US, Russian astronauts begin one-year space mission

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An American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut launched into space Friday to attempt something their two countries have never done together before: a one-year mission on the International Space Station that could help one day send humans to Mars.

The epicone-year space missionlaunched NASA's Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko into orbit aboard a Russian Soyuz space capsule at 3:42 p.m. EDT (1942 GMT) today (March 27) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where it was early Saturday morning local time. Also flying on the Soyuz is cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, a crewmember who will live and work aboard the orbiting outpost for about six months, the usual length of time people spend on the station.

"A year in space starts now," NASA spokesperson Dan Huot said at launch.You can check out avideo of the history-making launchas well. [The One-Year Space Mission: Full Coverage]

It should take Padalka, Kelly and Kornienko about 6 hours to reach the space station. If all goes according to plan, the three crewmembers will link up with the space laboratory at around 9:36 p.m. EDT (0136 March 28 GMT), and you canwatch the docking live on Space.comvia NASA TV starting at 8:45 p.m. EDT (0045 March 28 GMT). The hatches between the two spacecraft are scheduled to open at 11:15 p.m. EDT (0315 March 28 GMT), allowing the three space fliers to enter the station. The hatch opening will also air live on Space.com at that time.

Scientists will usehealth and other datacollected from Kelly and Kornienko during their yearlong mission to learn more about how long-duration spaceflight affects the human body. While researchers know a lot about what happens to people who live in space for six months, they don't know how the body changes with a longer stay in microgravity.

Acrewed Mars mission a huge goal for NASA in the future could take 500 days or more, according to the space agency. Therefore, learning more about the potential problems astronauts could experience during a long mission is important for NASA officials.

Kelly's identical twin brother (and former NASA astronaut) Mark Kelly will participate in experiments on the ground to help scientists monitoring his brother in space. The Kelly twins will be monitored before, during and after Scott's spaceflight for a number of experiments chosen by NASA officials.

"Today, we launch an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut to live and work in space for an entire year the longest continuous stretch an American astronaut will have been in space," NASA administrator Charles Bolden wrote in aSpace.com-exclusive op-ed. "It's an important stepping-stone on our journey to Mars, and will give us detailed medical data recorded throughout the one-year expedition."

Kornienko and Kelly have been training for this yearlong mission for about two years, but this won't be the first time the astronauts have flown to space.

Before this mission, Kelly logged 180 days in orbit during two space shuttle flights and one previous space station mission. By the end of this mission (scheduled to last about 342 days, just shy of a year), Kelly will have logged 522 days in space, according to NASA.

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US, Russian astronauts begin one-year space mission

Best Space Stories of the Week March 29, 2015

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Two spaceflyers blasted off on the first-ever yearlong mission to the International Space Station, NASA announced its plan to haul a boulder from a near-Earth asteroid to lunar orbit and yet more ingredients for life were found on Mars. Here's a look at Space.com's top stories of the week.

1-year space station mission blasts off

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft launched the International Space Stations first one-year crew on Friday (March 27), kicking off an epic voyage for NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. [Full Story: Liftoff! US, Russia Launch Historic One-Year Space Mission]

The science of the yearlong space station mission

Science experiments conducted on the International Space Station during the orbiting outpost's first yearlong mission could help open the door to deep space for NASA. [Full Story: A Year in Space: The Science Behind the Epic Space Station Voyage]

NASA opts to pluck a boulder, not grab a whole asteroid

NASA's bold asteroid-capture mission will pluck a boulder off a big space rock rather than grab an entire near-Earth object, agency officials announced Wednesday (March 25). [Full Story: For Asteroid-Capture Mission, NASA Picks 'Option B' for Boulder]

'Fixed' nitrogen found on Mars

Nitrogen was available on ancient Mars in a form that microbes could have used to build key biomolecules, and atmospheric carbon monoxide has been a feasible energy source for life throughout the Red Planet's history, two new studies suggest. [Full Story: More Ingredients for Life Identified on Mars]

Opportunity rover completes its Mars marathon

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Best Space Stories of the Week March 29, 2015

What NASA Learned from Orion Space Capsule's 1st Test Flight

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PASADENA, Calif. NASA's Orion capsule, which the agency is developing to help get astronauts to Mars and other destinations in deep space, aced its first flight test on Dec. 5, 2014.

During that unmanned mission, known as Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), Orion orbited Earth twice and then came zooming back to our planet to test out the capsule's heat shield and other key technologies.

Space.com's Rod Pyle recently discussed EFT-1 here at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with Mark Geyer, the space agency's Orion program manager, and Mike Hawes, vice president and Orion program manager for aerospace firm Lockheed Martin, which built the spacecraft for NASA. [See amazing photos from Orion's first test flight]

Space.com: How does it feel to be headed back into deep space after all these years?

Hawes: I kind of choked up at the press conference after the flight. I started [my career] when the Apollo guys were still at JSC [Johnson Space Center] and learned from them, and now I finally felt like we had done this for our generation and for the other generations behind us something we hadn't done for 40 years It's a human spacecraft that's going much farther than we have gone in a long time.

Geyer: We now have the capability to go to those places again, but in different ways. You think about Apollo we only visited the equator of the moon. A very small part, and just the facing side. Orion enables missions to the rest of the moon, to asteroids and eventually to Mars. It's the piece that keeps the crew safe, gets them up and back.

Hawes: Some of the lunar science guys have done a plot where they put all of the Apollo traverses, even with the rovers. It's on the scale of the National Mall in D.C. and we didn't even explore the entire mall, so we have not "been there and done that."

Geyer: Orion opens the moon up, opens asteroids up. It opens [Mars' moons] Phobos [and] Deimos and eventually Mars. And the human element is key. [JPL's] robots are incredible machines. But remember: When we sent a scientist to the moon, at the end, the geologist could adapt very quickly to what he found. This human element will multiply our ability to learn from wherever we go. [NASA's 17 Apollo Moon Missions in Pictures]

Space.com: You learned a lot during and after EFT-1. Can you discuss some of the upcoming changes in Orion's heat-shield design?

Geyer: Yes. Like Apollo, we used Avcoat. The structure itself is like a composite sheet, and on that is a honeycomb. You fill that honeycomb with Avcoat, with a device like a caulking gun. The material has to be a certain consistency and the right temperature, and you cure it in an oven in segments. It must also be bubble-free, and that's part of the curing.

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What NASA Learned from Orion Space Capsule's 1st Test Flight

Mr Lee Kuan Yews red box might go on public display: Heng Swee Keat

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SINGAPORE: The red box used by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew to store his working documents might be displayed publicly by the National Heritage Board, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat on Monday (Mar 30).

Speaking at Changkat Primary School to announce changes to the Junior Sports Academy Programme, Mr Heng added that the red box was so much of Mr Lees life and was a symbol of Mr Lees dedication to Singapore.

Personally, I think we should let fellow Singaporeans have a view of this box and how much it is a part of Mr Lees life and Singapores history, he said at the event.

Mr Heng was Mr Lees former principal private secretary and had last week written a Facebook post about how the late founding prime minister used the red box extensively to store important policy documents .

Asked about possible changes to the SG50 and National Day celebrations later in the year in the wake of Mr Lees death, Mr Heng who heads the SG50 steering committee, Mr Heng said that SG50 is about charting Singapores future among fellow Singaporeans.

However, in the coming days, he will be discussing with committee members on whether there is a need to modify certain aspects of the activities that have been lined up, adding that he looked forward to ideas from Singaporeans too.

Asked whether the national education syllabus will include more content on Mr Lee, Mr Heng said parents have been sharing with their children on Mr Lee and he will leave it to the Ministry of Educations (MOE) professionals to decide on any necessary changes.

Mr Heng also shared that a fellow education minister in Asia called this morning to send his condolences and wanted to come and study Singapores education system - a testament to Mr Lees legacy.

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Mr Lee Kuan Yews red box might go on public display: Heng Swee Keat

Eruptions, Cool News, Chile Catastrophe | S0 News March 28, 2015 – Video

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Eruptions, Cool News, Chile Catastrophe | S0 News March 28, 2015
Observing the Frontier Conference: https://www.eventjoy.com/e/suspicious0bservers http://www.Suspicious0bservers.org http://www.ObservatoryProject.com TODAY #39;s LINKS: Biofuel Surprise: ...

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NASA will Asteroid einfangen & gigantischer Meteoritenkrater entdeckt – Clixoom Top 5 News – Video

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NASA will Asteroid einfangen gigantischer Meteoritenkrater entdeckt - Clixoom Top 5 News
Immer noch kein Lebenszeichen von Philae, die NASA hat einen tollkhnen Plan und in Australien wurde der weltweit grte Meteoritenkrater entdeckt. Das sind 3 der 5 Themen, jetzt in den...

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NASA will Asteroid einfangen & gigantischer Meteoritenkrater entdeckt - Clixoom Top 5 News - Video