaceman as he sings a modified version of David Bowies Space Oddity in a YouTube video that is believed to be the first music video made in space.

The video is Hadfields farewell to outer space after five months sitting in a tin can, far above the Earth, as the first Canadian to command the International Space Station.

The five-minute video has been viewed more than 14 million times since its release on May 12. Larrive said the publicity is invaluable for his company, which was founded in 1967 in Toronto but settled on the West Coast of Canada in 1977, and since 2001 also has a factory near Los Angeles in Oxnard, Calif.

You couldnt ask for that kind of advertising, Larrive said. What Chris has done for that guitar, and for space in general, has been amazing. Chris is making space cool hes made this stuff accessible to the average person.

Hadfield, 53, has been tweeting and posting photographs of Earth and videos from space on his trip to space, which was his third and reportedly last space station visit. He touched down to Earth in Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz capsule on May 13.

Hadfield visited Larrives Vancouver shop in 2012 and said in a YouTube video filmed at that time that the guitar has made 50,000 trips around the globe.

Its cool playing a guitar in space because it floats in front of you and you dont need a strap, Hadfield says in the video. One of the weirdest things is to float around the room and bump into things as youre playing.

Hadfield said music is fundamental to the psychological well-being of astronauts, which is why NASA sought out a guitar for the ISS.

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Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s space station guitar built in Vancouver

1st British Space Station Astronaut Launching in 2015

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LONDON The first British astronaut ever to visit the International Space Station will launch in 2015 for a six-month mission that may involve spacewalks, wrangling visiting robotic spacecraft and space experiments, the UK Space Agency announced today (May 20).

European Space Agency astronaut Timothy Peake, 41, will be the first British astronaut to fly in space in 20 years when he launches aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in November 2015. His mission was unveiled at London's Science Museum today.

Peake said he is "delighted and honored" to be selected for the mission. He will serve as a flight engineer during the space station's Expedition 46 and 47 crews. The mission will be the eighth long-duration mission for an ESA astronaut. [7 Notable Space Shuttle Astronauts]

"This is another important mission for Europe and in particular a wonderful opportunity for European science, industry and education to benefit from microgravity research," Peake said in a statement. He will also represent the UK Space Agency on the mission in addition to the ESA.

In training for the mission, Peake will learn how to use the European Columbus module, U.S. Destiny and Japanese Kibo laboratories on the International Space Station. His research work could include experiments in biomedicine, human physiology and the space environment. An experiment selection process is under way, officials said.

Big mission ahead

No final decisions have been made about exactly what science and other activities, such as spacewalks, he may perform on his mission. Peake's two fellow Soyuz crewmates and the rest of his six-person crew for the expeditions also have yet to be announced. [Life in Space: An Astronaut's Video Guide]

However, space station astronauts have had to perform emergency spacewalks for unscheduled repairs and maintenance, and Peake has had the necessary training for those tasks.

I am qualified on both the Russian Orlan spacesuit and American Extra vehicular and Mobility Unit, the EMU," Peak said in response to a question from SPACE.com. "I completed that training last year in Houston. My training will continue on the American spacesuit up until launch, so I will be eligible for a spacewalk.

Peake may also have to grapple with visiting spacecraft using the space station's Canadian-built robotic arm, Canadarm2.

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1st British Space Station Astronaut Launching in 2015

Summer of Innovation (2010) DLN Webcasts – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center – Video

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Summer of Innovation (2010) DLN Webcasts - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Guest Expert: Aerospace Engineer and Hubble Space Telescope Project #39;s Extravehicular Activity Manager Russell Werneth shares the discoveries of this fantasti...

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Summer of Innovation (2010) DLN Webcasts - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Video

NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot to Visit Marshall Space Flight Center, Meet with Media

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot will visit the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., on Wednesday, May 22, to discuss the future of human space exploration and the critical role of the Space Launch System and the Marshall Center in those efforts.

Media representatives are invited to join Lightfoot from 9-9:30 a.m. CDT in Building 4705, where master machinists are using one of the world's largest multi-axis milling machines to craft the nearly 20-foot-diameter aluminum rings that will join the Orion spacecraft to the rockets that will carry it to Earth orbit and beyond.

Lightfoot was director of the Marshall Center from August 2009 through September 2012, when he became NASA's associate administrator, the agency's highest-ranking civil service position.

News media interested in attending should contact Jennifer Stanfield in the Marshall Center's Public & Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 5 p.m. CDT Tuesday, May 21.

On May 22, media must report to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center at Gate 9, Interstate 565 interchange at Rideout Road/Research Park Boulevard by 8:15 a.m. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate. News media will need two photo identifications and proof of car insurance.

For a bio of NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/lightfoot_bio.html

For more information on the Marshall Space Flight Center, visit us on the Web: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall

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NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot to Visit Marshall Space Flight Center, Meet with Media

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Names Irma Burden Director of Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA'S Marshall Space Flight Center has named Irma C. Burden director of the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity. In the position, which she assumed April 1, she is responsible for managing, planning, directing and implementing a comprehensive equal opportunity program for the Marshall Center.

Burden comes to Marshall after a 31-year career with the Department of the Navy, during which she held a number of positions. Most recently, she served as command deputy for the Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Officer for the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., directing a program that included more than 55,000 employees in 37 field activities throughout the United States.

Burden's wide range of experience with equal employment matters also includes 12 years as deputy Equal Employment Officer at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, Fla.

"We are pleased and fortunate that Irma Burden will be bringing her wealth of experience advancing diversity and equal opportunity to our program," said Marshall Space Flight Center Director Patrick Scheuerman.

Throughout her career, Burden has promoted equal employment within the government. She expanded the Naval Surface Warfare Center's black employment program into the African American Leadership Council and, as the council's founding president, established an awards recognition program for African Americans in pioneering careers at the center. Burden also established a process for ensuring diversity in senior-level positions at the Naval Sea Systems Command.

Burden earned a master's degree in counseling and psychology from Troy University in Troy, Ala., and a bachelor's degree in human services from Alabama State University in Montgomery. She grew up in Salitpa, Ala., and is a graduate of Jackson High School in Jackson, Ala.

Burden has completed the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Executive Leadership Program, programs at the Brookings Institution, the Leadership Development Program at the University of Maryland, the Dale Carnegie Course and other leadership programs.

She is the author of a number of articles promoting equality of opportunity and the value of human service, and served on the 103rd Congressional Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee chaired by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. During that special assignment, Burden also supported a health care reform conference at Tufts University in Boston.

Burden received numerous awards for her Department of the Navy service, including the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award. She also received special recognition at the 14th Annual Women of Color Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, Conference in 2009 for her support of STEM efforts.

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NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Names Irma Burden Director of Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity