NASA Might Explore Venus With Stingray-Like Spacecraft – International Business Times

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NASA might explore Venus and its dark side using a unique probe that looks and moves like a stingray. According to the developers of the spacecraft, the probe will be equipped with wings that flap like a stingrays pectoral fins.

Although Venus is one of Earths closest neighbors, not much is known about the planet. Unlike other planets such as Mars, Venuss hostile environment and atmospheric conditions make it challenging to be explored by a probe.

This could all change through an innovative spacecraft currently being developed by the University of Buffalos Crashworthiness for Aerospace Structures and Hybrids (CRASH) Laboratory.

Its proposed probe, known as the Bio-Inspired Ray for Extreme Environments and Zonal Explorations (BREEZE) was selected by NASA as part of its Innovated Advanced Concepts. This program provides funding for exceptional technologies that can be used for space exploration.

According to the scientists of CRASH, BREEZE will serve as a unique spacecraft due to its morphing abilities. Unlike traditional planetary probes, BREEZE will be equipped with wings that will allow it to fly and glide like a stingray in the water.

The scientists explained that through these wings, which can morph depending on the situation, the probe will have various mechanical capabilities such as thrust, additional lift and stability. They noted that these are important factors when it comes to navigating through Venuss harsh conditions.

Javid Bayandor, the projects lead investigator and director of the CRASH Lab, explained that BREEZEs unique nature-inspired design will allow the probe to take advantage of the powerful winds in Venus upper atmosphere. It will also provide scientists with perfect control of the probe during its mission.

By taking our cues from nature, specifically sea rays, were looking to maximize flight efficiency, Bayandor said in a statement. The design will allow for a so-far unattained degree of control for such a spacecraft that would be subject to severe zonal and meridional winds on the planet.

According to CRASH Labs scientists, BREEZEs mission will involve navigating Venus every four to six days to monitor the planets weather patterns, atmospheric conditions and volcanic activity. It will be able to do so continuously through its solar-powered design.

Venus is closer to the sun than Earth and looks scorched today, but scientists suggest its surface may have once had enough protection from clouds to stay cool enough to have a water ocean. Photo: NASA/JPL

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NASA Might Explore Venus With Stingray-Like Spacecraft - International Business Times

UAE to reveal next space mission soon, officials say – Gulf News

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Hazzaa Al Mansoori, Emirati Astronaut, during the press conference at Dubai Government of Media Office in Dubai. 12th November 2019. Photo: Ahmed Ramzan/ Gulf News Image Credit:

Dubai: UAE is already working on plans for its next space mission, it was announced during the first press conference of Emirati astronaut Hazzaa Al Mansoori after his historic maiden space flight in September.

Tuesdays press conference at Dubai Press Club was also addressed by Salem Al Merri, head of the UAE Astronaut Programme, and Sultan Al Neyadi, who was the back-up Emirati astronaut for UAE Mission 1 to the International Space Station (ISS).

When asked about whats next after the first UAE mission, Al Merri said were working on our plans and will soon announce it.

In October, Al Merri was quoted by SpaceNews.com as saying: Were now considering and opening up the [astronaut] selection process again and selecting one or two more [astronauts], and adding them to our first selection group.

Al Merri had also said, according to Spacenews.com, our target is that, in the next three to five years, weve started our next flight.

On Tuesday, Al Merri said training and preparation remained a major part of an astronauts life, so thats definelty what we have planned for [Al Neyadi and Al Mansoori] going forward, very in-depth training, looking for the next missions, and thats what well be working on and announcing as we start progressing.

On Tuesday, Al Mansoori, a fighter pilot, said there was a possibility of him returning to space. He explained that he had asked Al Merri, during his interview when he had applied for the mission, if the programme was sustainable.

Because as a pilot, Im changing my career, and its difficult to come back to being a pilot after this duration of being out of it. So it was my concern, is it a continuous programme; am I going to go only once or twice or three times.

And [Al Merri] said its a sustainable programme; and youre going [again] maybe in the future; it depends on your preparation and your health, Al Mansoori said.

He added that he and Al Neyadi will share our knowledge and amazing experience with everyone through outreach events, especially in the UAE and the region, focusing on their journey from selection to training, and Al Mansooris ISS mission.

So this is our next mission, until the next announcement for the next mission, and it will be announced from higher positions.

Al Neyadi, an engineer, also said in the future probably well have more missions.

Al Neyadi added: For the time being, one part of the mission has been accomplished, which is reaching space and coming back. The other part is to have an outreach, talk to the people, visit conferences and schools and universities and share the knowledge, and in the future probably well have more missions.

These kinds of missions need preparations and proper communication with counterparts like [US space agency] NASA and [Russian space agency] Roscosmos and other agencies. So I think its going to be a very exciting time in the near future.

Al Merri, who is assistant director general of Dubais Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre, said the UAE will in July 2020 launch its unmanned spacecraft, called Hope, to Mars. The probe, the first from the Arab world, will study the Martian atmosphere in unprecedented detail.

Also, in October 2020, Dubai will host the 71st edition of the International Astronautical Congress, marking the first time it will be held in the Arab world.

I think were lucky in the UAE, this is a golden age for space exploration, Al Merri said.

(Left to Right)Sultan Al Neyadi, Emirati Astronaut, and Hazzaa Al Mansoori, Emirati Astronaut, during the press conference at Dubai Government of Media Office in Dubai. 12th November 2019. Photo: Ahmed Ramzan/ Gulf News Image Credit:

Media representatives durinng the press conference by Salem AL Marri, Head of the UAE Astronaut Programme, Sultan Al Neyadi, Emirati Astronaut, Hazzaa Al Mansoori, Emirati Astronaut, and Saud Karmustaji, director of communications at MBRSC, at Dubai Government of Media Office in Dubai. 12th November 2019. Photo: Ahmed Ramzan/ Gulf News Image Credit:

(Left to Right)Salem AL Marri, Head of the UAE Astronaut Programme, Sultan Al Neyadi, Emirati Astronaut, Hazzaa Al Mansoori, Emirati Astronaut, and Saud Karmustaji, director of communications at MBRSC, during the press conference at Dubai Government of Media Office in Dubai. 12th November 2019. Photo: Ahmed Ramzan/ Gulf News Image Credit:

Hazzaa Al Mansoori, Emirati Astronaut, during the press conference at Dubai Government of Media Office in Dubai. 12th November 2019. Photo: Ahmed Ramzan/ Gulf News Image Credit:

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UAE to reveal next space mission soon, officials say - Gulf News

NASA Instrument to Probe Planet Clouds on European Mission – NASA Exoplanet Exploration and Discovery

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NASA will contribute an instrument to a European space mission that will explore the atmospheres of hundreds of planets orbiting stars beyond our Sun, or exoplanets, for the first time.

The instrument, called the Contribution to ARIEL Spectroscopy of Exoplanets, or CASE, adds scientific capabilities to ESA's (the European Space Agency's) Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey, or ARIEL, mission.

The ARIEL spacecraft with CASE on board is expected to launch in 2028. CASE will be managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, with JPL astrophysicist Mark Swain as the principal investigator.

"I am thrilled that NASA will partner with ESA in this historic mission to push the envelope in our understanding of what the atmospheres of exoplanets are made of, and how these planets form and evolve," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "The more information we have about exoplanets, the closer we get to understanding the origins of our solar system, and advancing our search for Earth-like planets elsewhere."

So far, scientists have found more than 4,000 confirmed exoplanets in the Milky Way. NASA's retired Kepler space telescope and active Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) are two observatories that have contributed to this count. These telescopes have discovered planets by observing brightness of a star's light dimming as a planet crosses its face, an event called a "transit." ARIEL, carrying CASE, will take planet-hunting through transits one step further, by delving deeper into planets already known to exist.

ARIEL will be able to see the chemical fingerprints, or "spectra," of a planet's atmosphere in the light of its star. To do this, the spacecraft will observe starlight streaming through the atmospheres of planets as they pass in front their stars, as well as light emitted by the planets' atmospheres just before and after they disappear behind their stars. These fingerprints will allow scientists to study the compositions, temperatures, and chemical processes in the atmospheres of the planets ARIEL observes.

These chemical fingerprints of exoplanet atmospheres are extremely faint. Identifying them is a huge challenge for astronomers, and requires a telescope to stare at individual stars for a long time. But many space observatories are multi-purpose, and must split up their time among different kinds of scientific investigations. ARIEL will be the first spacecraft fully devoted to observing hundreds of exoplanet atmospheres, looking to identify their contents, temperatures and chemical processes. The addition of CASE, which will observe clouds and hazes, will provide a more comprehensive picture of the exoplanet atmospheres ARIEL observes.

So far, telescopes have only been able to carefully probe the atmospheres of a handful of exoplanets to determine their chemistries. ARIEL's much larger, more diverse sample will enable scientists to look at these worlds not just as individual exotic objects, but as a population, and discover new trends in their commonalities and differences.

The CASE instrument will be sensitive to light at near-infrared wavelengths, which is invisible to human eyes, as well as visible light. This complements ARIEL's other instrument, called an infrared spectrometer, which operates at longer wavelengths. CASE will specifically look at exoplanets' clouds and hazes - determining how common they are, as well how they influence the compositions and other properties of planetary atmospheres. CASE will also allow measurements of each planet's albedo, the amount of light the planet reflects.

The spacecraft will focus on exceptionally hot planets in our galaxy, with temperatures greater than 600 degrees Fahrenheit (320 degrees Celsius). Such planets are more likely to transit their star than planets orbiting farther out, and their short orbital periods provide more opportunities to observe transits in a given period of time. More transits give astronomers more data, allowing them to reveal the weak chemical fingerprint of a planet's atmosphere.

ARIEL's hot planet population will include gas giants like Jupiter, as well as smaller gaseous planets called mini-Neptunes and rocky worlds bigger than our planet called super-Earths. While these planets are too hot to host life as we know it, they will tell us a lot about how planets and planetary systems form and evolve. Additionally the techniques and insights learned in studying exoplanets with ARIEL and CASE will be useful when scientists use future telescopes to look toward smaller, colder, rockier worlds with conditions that more closely resemble Earth's.

The CASE instrument consists of two detectors and associated electronics that contribute to ARIEL's guidance system. CASE takes advantage of the same detectors and electronics that NASA is contributing to ESA's Euclid mission, which will probe deep questions about the structure of the universe and its two biggest mystery components: dark matter and dark energy.

The ARIEL spacecraft with CASE on board will be in the same orbit as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which is expected to launch in 2021. Both will travel some 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth to a special point of gravitational stability called Lagrange Point 2. This location allows the spacecraft to circle the Sun along with the Earth, while using little fuel to maintain its orbit.

While Webb will also be capable of studying exoplanet atmospheres, and its instruments cover a similar range of light as ARIEL, Webb will target a smaller sample of exoplanets to study in greater detail. Because Webb's time will be divided, shared with investigations into other aspects of the universe, it will deliver detailed knowledge about particular exoplanets rather than surveying hundreds. ARIEL will launch several years after Webb, so it will be able to capitalize on lessons learned from Webb in terms of planning observations and selecting which planets to study.

"This is an exciting time for exoplanet science as we look toward the next generation of space telescopes and instruments," said Paul Hertz, director of the astrophysics division at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "CASE adds to an exceptional set of technologies that will help us better understand our place in the galaxy."

CASE is an Astrophysics Explorers Mission of Opportunity, managed by JPL. The Astrophysics Explorers Program is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

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NASA Instrument to Probe Planet Clouds on European Mission - NASA Exoplanet Exploration and Discovery

UNC Alumna And Astronaut Trainee Zena Cardman Revels In The Poetry Of Outer Space – WUNC

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Zena Cardman knew she might not have another opportunity to pursue poetry. She was about to dive into graduate research on microbiology in extreme environments when she put that plan on ice, and opted to write a poetry collection for her undergraduate thesis at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Host Anita Rao talks with UNC alumna and astronaut trainee Zena Cardman.

She paired that love of investigation and art to receive a masters in marine science with a minor in creative writing. An extremophile, Cardman was naturally attracted to space exploration, and in 2017 she beat the odds was accepted into that years class of NASA astronaut candidates. Now flying supersonic jets, backpacking through the canyons of Utah and practicing her dexterity with the International Space Stations robotic arm, Cardman uses her artistry to share the experience. She has an affinity for fine-tuned mechanics that is as clear in her poetry as it is in her Etch a Sketch portraits and the automotive repair videos featured on her Instagram.

Host Anita Rao talks with Zena Cardman about the scientific and philosophical importance of the International Space Station and returning to the moon. Astronaut candidate Zena Cardman speaks at UNC-Chapel Hills Memorial Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

On transitioning from scientist to astronaut:

I was a microbiologist by training and got to go to all of these far-flung places like the Arctic and Antarctica, and I loved the science there. But I equally loved the operational side: The logistics of planning for how you go to these places that are so wild and remote and then working in these tight-knit groups of people who are all there for one cause. And I just thought that the space program seems like the ultimate field research. So when the application opened in 2015 I think in December it was actually the first time that I met the bare minimum requirements. And I thought, you know, I'll try this out, see how it goes. It'll be a good test drive, and I'll apply again the next time.

On balancing her creative and logical strengths:

I love existing in both worlds I think they've actually both guided me in the same direction. Science for me is very much about exploring our world, our universe and figuring out how things work and what our place is here. And also writing is about exploring our world and our universe and our place in it. So I think it's really approaching the same questions just from slightly different angles.

On the best part of astronaut training:

It's different every day. I have no standard schedule. Our training is everything from learning Russian language to learning how to operate the robotic arm all of the engineering systems onboard the Space Station. We learn how to do spacewalks. We put on the spacesuit in a giant swimming pool.

It's called the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, a little bit outside of Johnson Space Center. You know, it's hard to train for being in a weightless environment when you're here on Earth, obviously, but a swimming pool is a great way to do that. If you've ever been underwater, you feel like you're floating. And so we can take these 300-plus pound space suits [with] a combination of styrofoam and weights placed all around. It's this amazing art form. These scuba divers come and do this, and they weigh you out in just a way that you're perfectly neutrally buoyant in every axis... It's really cool. But even cooler to me is that we also have a life size mock-up of the space station underwater in this pool.

I haven't had a scary moment per se. I think sometimes, for me, the scariest moments are doing public speaking. - Zena Cardman

On what she expects to do as an astronaut:

My class is about to graduate, but we have no idea what vehicle will be flying on, and to me, that's actually one of the most exciting things. You know, it could be that we fly on a Soyuz, like we've been flying for the last several years as NASA astronauts, but we also have these commercial vehicles that are coming online now And we also have the new Artemis mission. We are going to the moon in 2024, and that is such a wild thrill to be in an office where I am working with the people who will go to the moon.

On the continued importance of space exploration:

All of the research that we do in space has huge implications for life on Earth. We have satellites that are observing our weather and helping you get to work in the morning with your GPS. We do research on the space station about bone density loss, and that, of course, is relevant for astronauts who are up there for a long time, but it's also valuable for osteoporosis on Earth ... Apollo was a really audacious goal ... We had to do things like make computers smaller and more robust, and so that drove development of the integrated circuit. And now you have a cell phone that has as much computing power as the Apollo program did. It's amazing. So I think I don't even know what benefits well get from it. But by setting these goals, it will ultimately drive some incredible discoveries.

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UNC Alumna And Astronaut Trainee Zena Cardman Revels In The Poetry Of Outer Space - WUNC

What It Takes to be a Space Pilot – The Crux – Discover Magazine

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Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo. The craft is flown by human pilots to space. (Credit: Steve Mann/Shutterstock)

Taking control of a 3,000-pound rocket motor launching into an inhospitable environment at speeds exceeding 2,000 mph sounds terrifying to some. But others will spend their whole careers in pursuit of those ephemeral, weightless moments.

With the expansion of commercial space exploration, more pilots will be needed to guide spacecraft beyond the bounds of Earth. These pilots come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common: lots of flying experience. Heres a look at what it takes to become a space pilot.

Flying into space is a coveted job. That demand means companies are able to choose the most qualified pilots. And at the top of the list of qualifications: hours in flight.

The more experience you have, the more likely you are to have encountered situations that are more challenging, says David Mackay, chief pilot for Virgin Galactic.

Read more: Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo Just Made Its Second Trip to Space

Being able to handle those unexpected situations could mean the difference between life or death if something goes wrong with the spacecraft. Most commercial space pilots start out as test pilots airplane pilots specially trained to test out new and experimental aircraft. Mackay himself spent nearly a decade as a test pilot for the Royal Air Force before joining Virgin Atlantic part of the Virgin Group that runs Virgin Galactic in 1995.

Similarly, Mike Melvill spent decades as a test pilot before launching into space. In fact, Melvill started out building planes before he learned to fly them. Only later did he graduate to work as a test pilot after catching the eye of Burt Rutan, founder of spaceflight company Scaled Composites.

It only happened because I met Burt, and he saw that I built a plane accurately and it flew very well, Melvill recalls. He flew it himself and he then trained me himself to be a test pilot of his aircraft.

Melvill would go on to pilot Virgins SpaceShipOne, making the first commercial flight into space in 2004. But Melvills story is unique.

I dont know anyone else who went the path I went. Norecollection of anybody who was lucky enough to get to do what I did, Melvillsays.

Typically, test pilots receive their training through the military, as Mackay did. On top of that, they spend countless days in flight simulators to prepare future commercial space pilots for all conceivable situations.

As we approach the flight day itself, [the pilots] will be in the in the simulator every day, sometimes twice a day, doing repeated profiles, Mackay says. In the airline industry, typically youre in the simulator every six months, and were in it on a daily basis.

Theres no drivers-license equivalent for commercial space pilots, but there is some limited government oversight. In 1984, as the commercial space industry started taking off, the government formed the Office of Commercial Space Transportation. Today the offices main job is to review and approve commercial rocket launches. It also requires informed consent of anyone flying into space.

Its somewhat akin to going to a doctors office. The doctor informs you of all the known risks associated with the particular procedure or operation and once the patient has been informed of that, some documentation is signed and then the procedure proceeds, said Kelvin Coleman, the Federal Aviation Administrations deputy associate administrator for commercial space transportation. We ensure that consultation is made, and that documentation is in place before those space flight participants and crew members can fly.

For commercial space pilots who have successfully completed an authorized flight into space defined in the U.S. as 50 miles above Earths surface, where effects like weightlessness become apparent the Office of Commercial Space Transportation recognizes their achievements with Astronaut Wings. To date, seven commercial astronauts have received the wings; those flying under government programs, including NASA, arent eligible for them.

While VirginGalactic plans to continue having pilots aboard their spacecraft, somecompanies, like SpaceX and Blue Origin, are opting to forgo humans forautomated systems. But for those who will continue with live pilotsbehind the controls, test pilots will likely continue to fill their ranks.

Were in a test program and, you know, it makes completesense to have test pilots working on an aircraft that is still in the testprogram, Mackay said. Maybe one day we dont need test pilots and on theother hand there are an awful lot of [pilots] who are really interested indoing this. And you know, why not get the most experienced and best-qualifiedpilots you possibly can?

Aside from flight experience and the ability to communicate clearly with a large team, a commercial space pilot also needs another crucial attribute: a passion for the job.

One of the most important things, of course, is that wewant somebody who is highly motivated and really keen to see the projectsucceed. And a good team player, it takes a big team of people to make thiswork, Mackay said.

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What It Takes to be a Space Pilot - The Crux - Discover Magazine

Satellite built by students soars to space on mission to map heat in Phoenix, other cities – AZCentral

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An Antares rocket blasts off from the launchpad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Nov. 2, 2019. The rocket sent the Cygnus spacecraft on a resupply journey to the International Space Station, carrying a payload that included seven small satellites made by students at U.S. universities.(Photo: Vivek Chacko/Arizona State University)

As the countdown began at NASAs Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, a crowd of engineers and scientists stood on bleachers in the sun, looking out across a grassy field and wetlands at a rocket on the launchpad.

Mission control announced: T-minus 10, 9, 8 The onlookers joined in, counting loudly: 3, 2, 1.

Smoke billowed from the launchpad and the rocket rose atop a column of white fire.

Liftoff of Antares, the voice from mission control said, and the crowd whooped and cheered.

On the bleachers, a group of nine young engineers and computer scientists watched the rocket until it disappeared into the blue sky. They hugged each other, elated at their achievement.

The group, all of them students or recent graduates of Arizona State University, built a miniature research satellite named Phoenix that launchedinto space aboard anAntares rocket headed for the International Space Station. The students creation weighs just 8.6 pounds and is about the size of a loaf of bread 12 inches long by 4 inches wide.

They designed the mini-satellite, known as a CubeSat, to study the urban heat islandeffect in Phoenix and six other cities across the country. They hope that by capturing infrared thermal images of the cities,the satellitewill generate block-by-block data on heat trends, which could help urban planners design cooler cityscapes to withstand the effects as the world continues to heat up due to the burning of fossil fuels.

Students Sarah Rogers, Vivek Chacko and Raj Biswas discuss testing an electrical interface board for the Phoenix CubeSat in a lab at Arizona State University.(Photo: Yegor Zenkov/Arizona State University)

Four years ago, the students wrote a proposal to build the satellite and obtained $200,000 in NASA funding. A total of about 80 undergraduate students took part in the project. Many of them spent long hours designing the spacecraft, piecing together the components, testing its systems, and writing code to make it all work.

For the core group who continued working on the CubeSat after graduating, the Nov. 2 launch was a milestone to celebrate.

It was probably the most memorable experience Ive ever had in my life, Sarah Rogers, the 22-year-old project manager, said.I shed a couple of tears of joy as I was watching it go up.

The rocket sent a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft soaring into orbit to resupply the space station. Along with the Phoenix satellite and other cargo, the spacecraft delivered six other CubeSats made by students at other universities.

The Phoenix CubeSat will remain aboard the space station until mid-January when its scheduled to deploy into orbit and begin using its infrared camera to capture thermal images of Phoenix and other cities.

Many other satellites are circling the Earth recording images, but almost all of them look at the visible spectrum of light or near-infrared, which helps scientists study vegetation. Thermal images arent as common.

From left to right, student Vivek Chacko, Assistant Professor Danny Jacobs, student Sarah Rogers, and Professor Judd Bowman pose with the Phoenix spacecraft at Arizona State University before the satellite was delivered to be launched into space.(Photo: Vivek Chacko/Arizona State University)

The idea for the satellitewas suggested to the students by Judd Bowman, a professor in the School Of Earth and Space Exploration who is the principal investigator and faculty sponsor of the project.When the students started working on the project, many of them were freshmen just starting to study engineering or computer science.

They began as a team with a lot of excitement but no experience, Danny Jacobs, an assistant professor and faculty adviser on the project, said.The most important thing to come out of this mission are the 80 students that worked on it.

Jacobs said the project is ambitious, and the delivery of the satellite in August was a major success.

Once the spacecraftis in orbit, it will produce heat maps that show trends at the neighborhood level and over time, providing valuable data that city planners will be able to put to use, Jacobs said.

In addition to focusing on Phoenix, the plan is for the satellite to gather thermal images of Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Baltimore and Minneapolis.

Alongside the rises in global temperatures unleashed byclimate change, urban heat islands add to hotter conditions in cities. The vast areas that are paved over with concrete and asphalt soak up the suns heat, and then radiate it at night, pushing temperatures higher.

Extreme summer heat has long been part of life in Phoenix, which is the countys hottest major city. But climate change and the heat island effect are combining to drive temperatures to new highs.

The number of record-hot summer days has risen dramatically in the past decade. Nights have also grown warmer. And heat-associated deaths in the Phoenix area are on the rise, reaching a record of 182 deaths reported in Maricopa County last year.

Long-term strategies for combatting heat in cities range from installing cool roofs that reflect more sunlight to planting trees to give neighborhoods more shade.

Rogers and other members of the ASU team hope that data collected by the satellite will help guide decisions about these sorts of remedies by capturing block-by-block images showing areas that are hotter or cooler.

RECORD HIGH: Heat deaths in Phoenix reached a record high in 2018

Working in a lab at Arizona State University, students discuss how satellite components will connect with each other.(Photo: Yegor Zenkov/Arizona State University)

The students worked on the satellite in a lab in the basement of ASUs Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 4.

Rogers, who was born and raised in Tempe, majored in aerospace engineering and had joined the Sun Devil Satellite Laboratory during her freshman year in 2015. That fall, she and other students got word from Bowman that NASA was offering grants allowing undergraduates to take on projects such as building CubeSats.

Bowman recruited some students to work on the design and others to start analyzing the science side of the project. Rogers took on the job of project manager.

In April 2016, the team learned that they would receive NASA funding. They started selecting off-the-shelf components, buying two of each so they would have an engineering model and spare parts to draw from if needed.

The students designed and built the satellite's structure, as well as interface ports for data and power, Rogers said.

They encountered challenges in deciphering how to integrate the parts, and in staying on track with the timeline. They developed lab procedures for working with the hardware to make sure they werent damaging anything as they assembled the satellite.

Rogers graduated in May with her bachelors degree and stayed on this fall to start a masters degree program in aerospace engineering at ASU.

Student Sarah Rogers holds the miniature satellite Phoenix, which she and other students built at Arizona State University.(Photo: School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University)

Last summer, she and other students focused on the finishing touches, often working late into the night taking apart the pieces and putting them back together, and finishing the software. Rogers said she usually arrived at the lab at 7 a.m. and worked until midnight.

In August, Rogers and fellow teammate Vivek Chacko flew to Houston to hand-deliver the spacecraft.

The students are now preparing for the next phase, which will involve operating the satellite from a station on the ASU campus in Tempe.

Phoenixs infrared camera is equipped with a lens that will capture 68 meters per pixel, allowing the satellite to make thermal images down to a resolution showing city blocks.

Some of the students created detailed maps of each city dividing the landscape into 17 climate zones, ranging from compact low-rise to open mid-rise to scattered trees.

Once the team gets thermal images from space, they plan to overlay them on the climate-zone maps to analyze what theyre seeing. They also plan to check temperatures recorded in the thermal images against on-the-ground measurements.

What we plan to do is analyze how the makeup of our urban infrastructure itself is contributing to having warmer areas, Rogers said. She said the results should help show how we can either adjust building materials or adjust the layout of the urban infrastructure to make our cities a lot more sustainable for future generations.

Mission manager Jake Cornish of the company Nanoracks checks that the Phoenix CubeSat, which was built by students at Arizona State University, is sized correctly to be deployed from the International Space Station.(Photo: Vivek Chacko/Arizona State University)

They calculate that the satellitewill be in space for two years before it reenters the atmosphere and burns up. They hope itwill function for at least a year to study changes during the four seasons.

Once Rogers and her team analyze the data, they intend to present the information to city planners.

Our mission is novel, and the way that were studying the urban heat island effect itself is also still relatively new within the scientific community, Rogers said. So, were really excited to get data back and start analyzing it.

She said with the effects of climate change worsening in recent years, one of her teams main goals has been to build a piece of technology that will enable cities to pinpoint actions that can help combat heat.

COULD PHOENIX BE NEXT?: L.A. installs off-white streets to beat heat.

For now, Phoenix has been placed inside a deployer pod on the space station. Sometime in January, astronauts plan to deploy the CubeSatinto orbit. If all goes as planned, a door will pop open and a spring will eject the satelliteinto space.

Rogers and her colleagues are looking forward to watching a NASA livestream as the satellite tumbles off into space a motion that will slow and stop once the control system kicks in.

For now, the team has been sharing a video that Rogers classmate Trevor Bautista recorded of the rocket thundering into the sky in Virginia.

It feels so incredible to know that Phoenix is soon going to be able to do everything that weve designed it to do, and really make a difference, Rogers said. Honestly, I just feel over the moon.

In fact, Rogers said shes inspired by NASAs plans for returning to the moon with astronauts. And the Phoenix CubeSat mission has helped her prepare for the next phase of her space career.

She said her goal is to work as a systems engineer on other missions, building spacecraft to study planets and enable humans to learn more about the universe.

Reach reporter Ian James at ian.james@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8246. Follow him on Twitter: @ByIanJames

Support local journalism:Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and at OurGrandAZ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Satellite built by students soars to space on mission to map heat in Phoenix, other cities - AZCentral

CyberSat Sees Dueling Views of Russia as Partner, Adversary in Space – Via Satellite

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DIA Director Lt. General Robert Ashley giving his keynote at CyberSat 2019. Photo: Shaun Waterman/Via Satellite

When it comes to outer space, Russia is both a partner and an adversary for the U.S., a duality made clear by two very different keynotes at Thursdays CyberSat 2019 conference.

NASA CIO Renne Wynn cheerily highlighted the ways the two nations cooperate in space Russia has a module on the International Space Station (ISS) and provides the launch capabilities that keep ISS supplied. But Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley grimly noted that Russian military theory sees space supremacy as the key to victory in military conflicts on the ground, at sea and in the air.

Russia understands that the ability to degrade or deny U.S. space capabilities will offer forces an advantage not just in space itself but in traditional war-fighting environments, he said. Their military thinkers believe that the ability to achieve space supremacy will be a decisive factor in future conflicts, he added.

That understanding, he explained, underpinned a 2015 military reorganization Moscow undertook to put space, aerospace and air defense into a single entity. Russian officials said that move was prompted by a shift in the center of gravity (of military power) towards the aerospace sphere, Ashley added.

That shift is driven in part by the increasing reliance of the U.S. and other militaries on commercial satellite capabilities, meaning that non-military satellites would be targeted in any conflict, he said.

Russia was developing ground-based mobile missiles with the capability to destroy satellites in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) which would become operational within the next few years, he said. He added that they were also working on directed energy weapons intended to target satellites and their sensors.

Russia was also developing orbital technologies with inherent dual use capabilities, such as a satellite that could maneuver to inspect and repair other satellites on orbit. Certainly its easy to imagine the dual use capabilities of such technology, he said.

But DIAs role was to ensure policymakers didnt have to use their imaginations, Ashley said. Its our responsibility to provide an understanding of what theyre investing in, what theyre capable of, (and) what they intend to use those capabilities for: How they will fight us.

Moscow believes that developing counter-space weapons will help deter space-based adversaries and, if that deterrence failed, would offer flexible escalation options to Russias leaders, Ashley said.

But those same leaders, Wynn said, were committed to peacefully exploring space with the U.S. as a partner.

The Russian approach to space exploration is a place where our countries continue to thrive in terms of a relationship, she said. Space is a place where geopolitics seems to get left behind because our innate desire as humans to explore takes over, she added.

Two years ago, during a very tense point in our relations, Wynn said she visited Russia, and despite the prevailing tensions, got the red carpet treatment even as diplomats and other U.S. officials were being frozen out. Because I was representing NASA and space exploration, I was treated differently than other federal government employees, she said, because space is viewed as a place where we stay together.

At the same time, she acknowledged, those joint operations like the launches of NASA space assets from Russias Baikanor Cosmodrome presented cybersecurity risks that had to be mitigated.

My IT is in Baikanor, she said, noting that NASA used a Russian data center there. Our data are moving in and out of that country and riding their stuff.

You have to understand your network topology, where your data are going and you just put in mitigations to ensure that if they pick up anything in transport, you strip it off in transport, she said, adding that the mitigations included gates, monitoring and other things she couldnt discuss in an unclassified setting.

Some observers at the event were unimpressed by Wynns comments. Bob Gourley, a technologist and entrepreneur who was previously the CTO of DIA, dinged his former agency, saying they should be doing more to help NASA secure their IT systems against foreign state hackers and cyberspies. Who is briefing (NASA) on the cyber threats? he asked, Someone needs to be providing intelligence support.

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The Best Place to Train Astronauts Exists on Earth, But Not Where You’d Think – VICE UK

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This article originally appeared on VICE Italy.

Could heading deep into the bowels of the earth help train us for life on other planets? This is the idea behind the CAVES (Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance Skills surely the furthest reach an acronym has made in decades) programme, led by the European Space Agency (ESA). The project sends astronauts to live in a cave for six days, with the task of exploring, mapping and conducting scientific experiments and coming back in one piece.

Its whats known as an analogue mission: one carried out on earth to simulate space travel. Immersed in an entirely alien environment, astronauts improve their communication and problem-solving skills and test the tools and technologies they will use in future missions. The long-term goal of CAVES is to lay the foundations for future exploration of the Moon, and, going a bit further, Mars. Caves welcome and protect us: the thinking goes that they will be our first home when we arrive on other planets.

The astronauts climb the walls of the Divaka Jama caves. Image: ESA by A Romeo

The sixth CAVES simulation was completed in September, and took place for the first time in Slovenias Divaka Jama cave, just a few kilometres from the Italian border and 250 metres underground at its deepest point. Six astronauts from five different space agencies lived for six days and six nights in total darkness, at six degrees Celsius and 100 percent humidity.

I had this idea for preparing astronauts to become efficient and reliable members of long-duration flights and explorations,'' says ESA astronaut trainer Loredana Bessone, the brains behind CAVES. I wanted something that allowed me to replicate that particular condition of stress.

The astronauts setting up base camp. Image: ESA by A Romeo

Calling it a simulation is a bit of an understatement. The cave is real and the risks are real, says Bessone. Astronauts have to learn how to cope with the fear.

The cavenauts werent entirely alone in their mission. They were supported albeit from a distance by a group of real speleologists, people who study caves. The logistics of the whole operation were managed by the start up Miles Beyond, which specialises in providing support in extreme environments. Outside the cave we had a team of 25 people ready to intervene, says Tullio Bernabei, a speleology professor and member of Miles Beyond.

The astronauts of the sixth CAVES mission exploring the Divaka Jama caves in Slovenia. Image: ESA by A Romeo

On the 25th of September, the six cavenauts emerged, looking a bit rough from their time underground. The next day, with the sun shining in Divaka Jama, most of them wore sunglasses to protect themselves from the intense light, and hide the signs of a week of extreme training. I was one of the people gathered there to hear what it was like.

Astronaut Joshua Kutryk (middle) using sampling tools before the mission. Image: ESA by A Romeo

VICE: Had you been down into a cave before? Joshua: Kutryk: No, this was my first time. The environment is very dangerous and for many of us it was something completely new. It was great training and it really is as challenging as they describe it.

How did you find the environment? Was it really so alienating? A cave is a great place to experience that prolonged sense of isolation. Even reaching the starting point of the mission, where we set up base camp, was really difficult because we had to go down tens and tens of metres. It took a lot of rope, time and work even just to get started. Its during these simulations that we understand how even the smallest mistake can have terrible effects.

Did you have to protect yourselves from bats?[Laughs] No! Theres no bats that deep down. But there are forms of microscopic life that are definitely fascinating.

Astronaut Alexander Gerst from the ESA during the mission. Image: ESA by A Romeo

VICE: Youre laying the foundations for future extraterrestrial settlements. The future seems both very far and very near. Mars and the Moon have many caves. They are much wider than the ones on Earth up to a kilometre wide and hundreds deep. Imagine what that means you could build a city for hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. It sounds crazy, but its true.

On earth we think of caves as a hostile environment, only because we have the luxury of having an atmosphere that suits us. On other planets, however, caves will be the best places to live. We will have to explore them and to do so we must prepare now.

NASA astronaut Joe Acaba (right) during the mission in Slovenia. Image: ESA by A Romeo

VICE: You look really tired. How did it go? Joe Acaba: Great. CAVES is by far one of the best analogue missions out there to prepare for space travel. You learn to manage your equipment and you understand to what extent your life and that of your team depends on the support of everybody involved.

Did you get any sleep? Definitely. The days were long, the cave was freezing and once I got into my sleeping bag, I fell asleep in a matter of seconds. But we were in a cave, so if someone started to snore, the echo was really loud!

Will you go to the lunar caves? I dont know when I will go back into space. Ive been three times, the last in 2018. But I get really excited thinking about the future, when humanity will go back to the Moon.

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps during the mission. Image: ESA by V Crobu

VICE: You took part in NEEMO [the NASA analogue mission set in a submarine station] and became a waternaut, and now youre a cavenaut. When will you become an astronaut? Jeanette Epps: [Laughs] I hope very soon! Im not sure when it will be, exactly, but I know that analogue missions like CAVES are helping me get ready. The cave is an extreme environment and it was really alienating to be so deep underground for six days.

How did it feel exploring a cave? You feel the stress. Our main daily goal was to protect our own and the others safety. The exploration was really difficult. It was dark, slippery, hostile down there. When it started raining, things got a lot worse. It was hard but it was a wonderful experience. I learnt to know myself better and to understand certain aspects of my body in certain situations. What I learnt in these six days will be fundamental once I go up there, into space.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Nikolai Chub during the caves mission. Image: ESA by V Crobu

VICE: Had you already taken part in other analogue missions? Nicolai Chub: Yes, I took part in NASAs NEEMO, but it doesnt compare to CAVES. The daily tasks on this cave mission were really demanding and the risks were constant and variable.

What pushes a cosmonaut to go down into a cave? We have to be ready for anything, for any possible event. Even for an emergency landing anywhere on earth. Thats why we train to survive in the desert, in the forest, underwater, at high altitude and even in a cave. It was really a unique mission. Life in there is not normal.

VICE: Had you prepared for the experience? Takuya Onishi: Id received no specific training but when we arrived here in Slovenia we did a ten-day course on the basics of speleology. Before that, nothing. It was a real challenge for me.

How will you use the experience you developed in this mission? You know, one of the biggest problems well have once we get to the Moon or Mars will be radiation. Well have to protect ourselves somehow. Were already thinking about building the first human outposts in caves. This CAVES programme is one of the first bricks of knowledge that will allow humanity to push itself further and further. Always further, to explore the unknown. The caves gave us a home and sheltered us during explorations in the past. They will do so in the future. They will be our first home.

To see more images from the latest CAVES mission, head here.

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The Best Place to Train Astronauts Exists on Earth, But Not Where You'd Think - VICE UK

Student Networks with Astronauts, Space Experts at International Meeting – Tennessee Today

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Samantha Ramsey had an out-of-this-world experience last month when she attended the 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Washington, DC.

Ramsey, a first-generation college student and junior aerospace engineering major in UTs Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering, was one of a handful of students selected by the national section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to attend IAC as a diversity scholar.

Hosted by AIAA, IAC brought together more than 6,500 people from 70 different countries to celebrate both the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and the international accomplishments and partnerships that have become the hallmark of space exploration. This was the first time in almost 20 years IAC was held in the United States.

AIAAs Diversity Scholars Program, sponsored by Aurora Flight Sciences and Boeing Company, provides opportunities for underrepresented university students pursuing an aerospace degree to attend an AIAA forum. The scholarship covered all costs associated with attending IAC and included invitations to special events held during the conference.

[Note: Ramsey will talk about her experience at IAC at UTs AIAA chapter meeting at 6 p.m. on November 20 in the Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building, Room 622.]

Originally from Adams Run, a small town in South Carolina, Ramsey had to go to work after graduating from high school in order to support herself. After working for various nonprofits for eight years, she enrolled in college.

Being a first-generation student and adult returning to college, on top of being a woman in engineering, can be extremely challenging, said Ramsey. Being selected as a diversity scholar felt almost like an affirmation that, although I may not look like a typical engineering student, I do belong here and that all of my hard work is paying off.

As a diversity scholar, Ramsey was invited to breakfast with astronaut Frank Culbertson and lunch with astronaut Sandy Magnus. She met the CEOs and presidents of some of the biggest companies in the aerospace engineering industry, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and attended a private party for the Planetary Society, where she hung out with Bill Nye the Science Guy. She also shared a table at a diversity luncheon with former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon.

Attending the IAC was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, said Ramsey. I was also able to connect with international industry leaders, professors at my top choices for graduate school, and even childhood heroes. I have come away completely overflowing with inspiration, and more excited than ever to continue my education.

Ramsey plans to use the knowledge she gained at the conference in her undergrad research shes doing with the trajectory team at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center under the direction of Stephanie TerMaath, the Jessie Zeanah Faculty Fellow in UTs Tickle College of Engineering.

Before attending IAC I had no idea how important it is to establish and maintain international relationships within the space community. But from the people I met, the things I learned, and the global technologies I was able to experience, I have gained a completely new understanding and appreciation for the work that is being done all around the world, she said.

Although shes only a junior, Ramsey joined the interplanetary trajectory senior design team this year and competed last week in the Vanderbilt Hackathon, building a virtual reality simulation of the Milky Way galaxy and mapping the stars and major constellations. The team won the A Code of Art category for creating the most beautiful and stylistically inspiring project.

This past summer she interned on the mission design and analysis branch of the trajectory team at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, where she studied the celestial mechanics of the earthmoon system and built a program to help automate the process of determining launch windows for future Space Launch System missions. Ramsey hopes to continue interning there until she graduates.

Ramsey isnt sure what the future holds, but she aspires to attend graduate school, receive a doctorate in astrodynamics, and possibly study space law. One thing is for certain: she wants to continue being a role model for diversity in engineering, something shes very passionate about.

No matter where she ends up, she wants to work in astrodynamics and orbital mechanics and hopefully help calculate the trajectories for future deep space exploration missions.

Contact:

Kathy Williams (865-974-8615, williamk@utk.edu)

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

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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!

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

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

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

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

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

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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

Adidas tests gravity’s limits at the International Space Station – FashionUnited UK

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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

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

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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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Tour Rocket Lab’s Stunning New Zealand Launch Site in This Video – Space.com

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Reusable rockets, frequent launches and spectacular high-definition rocket videos aren't just the province of SpaceX any more. Rocket Lab showed off its New Zealand launch and rocket-processing facilities in a new video tour, while offering a preview of upcoming launches at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The video features Amanda Stiles, Rocket Lab's director of mission management and integration, who calls the Mahia Peninsula launch facility "the best spot in the world for launching more frequently than anywhere else on the planet."

Rocket Lab's 10th launch, scheduled for Nov. 25, is expected to heft seven satellites into orbit including a small Japanese craft designed to create artificial meteor showers. The rocket will be equipped with sensors, navigation gear and a reaction-control system to provide more data for making future equipment more reusable. The company's long-term goal is to snag launch vehicle Electron's boosters mid-air from a helicopter to increase the pace of launching missions. The retrieved rocket stages would be carefully and swiftly retrofitted for reflight.

Related: In Photos: Rocket Lab and Its Electron Booster

The Rocket Lab Electron booster carrying an Astro Digital satellite stands atop its Mahia Peninsula launch site in New Zealand for an Oct. 14, 2019 launch.

(Image credit: Rocket Lab)

The Mahia launch pad, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, can support up to 120 launches per year. From there, rockets can reach a variety of orbits around the Earth from a near-polar (sun-synchronous) orbit to 39 degrees. (By comparison, the International Space Station's orbital inclination is about 51 degrees.)

Launching, however, is just the goal of a long preparatory phase. Stiles brings viewers through the last few steps before a launch, which includes setting up payloads in a clean room, testing the rocket's 3D-printed Rutherford engine, and assembling all the different components inside a vehicle hangar.

Perhaps the most moving part of the tour is when Stiles shows the care with which technicians put together payloads inside of the clean room, which is "the last time human hands will touch the satellites before the fairing opens up and they [the satellites] are deployed in space."

Decked out in a protective cap and coat, Stiles shows how technicians carefully mount the payloads to a "kick stage" that can boost the satellite into an independent orbit from the rocket. Customers can watch the entire integration process without getting dressed up, as Rocket Lab kindly provided a window on one side of the lab for for viewing from a comfortable area.

In the hours before liftoff, the Electron rocket rolls out of the vehicle hangar horizontally, and then is tilted to the vertical position using a special lifter. Fueling operations begin at T-minus 3 hours, filling the rocket with highly refined kerosene and liquid oxygen.

"The focus tends to be on Electron at the moment of liftoff, but if you look closely, you'll see some clever ground systems at work too," Stiles said. Forty-five seconds before launch, a water-deluge system dumps hundreds of gallons (or liters) on to the pad to dampen the noise created by the rocket roar. As Electron rises from the ground, a big cloud of steam is generated when heat from the engine flames meets the water.

Roughly 2 miles (3 kilometers) away from the pad is the launch control center, where operators sit at consoles and check the rocket's progress during launch. The team also gets a front-row view of the rocket launch, since there is a nearby window allowing them to see their hard work come to fruition. "After a lot of months of hard work, it's a great way to celebrate," Stiles said.

Rocket Lab is targeting a launch from the new facility at Wallops in early 2020. This new complex on the coast of Virginia will be specialized for U.S. government customers, giving them "more frequency and flexibility" than shipping their payloads to New Zealand, Stiles added.

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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Record-Setting X-Ray Burst From Massive Thermonuclear Blast Detected From Space Station – SciTechDaily

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Illustration depicting a Type I X-ray burst. The explosion first blows off the hydrogen layer, which expands and ultimately dissipates. Then rising radiation builds to the point where it blows off the helium layer, which overtakes the expanding hydrogen. Some of the X-rays emitted in the blast scatter off of the accretion disk. The fireball then quickly cools, and the helium settles back onto the surface. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (USRA)

NASAs Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope on the International Space Station detected a sudden spike of X-rays at about 10:04 p.m. EDT on August 20, 2019. The burst was caused by a massive thermonuclear flash on the surface of a pulsar, the crushed remains of a star that long ago exploded as a supernova.

The X-ray burst, the brightest seen by NICER so far, came from an object named SAX J1808.4-3658, or J1808 for short. The observations reveal many phenomena that have never been seen together in a single burst. In addition, the subsiding fireball briefly brightened again for reasons astronomers cannot yet explain.

Once the helium layer is a few meters deep, the conditions allow helium nuclei to fuse into carbon. Then the helium erupts explosively and unleashes a thermonuclear fireball across the entire pulsar surface. Zaven Arzoumanian, Deputy Principal Investigator for NICER

This burst was outstanding, said lead researcher Peter Bult, an astrophysicist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the University of Maryland, College Park. We see a two-step change in brightness, which we think is caused by the ejection of separate layers from the pulsar surface, and other features that will help us decode the physics of these powerful events.

The explosion, which astronomers classify as a Type I X-ray burst, released as much energy in 20 seconds as the Sun does in nearly 10 days. The detail NICER captured on this record-setting eruption will help astronomers fine-tune their understanding of the physical processes driving the thermonuclear flare-ups of it and other bursting pulsars.

A pulsar is a kind of neutron star, the compact core left behind when a massive star runs out of fuel, collapses under its own weight, and explodes. Pulsars can spin rapidly and host X-ray-emitting hot spots at their magnetic poles. As the object spins, it sweeps the hot spots across our line of sight, producing regular pulses of high-energy radiation.

J1808 is located about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. It spins at a dizzying 401 rotations each second, and is one member of a binary system. Its companion is a brown dwarf, an object larger than a giant planet yet too small to be a star. A steady stream of hydrogen gas flows from the companion toward the neutron star, and it accumulates in a vast storage structure called an accretion disk.

This burst was outstanding! Peter Bult, an astrophysicist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center

Gas in accretion disks doesnt move inward easily. But every few years, the disks around pulsars like J1808 become so dense that a large amount of the gas becomes ionized, or stripped of its electrons. This makes it more difficult for light to move through the disk. The trapped energy starts a runaway process of heating and ionization that traps yet more energy. The gas becomes more resistant to flow and starts spiraling inward, ultimately falling onto the pulsar.

Hydrogen raining onto the surface forms a hot, ever-deepening global sea. At the base of this layer, temperatures and pressures increase until hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium nuclei, which produces energy a process at work in the core of our Sun.

The helium settles out and builds up a layer of its own, said Goddards Zaven Arzoumanian, the deputy principal investigator for NICER and a co-author of the paper. Once the helium layer is a few meters deep, the conditions allow helium nuclei to fuse into carbon. Then the helium erupts explosively and unleashes a thermonuclear fireball across the entire pulsar surface.

Astronomers employ a concept called the Eddington limit named for English astrophysicist SirArthur Eddington to describe the maximum radiation intensity a star can have before that radiation causes the star to expand. This point depends strongly on the composition of the material lying above the emission source.

Our study exploits this longstanding concept in a new way, said co-author Deepto Chakrabarty, a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. We are apparently seeing the Eddington limit for two different compositions in the same X-ray burst. This is a very powerful and direct way of following the nuclear burning reactions that underlie the event.

As the burst started, NICER data show that its X-ray brightness leveled off for almost a second before increasing again at a slower pace. The researchers interpret this stall as the moment when the energy of the blast built up enough to blow the pulsars hydrogen layer into space.

The fireball continued to build for another two seconds and then reached its peak, blowing off the more massive helium layer. The helium expanded faster, overtook the hydrogen layer before it could dissipate, and then slowed, stopped and settled back down onto the pulsars surface. Following this phase, the pulsar briefly brightened again by roughly 20 percent for reasons the team does not yet understand.

During J1808s recent round of activity, NICER detected another, much fainter X-ray burst that displayed none of the key features observed in the Aug. 20 event.

In addition to detecting the expansion of different layers, NICER observations of the blast reveal X-rays reflecting off of the accretion disk and record the flickering of burst oscillations X-ray signals that rise and fall at the pulsars spin frequency but that occur at different surface locations than the hot spots responsible for its normal X-ray pulses.

A paper describing the findings has been published by The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

NICER is an Astrophysics Mission of Opportunity within NASAs Explorer program, which provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space utilizing innovative, streamlined, and efficient management approaches within the heliophysics and astrophysics science areas. NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate supports the SEXTANT component of the mission, demonstrating pulsar-based spacecraft navigation.

Reference: A NICER Thermonuclear Burst from the Millisecond X-Ray Pulsar SAX J1808.43658 by Peter Bult, Gaurava K. Jaisawal, Tolga Gver, Tod E. Strohmayer, Diego Altamirano, Zaven Arzoumanian, David R. Ballantyne, Deepto Chakrabarty, Jrme Chenevez, Keith C. Gendreau, Sebastien Guillot and Renee M. Ludlam, 23 October 2019, The Astrophysical Journal Letters.DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ab4ae1

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Record-Setting X-Ray Burst From Massive Thermonuclear Blast Detected From Space Station - SciTechDaily

Familiarity goes beyond the field for Parkland footballs Santos vs. Freedom – lehighvalleylive.com

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The Freedom Patriots are extremely familiar foes for Parkland High Schools football team at this point.

But theyre extra familiar for Angel Santos.

The Trojans senior played with the current Patriots until moving out of the Bethlehem Area School District in the eighth grade and his two brothers, Andres and Joseph, competed for Freedom a handful of years ago.

It's a big game for me because I know all the kids there, said Santos, a middle linebacker/running back. I went to school with them. I was supposed to play with them, but I moved over here and now I'm playing for Parkland.

Friday night will mark the fourth straight year the Trojans (9-2) will meet Freedom (10-1) in the postseason. The second-seeded Patriots host third-seeded Parkland in the District 11 Class 6A semifinals at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

Parkland has the wind at its back, with seven consecutive wins after a 2-2 start. One of those early setbacks was a 21-18 defeat to Freedom.

I think they've been hungry the whole year, coming from 2-2 with their backs against the wall, Parkland coach Tim Moncman said of his players. This is our fourth time (playing Freedom) in two years and they've won the last three. We just hope to play our best and see what happens.

Parklands early season injuries have been well-reported. The Trojans will enter Fridays semifinal with more tools at their disposal compared to their first meeting with Freedom, particularly as Moncman noted, senior offensive tackle Nick Dawkins, a Penn State recruit.

Parkland has also been clamping down on opposing offenses. The Trojans are allowing an average of 10.3 points per game over their last seven victories.

Defensively, we have a couple bodies back, but we're just clicking, Moncman said. We're playing pretty well running to the ball, swarming to the ball.

Our defense has been key, Santos said. Our defense has been great, and it's been stopping everyone. And our offense is getting better and better every week.

While the team has dealt with ailments at different areas, Santos has been a steady presence in the middle of the D all season.

He's the captain of the defense, Moncman said. He makes all the calls and gets there with a purpose.

Santos, who is listed at 5-foot-10, 210 pounds, can certainly make the pads pop when he reaches the ball-carrier.

He is as blue-collar as it gets, Moncman said.

The middle linebacker and his teammates have a tall task in slowing down the Patriots, who are the defending District 11 Class 6A champions.

(Quarterback Jared) Jenkins makes all the right decisions, Moncman said. I think (Jalen) Stewart and (Matty) Russin are as good a 1-2 punch as you could see. They'd be primary backs for anybody. So, they're explosive on offense and come after you on defense.

Santos leads the Trojans with 88 tackles, including eight TFLs and three sacks.

Hes also an effective change-of-pace back behind junior Isiah Rico (200 carries, 1,289 yards, 16 touchdowns).

We'll use him at running back and he's a beast to bring down, Moncman said.

Santos has taken 39 carries for 302 yards and six touchdowns.

I try to get as much as I can, Santos said of playing running back. I try not to let anyone take me down 1-on-1.

A steady running game will be important for Parkland as sophomore quarterback Ty Tremba (58-for-107, 964 yards, 8 TDs, 5 INTs), who took over near the midway point of the regular season, enters the biggest start of his young career.

I think the switch at quarterback has sparked us quite a bit, Moncman said.

Santos knows the rushing attack is important. He also knows that his strength is a major element of his game, and he credits his work with the Parkland power-lifting team for some of the advancements in that area.

It was a great experience lifting with them, the senior said. Everyone was getting stronger and stronger.

Santos found a little motivation from within his family when he worked in the weight room.

When I was younger and my brothers were playing for Freedom, I used to work out with them all the time, he said. ... When I got here and I saw (the power-lifting team), my goal became to lift more than my brother (Andres).

Has he reached that goal?

Just by a little bit, Santos said with a laugh.

Right now, the senior is more focused on beating his brothers old team.

RELATED: High school football predictions for Week 12

Kyle Craig may be reached at kcraig@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KyleCraigSports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

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Internet freedom declined in the US and worldwide this year: report | TheHill – The Hill

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Internet freedom has declined in the U.S. and worldwide in 2019 for the ninth consecutive year, according to a report released by Freedom House.

Out of 65 countries reviewed in the report, 33 have experienced an overall decline in internet freedom since June 2018, compared to 16 countries which have seen an increase. The largest internet freedom declines occurred in Sudan and Kazakhstan, followed by Brazil, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

The report detailed how leaders of countries have used social media as propaganda, calling out China, Iran and Saudi Arabia in particular. A new high record of 38 out of the 65 countries had political leaders who recruited others to shape online opinions.

The authors alsosaid authorities are using social media surveillance to track citizens, reducing civil liberties around the world, with 47 countries having arrested users for political, social and religious speech, another record high.

China was named the worlds worst abuser of internet freedom for the fourth consecutive year, with censorship increasing on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre and with ongoing protests in Hong Kong.

The researchers named Iceland as the best protector of internet freedom.

Ethiopia was cited has experienced the most progress in internet freedom because of the prime ministers efforts to reduce restrictions. But the authors noted that the majority of improved internet freedom scores were marginal.

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Internet freedom declined in the US and worldwide this year: report | TheHill - The Hill