Monthly Archives: February 2014

Space Engineers - Gameplay - Best Space Station
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Space Engineers - Gameplay - Best Space Station - Video

The International Space Station streaks through the night sky over Pisa, Italy, as the bright blue Pleiades star cluster glitters in the background in this amazing photo recently submitted to Space.com.

Amateur astronomer Giuseppe Petricca took this image of thePleiades star cluster, which is also known as M45. It is an open star cluster formed about 100 million years ago and its brightest stars glow a hot blue color. Scientists estimate the young, recently formed stars in the cluster will burn out quickly, likely in the next 200 million years.

"It's always a waypoint in the winter skies, opening the way from Perseus to Orion," photographer Petricca said of Pleiades in an email to Space.com. "But, yesterday, above Pisa, Italy, the International Space Station made a beautiful passage, and it crossed next to the cluster." [See more amazing February night sky photos by stargazers]

The Pleiades clusteris a group of 800 stars located in the constellation Taurus, about 410 light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).

To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by Space.com readers, visit ourastrophotography archive.

Editor's note:If you have an amazingnight skyphoto you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik atspacephotos@space.com.

Follow Space.com on Twitter@Spacedotcom. We're also onFacebook&Google+. Original story on Space.com.

Star Quiz: Test Your Stellar Smarts

Though they look serene and silent from our vantage on Earth, stars are actually roiling balls of violent plasma. Test your stellar smarts with this quiz.

0 of 10 questions complete

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Space Station Streaks Across Pleiades Star Cluster in Striking Amateur Photo

Discoveries, Applications and Opportunities Organized by the American Astronautical Society with the support of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and NASA Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Chicago, Illinois

The annual International Space Station (ISS) Research and Development Conference will be held June 17-19, 2014, at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago. Abstracts and poster proposals are solicited under the categories of Discoveries in Microgravity Science; Discoveries in Space Science, Earth Science, Engineering and Education; Applications Benefiting Earth; Applications Enabling Exploration; Applications in Technology; Commercial Applications; and Opportunities. Topics should relate to science, exploration and technology activities (past, present, planned or under development) on the International Space Station.

One of NASAs top strategic goals is to sustain the operation and full use of the International Space Station and expand efforts to utilize the ISS as a National Laboratory for scientific, technological, diplomatic and educational purposes and for supporting future objectives in human space exploration (2011 NASA Strategic Plan).

NASAs International Space Station websitehttp://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments_category.html

Biology and Biotechnology: In microgravity, controls on the directionality and geometry of cell and tissue growth can be dramatically different to those on Earth. Various experiments have used the culture of cells, tissues and small organisms on orbit as a tool to increase our understanding of biological processes in microgravity.

Earth and Space Science: The presence of the space station in low-Earth orbit provides a unique vantage point for collecting Earth and space science data. From an average altitude of about 400 km, details in such features as glaciers, agricultural fields, cities, and coral reefs taken from the ISS can be layered with other sources of data, such as orbiting satellites, to compile the most comprehensive information available.

Educational Activities: The space station provides a unique platform for inspiring students to excel in mathematics and science. Station educational activities have had a positive impact on thousands of students by involving them in station research, and by using the station to teach them the science and engineering that are behind space exploration.

Human Research: The space station is being used to study the risks to human health that are inherent in space exploration. Focal research questions address the mechanisms of the risks and develop test countermeasures to reduce these risks. Research on space station addresses the major risks to human health from residence in a long-duration microgravity environment. Results from this research are key enablers for future long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit.

Physical Sciences: The space station provides the only place to study long-term physical effects in the absence of gravity. This unique microgravity environment allows different physical properties to dominate systems, and these have been harnessed for a wide variety of physical sciences.

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3rd Annual International Space Station Research & Development Conference Abstract Deadline Extended

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

The world can change in a decade, as we well know. The same is true in space. Over the last ten years, the International Space Station (ISS) has been producing results at an extraordinary rate. The unique capabilities of this under-appreciated laboratory have resulted in:

The development of a precision robotic arm that aids in the removal of tumors from the human brain.

The ability to start a fire without flames an anti-intuitive technology that has applications in super-efficient auto engines.

The counting of hundreds of thousands of anti-matter particles among normal cosmic rays, which supports the theory of dark matter.

Atoms have been gathered into exotic forms, creating the building blocks of future smart materials.

These are just a few of the nearly miraculous advances that have been made over the last ten years, and NASA has just announced that the ISS mission has been extended another ten years.

The accomplishments of the past 10 years are remarkableespecially considering that the space station was still under construction. Julie Robinson, program scientist for the ISS, told Science@NASAs Dr. Tony Phillips. Now that the station is finished, weve been granted at least 10 more.

As redOrbit reported in January, the Obama Administration announced an extension of the ISS that will last until at least 2024, allowing extra time for NASA and the other participating space agencies to pursue important goals.

One of those goals is long-duration travel through deep space, and the ISS is vital. That may sound ironic given that the space station never leaves Earth orbit, says Robinson, but we have determined that research on station is necessary to mitigate 21 of 32 known human-health risks associated with long duration space missions. The road to Mars leads through the ISS.

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Looking Forward To Another 10 Years of Science On Board The International Space Station

NASA and its international partners have appointed crew members for a 2016 mission to the International Space Station.

NASA astronautJeff Williamsis scheduled to launch in spring 2016 and return to Earth in fall 2016. He will join space station Expedition 47 crew members in orbit and will remain aboard as part of Expedition 48 with cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). Williams will assume command of the orbiting outpost upon the departure of Expedition 47's commander, Sergei Zaletin of Roscosmos.

This will be the fourth spaceflight and third long-duration mission for Williams, a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot and graduate of theU.S. Military Academy. Williams was a flight engineer aboard the station during Expedition 13 in 2006. He later served as a flight engineer during Expedition 21 and commander of Expedition 22 in 2010.

This will be the first flight for Ovchinin, a former Russian Air Force pilot and graduate of the Eisk Air Force Pilot School. Ovchinin has been a cosmonaut since 2009.

This will be the second long-duration flight for Skripochka, who served as a flight engineer during Expeditions 25 and 26 in 2010 and 2011. The former mechanical engineer has been a cosmonaut since 1999.

The crew for Expedition 47 will be: --Tim Kopra, NASA -- Sergei Zaletin, Roscosmos --Tim Peake, European Space Agency

The crew of Expedition 48 will be: --Jeff Williams, NASA -- Alexey Ovchinin, Roscosmos -- Oleg Skripochka, Roscosmos

For complete astronaut biographical information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts

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

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NASA, International Space Station Partners Announce Future Crew Members

The icy chill of empty space will soon be trumped by the temperatures aboard the International Space Station. Using NASA's Cold Atom Lab, scientists plan to reach temperatures only a few degrees above absolute zero on the station, allowing them to study challenging aspects of quantum mechanics.

"We're going to study matter at temperatures far colder than are found naturally," JPL's Rob Thompson said in a statement. Thompson is the Project Scientist for the Cold Atom Lab, an atomic 'refrigerator' planned to make the orbiting laboratory its new home in 2016. You can watch a video describing NASA's Cold Atom Lab experiment here.

He said, "We aim to push effective temperatures down to 100 pico-Kelvin"one ten billionth of a degree above absolute zero. [In Photos: The Coldest Places on Earth]

When atoms of rubidium and sodium reach temperatures near absolute zero, they, they behave as both particles and waves, merging into a single wave of matter. Known as Bose-Einstein Condensates (BCEs), the new material was predicted by both Albert Einstein and Satyendra Bose in the early 20th century. Mixing two BCEs isn't like blending ordinary gases the condensates instead behave like waves, interfering with one another so that two atoms combined together can result in no atom at all.

"The Cold Atom Lab will allow us to study these objects at perhaps the lowest temperatures over," Thompson said.

Researchers will also be able to mix super-cool atomic gases on board the space station. Atoms will float free of perturbations, which will allow for extremely sensitive measurements of the weak interactions that occur.

"This could lead to the discovery of interesting and novel quantum phenomena," Thompson said.

The International Space Station is a prime location to perform such experiments because of lack of interference from the pull of gravity.

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Scientists to Create Coldest Spot in Universe on Space Station (Video)