Monthly Archives: February 2015

International Space Station Timelapse for Sun, 8th February 2015 UTC – Video

Posted: February 21, 2015 at 9:49 pm


International Space Station Timelapse for Sun, 8th February 2015 UTC
This is a image taken from the live feed from the International Space Station.

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International Space Station Timelapse for Sun, 8th February 2015 UTC - Video

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SPACE STATION SIM #5 [HD+] – Absturzgefahr – Let’s Play Space Station Sim – Video

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SPACE STATION SIM #5 [HD+] - Absturzgefahr - Let #39;s Play Space Station Sim
STRZE fehlen auf http://enorion.de/?p=1183 Forum: http://forum.enorion.de Alle Folgen Space Station Sim: http://goo.gl/ZOeT1C Untersttze mich auf: ht...

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SPACE STATION SIM #6 [HD+] – Keine Supplies [ENDE] – Let’s Play Space Station Sim – Video

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SPACE STATION SIM #6 [HD+] - Keine Supplies [ENDE] - Let #39;s Play Space Station Sim
SURPRISES erlaubt dir http://enorion.de/?p=1186 Forum: http://forum.enorion.de Alle Folgen Space Station Sim: http://goo.gl/ZOeT1C Untersttze mich auf...

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SPACE STATION SIM #6 [HD+] - Keine Supplies [ENDE] - Let's Play Space Station Sim - Video

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Space station "cable guys" venture out for spacewalk

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One of two spacewalking astronauts can be seen floating upside down at the center of this view showing the forward end of the International Space Station. The astronauts installed power and data cables to support new docking mechanisms that will be used by commercial crew capsules starting in 2017. NASA TV

Last Updated Feb 21, 2015 3:20 PM EST

Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Terry Virts floated outside the International Space Station Saturday and installed wiring needed for two new docking mechanisms that will be attached later this year for use by new Boeing and SpaceX crew capsules.

The Boeing-built International Docking Adapters, or IDAs, will allow the commercially developed ferry craft to dock at the front and top of the forward Harmony module starting in 2017. Two other ports on the Earth-facing side of the station will be available for use by U.S. cargo ships.

Floating in the station's Quest airlock module, Wilmore and Virts switched their spacesuits to battery power at 7:45 a.m. EST (GMT-5) to officially begin EVA-29, the 185th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998.

This was the first of three spacewalks by Wilmore and Virts to install more than 760 feet of cabling and to attach new antennas to prepare the space station for eventual dockings by commercial crew capsules. The two additional spacewalks are planned for Wednesday and March 1.

During Saturday's excursion, the spacewalkers spent most of their time working at the front of the station at the forward end of the Harmony module where a docking port extension known as Pressurized Mating Adapter No. 2 is attached. PMA-2 is where visiting space shuttles once docked and where one of the new IDAs will be attached later this year.

After removing micrometeoroid shields from the forward end cone of Harmony, Wilmore and Virts unplugged no-longer-needed cables and installed new power and data lines to support IDA-1. All in all, Wilmore and Virts deployed about 340 feet of cable.

The astronauts also disconnected four cables from the end cone of the Destiny laboratory module that were once used to deliver power to docked space shuttles. New cables will be plugged in later to support the new docking adapters.

With all of their primary objectives completed, Wilmore and Virts returned to the airlock, ending the spacewalk at 2:26 p.m. for a duration of six hours and 41 minutes.

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Spacewalking Astronauts Begin Prep for Space Taxis

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Spacewalking astronauts routed more than 300 feet of cable outside the International Space Station on Saturday to prepare for the arrival of new American-made crew capsules. It was the first of three spacewalks planned for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Terry Virts over the coming week.

Altogether, Wilmore and Virts have 764 feet (233 meters) of cable to run outside the space station. They got off to a strong start Saturday, rigging eight power and data lines, or about 340 feet (105 meters). The longest single stretch was 43 feet (13 meters). "Broadening my resume," Virts observed.

NASA considers this the most complicated cable-routing job in the 16-year history of the space station. Equally difficult will be running cable on the inside of the complex.

The extensive rewiring is needed to prepare for NASA's next phase in spaceflight: the 2017 arrival of the first commercial spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the orbiting lab. NASA is paying the Boeing Co. and SpaceX to build the capsules and fly them from Cape Canaveral, Florida, which hasn't seen a manned launch since the shuttles retired in 2011. Instead, Russia is doing all the taxi work for upwards of $70 million a seat.

The first of two docking ports for the Boeing and SpaceX vessels still under development is due to arrive in June. Even more spacewalks will be needed to set everything up.

Spacesuit concerns stalled the work by a day. NASA wanted to make certain that the suits worn by Wilmore and Virts had reliable fan and pump assemblies. Two other fan-pump units failed aboard the space station in recent months and were returned to Earth earlier this month for analysis. Corrosion was discovered, the result of water intrusion from testing. The spacewalkers' suits seemed to work fine Saturday.

First published February 21 2015, 8:23 AM

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Spacewalkers Get Station Ready for New U.S. Spaceships

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Spacewalking astronauts routed more than 300 feet of cable outside the International Space Station on Saturday to prepare for the arrival of new American-made crew capsules. It was the first of three spacewalks planned for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Terry Virts over the coming week.

Altogether, Wilmore and Virts have 764 feet (233 meters) of cable to run outside the space station. They got off to a strong start Saturday, rigging eight power and data lines, or about 340 feet (105 meters). The longest single stretch was 43 feet (13 meters). "Broadening my resume," Virts observed.

NASA considers this the most complicated cable-routing job in the 16-year history of the space station. Equally difficult will be running cable on the inside of the complex.

The extensive rewiring is needed to prepare for NASA's next phase in spaceflight: the 2017 arrival of the first commercial spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the orbiting lab. NASA is paying the Boeing Co. and SpaceX to build the capsules and fly them from Cape Canaveral, Florida, which hasn't seen a manned launch since the shuttles retired in 2011. Instead, Russia is doing all the taxi work for upwards of $70 million a seat.

The first of two docking ports for the Boeing and SpaceX vessels still under development is due to arrive in June. Even more spacewalks will be needed to set everything up.

Spacesuit concerns stalled the work by a day. NASA wanted to make certain that the suits worn by Wilmore and Virts had reliable fan and pump assemblies. Two other fan-pump units failed aboard the space station in recent months and were returned to Earth earlier this month for analysis. Corrosion was discovered, the result of water intrusion from testing. The spacewalkers' suits seemed to work fine Saturday.

First published February 21 2015, 8:23 AM

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Spacewalkers Get Station Ready for New U.S. Spaceships

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Let’s Play Sol 0-Mars Colonization #009 [Deutsch] – Die Katastrophe – Video

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Let #39;s Play Sol 0-Mars Colonization #009 [Deutsch] - Die Katastrophe
Tja in dieser Folge passiert mir ein fataler Fehler :/ Ob wir den wieder ausbgeln knnen? Das seht ihr in dieser Folge. Weitere Folgen und Infos auf http://www.myn...

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Locals compete for chance to colonize Mars | WJLA.com

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WASHINGTON (WJLA) Would you leave Earth for a possible life on Mars?

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It may sound like science fiction, but a Dutch nonprofit is working to pursue the ambitious goal of sending people to Mars.

It's well known that there are hazards on the red planet. There are the extreme temperatures, lack of atmosphere and radiation from the sun. However, the Mars One project believes that it will be possible to send people to the planet by 2024. It already plans to send a demonstration mission to Mars in 2018.

The project asked for volunteers who would be willing to go. More than 200,000 people applied. Now, the final 100 have been chosen, including four people within the Washington metropolitan area. They are: Mike McDonnell, 50, of Fairfax, Va.; Sonia Van Meter, 36, of Alexandria, Va.; Daniel Carey, 53, of Annandale, Va.; and Dr. Leila Zucker, 46.

McDonnell does IT for the federal government, Van Meter is a political consultant, Carey is a data architect, and Dr. Zucker is an ER doctor at Howard University Hospital. ABC 7 News sat down and spoke with three of the final candidates.

"I just wanted to know that I had thrown my hat into the ring when the opportunity presented itself. I didn't in a million years think I would make it here," said Van Meter. "I am a political consultant, but I am a huge space advocate. I believe very firmly that space exploration benefits human kind in immeasurable ways."

Van Meter is married and has stepchildren, whom she said are supportive of her endeavors. She said it's important to think about the big picture.

"I think a date that you know you may never see the planet again helps you to look at the next 10 years like, what is really important, what do I really want to focus on?" she said.

Van Meter has met with some of the other local candidates, including Dan Carey, who said the opportunity is a lifelong dream.

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Round two: 100 vie for one-way trip to Mars

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(CNN) - A job for life may sound pretty good nowadays - unless, perhaps, you can't ever go home.

Yet more than 200,000 people applied for just that, on a one-way mission to Mars, and 100 have made it to the next round.

The nonprofit foundation Mars One is one step closer to deciding on the final list of hopefuls to make a one-way trip to the red planet. The pool of 100 candidates include 50 men and 50 women.

Eventually 24 people will be chosen to make six crews of four. The group plans to send those crews every two years starting in 2024. Their goal is to set up a permanent colony on Mars. The group, which is based in the Netherlands, posted a movie-type trailer publicizing the mission online.

But who really wants a one-way ticket to Mars? A lot of people - in fact, more than 200,000 people worldwide submitted video applications, including scientists, academics and those just seeking an adventure. Among the top 100 candidates is 29-year-old Josh Richards, an engineer and stand-up comedian from Australia.

"I want to commit my life to making the colonization of Mars a reality," Josh Richards said.

"Humanity's greatest strength is to dream of a better world, to imagine a future and to inspire a generation to bring it to life," said Ryan MacDonald, a 21-year-old physics student at Oxford University in the UK.

And 42-year old high school teacher Joanne Hindle from Canada said: "I'm ready. Let's do it. Let's go to Mars."

Some are skeptical about the entire plan, and whether the group can raise the billions of dollars needed to fund it, especially since only about half of previous unmanned missions to Mars have succeeded.

What's more, a recent study by MIT found that even with current technology, if the group succeed in getting there, they would likely only survive 68 days. It's also about what's ethical.

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Round two: 100 vie for one-way trip to Mars

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Virus-cutting enzyme helps bacteria remember a threat

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Feb 20, 2015 CRISPR systems allow bacteria to adapt to new viral threats. Above, Staphylococcus aureus microbes lacking a CRISPR system are killed off by the bacteria-attacking virus NM4. This plate approximates the concentration of virus particles used in the recent experiments. Credit: Zach Veilleux / The Rockefeller University

Bacteria may not have brains, but they do have memories, at least when it comes to viruses that attack them. Many bacteria have a molecular immune system which allows these microbes to capture and retain pieces of viral DNA that they have encountered in the past, in order to recognize and destroy it when it shows up again.

Research at Rockefeller University described Wednesday (February 18) in Nature offers new insight into the mysterious process by which this system works to encode viral DNA in a microbe's genome for later use as guides for virus-cutting enzymes.

"Microbes, like vertebrates, have immune systems capable of adapting to new threats. Cas9, one enzyme employed by these systems, uses immunological memories to guide cuts to viral genetic code. However, very little is known about how these memories are acquired in the first place," says Assistant Professor Luciano Marraffini, head of the Laboratory of Bacteriology. "Our work shows that Cas9 also directs the formation of these memories among certain bacteria."

These memories are embedded in the bacterial equivalent of an adaptive immune system capable of discerning helpful from harmful viruses called a CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) system. It works by altering the bacterium's genome, adding short viral sequences called spacers in between the repeating DNA sequences. These spacers form the memories of past invaders. They serve as guides for enzymes encoded by CRISPR-associated genes (Cas), which seek out and destroy those same viruses should they attempt to infect the bacterium again.

Cas9's ability to make precision cuts within a genome - viral or otherwise - has caught the attention of researchers who now use it to alter cells' genetics for experimental or therapeutic purposes. But it is still not well understood just how this CRISPR system works in its native bacteria.

Some evidence suggested that other Cas enzymes managed the memory-making process on their own, without Cas9. But because of the way Cas9 goes about identifying the site at which to make a cut, the researchers, including co-first authors Robert Heler, a graduate student, and Poulami Samai, a postdoc in the lab, suspected a role for Cas9 in memory making.

In addition to matching its CRISPR guide sequence up with the DNA of the virus, Cas9 needs to find a second cue nearby: a PAM (protospacer adjacent motif) sequence in the viral DNA. This is a crucial step, since it is the absence of a PAM sequence that prevents Cas9 from attacking the bacterium's own memory-containing DNA.

"Because Cas9 must recognize a PAM sequence before cutting the viral DNA, it made sense to us that Cas9 would also recognize the PAM sequence when the system is forming a memory of its first encounter with a virus," Heler says. "This is a new and unexpected role for Cas9."

To test their hypothesis, Heler swapped the Cas9 enzymes between the immune systems of Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus thermophilus, each of which recognizes a different PAM sequence. As a result, the PAM sequences followed, swapping between the two bugs - evidence that Cas9 is responsible for identifying the PAM during memory formation. In another experiment, he altered the part of Cas9 that binds to the PAM sequence, and found the microbes then began acquiring the target viral sequences randomly, making them unusable.

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Virus-cutting enzyme helps bacteria remember a threat

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