Astronaut and Earth-bound twin to undergo 1-year Mars Mission study – Video

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Astronaut and Earth-bound twin to undergo 1-year Mars Mission study
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will spend a year living on the International Space Station as part of the agency #39;s #39;Twins Study #39;, which aims to study how long-term space travel affects the...

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Astronaut and Earth-bound twin to undergo 1-year Mars Mission study - Video

NASA, Boeing, and SpaceX to Launch 1st Commercial Crew Ships to Space Station in 2017

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Boeing and SpaceX are building private spaceships to resume launching US astronauts from US soil to the International Space Station in 2017. Credit: NASA

After a hiatus of six long years, US astronauts will finally launch to space in a revolutionary new pair of private crew capsules under development by Boeing and SpaceX, starting in 2017, that will end our sole source reliance on the Russians for launching our astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

Two years from now, crews will start flying to space aboard the first US commercial spaceships, launching atop US rockets from US soil, said officials from Boeing, SpaceX, and NASA at a joint news conference on Monday, Jan. 26. The human rated spaceships also known as space taxis are being designed and manufactured under the auspices of NASAs Commercial Crew Program (CCP).

A two person mixed crew of NASA astronauts and company test pilots will fly on the first test flights going to the space station in 2017.

The goal of NASAs Commercial Crew Program, underway since 2010, has been to develop safe, reliable, and cost-effective spaceships that will ferry astronauts to and from the massive orbiting lab complex.

Its an incredible testament to American ingenuity and know-how, and an extraordinary validation of the vision we laid out just a few years ago as we prepared for the long-planned retirement of the space shuttle, said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden during the briefing at the agencys Johnson Space Center in Houston. Bolden is a four time veteran space shuttle astronaut.

This work is part of a vital strategy to equip our nation with the technologies for the future and inspire a new generation of explorers to take the next giant leap for America.

NASAs Stephanie Schierholz introduces the panel of Johnson Space Center Director Dr. Ellen Ochoa, seated, left, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Commercial Crew Program Manager Kathy Lueders, Boeings John Elbon, SpaceXs Gwynne Shotwell, and NASA astronaut Mike Fincke at Jan. 26 commercial crew new conference. Credit: NASA TV

We have been working overtime to get Americans back to space from US soil and end US reliance on Russia, Bolden added. My job is to ensure we get Americans back to space as soon as possible and safely.

We have been in-sourcing space jobs back to the US.

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NASA, Boeing, and SpaceX to Launch 1st Commercial Crew Ships to Space Station in 2017

Ballooning offers platform for space-like environment

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New discoveries are being made on an annual basis by researchers flying their instruments on a high-altitude balloon platform. Ease of access to ballooning, relatively low cost and the potential for quick turn-around response times create a large appeal for using this platform to perform novel science and to train new scientists.

This appeal is reinforced by the availability of a range of balloon sizes to accommodate various payload types, multiple launch sites (for shorter and longer duration flights), and more sophisticated gondolas.

Since the 1950s, and the invention of the 'natural' shaped polyethylene balloon, there has been a surge in the quality and amount of science being performed on this platform.

The flexibility, reliability and relatively low-cost of the high-altitude balloon platform, over that of a satellite, makes for an attractive means of carrying out novel science in a space-like environment across multiple disciplines, which include: high-energy astrophysics (particle, x-ray and gamma-ray), IR/sub-mm (CMB to planetary), heliophysics, geospace and atmospheric research.

Existing balloons are capable of carrying large payloads to high altitudes for flight durations lasting tens of days. The longest flight to date was that of SuperTIGER in 2012-2013 on a vented zero-pressure balloon.

This payload weighed 2,025 kg (not including flight straps) and flew to a maximum altitude of ~39.6 km. The entire flight lasted for just over 55 days. The development of the Super-Pressure Balloon holds promise for achieving even longer flights launching from Antarctica (> 100 days), and Long Duration Balloon flights from mid-latitude launch sites.

This capability, combined with improved payload pointing, light-weight gondolas and more sophisticated instrumentation will enable scientists to make new discoveries and develop novel instrumentation suitable for orbital missions. This platform will also continue to provide a training ground for the next generation of scientists and engineers.

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Ballooning offers platform for space-like environment

What Does Space Sound Like?

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Space, the final frontier, announces James T. Kirk at the start of the first Star Trek episode. As the spaceship Enterprise flies past the screen, the voice sounds as though it was recorded in a very reverberant cathedral. I know space is a big place, but where are the reflections meant to be coming from? And anyway, space is silent or, to quote the catchy tag line from the 1979 movie Alien, in space, no one can hear you scream.

For an astronaut unfortunate enough to be caught outside the spaceship without a space suit, screaming to occupy the moments before asphyxiation would be pointless, as there are no air molecules to carry the sound waves. But Hollywood does not let anything as trivial as physics get in the way of a compelling soundtrack. The latest Star Trek film showed the outside of the soaring Enterprise accompanied by lots of powerful engine noises; the photon torpedoes sounded pretty impressive as well.

When I think of the inside of a real spacecraft, I picture people floating serenely and gracefully in zero gravity. I met NASA astronaut Ron Garan in early 2012, when he had just returned from a six-month mission on board the International Space Station. He explained to me that the sonic environment in a real spacecraft is a long way from being serene. Even outside on a spacewalk (his previous mission had included a walk that lasted six and a half hours), there is no silence.

Indeed, it would have been worrying if there had been, because it would have meant that the pumps circulating air for him to breathe had stopped working. Spacecraft are full of noisy mechanical devices, such as refrigerators, air-conditioning units, and fans. Theoretically, the noise could be reduced, but quieter, heavier machines would be expensive to lift into orbit.

Studies on a single space shuttle flight found temporary partial deafness in the crew. Inside the International Space Station (ISS) it is so loud that some fear for the astronauts hearing. At its worst, the noise level in sleep stations was about the same as in a very noisy office (65 decibels). An article in New Scientist reported, Astronauts on the ISS used to have to wear ear plugs all day, but are now only [required to] wear them for 2 to 3 hours per work day. The need for earplugs, even for part of the day, indicates how hostile the soundscape is. Squidgy foam earplugs can reduce sound by about 2030 decibels. The higher levels of carbon dioxide and atmospheric contaminants that exist at zero gravity in spacecraft might also make the inner ear more susceptible to noise damage.

Outer space might be devoid of audible sound, but that is not true of other planets, and scientists have put microphones on spacecraft such as the Huygens probe to Saturns moon Titan to record it. As long as a planet or moon has an atmospheresome gas clinging to the planetthere is sound. Microphones have the advantage of being light, needing little power, and being able to hear things hidden from cameras. Mind you, the audio recorded from Titan as the Huygens probe descended through the atmosphere is not very otherworldly. It reminded me of wind rushing by an open car window while driving on a highway. However, when I consider where it was recorded, almost a billion miles away from Earth, this mundane sound feels much more exciting.

If a pipe organ were taken to Mars for a performance of Bachs Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, the astronauts would find the notes coming out of their musical instruments at a lower frequency. The atmosphere of Mars would transpose the music to roughly G-sharp minor.

The frequency of the note produced by an organ pipe depends on the time it takes sound to travel up and down the length of the tube. Because Mars has a thin, cold atmosphere of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, sound moves at about two-thirds the speed it does on Earth. The slower round-trip up and down the organ pipe produces a lower frequency.

Given the toxic gases in the atmosphere, visiting astronauts would not be taking their helmets off to sing. But if someone did dare to do this, the voice would drop in pitch like the organ pipe, turning tenors into Barry White soundalikes. Unfortunately, the sexy voice would not carry very far, because Marss thin atmosphere is almost a vacuum.

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What Does Space Sound Like?

Red Cross volunteer heads to Boston

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Red Cross volunteer Sarah Perkins of Henrietta will head to Boston on Thursday to aid relief efforts.(Photo: Provided)

Henrietta resident Sarah Perkins knows a thing or two about disasters. As an American Red Cross volunteer for the last nine years, she's assisted with local disasters like house fires, and aided national relief efforts after hurricanes, wildfires or tornadoes.

Now, the Red Cross is sending her to Boston to assess the damage after a snowstorm dropped 2 feet of snow on the city Monday.

Perkins has a varied background in careers like the military, law enforcement, ranching and typography.

"I thought, 'There must be some reason why I've acquired all these skills and interests,' " said Perkins, adding that her expertise in these fields allowed her to work well on disaster scenes. "There's so many ways and opportunities for me to serve it all comes into play here."

Her job at the Rochester Red Cross chapter is disaster assessment going into disaster scenes after the fact and collecting information on damages and future needs, and tweaking future responses based on that data.

Perkins will leave early Thursday for Boston and plans to "hit the ground running," she said.

One of the biggest demands there right now is shelters, and that will be an ongoing Red Cross effort for the next few days. She'll have support from Red Cross leaders coming in from Buffalo and New Hampshire, and will work with local Red Cross teams to get the job done, she said.

Her first order of business will be to assess flood damage at homes along the coast, and her initial deployment will last for two weeks.

"But we never know how long we can be gone," Perkins said she helped with Hurricane Sandy relief for 28 days in 2012.

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Red Cross volunteer heads to Boston