Monthly Archives: October 2019

Updated October 19, 2019 12:05:54

In 1968, NASA astronaut Bill Anders took a photo which had a profound impact on the way humankind saw itself.

Known as Earthrise, the photo taken from a spacecraft in lunar orbit showed our planet rising above the horizon of the moon.

When it was published, the image had a galvanising effect on the environmental movement, fulfilling a prophecy of English cosmologist Fred Hoyle.

Two decades earlier, Professor Hoyle had written that a photograph of the Earth from space would create "a new idea as powerful as any in history".

The Earthrise photo made it easier for humanity to see itself as a whole, and to glimpse what was at stake if we trashed our planetary home.

Ever since, the image has been regarded as a moral stimulant a reminder of the fragility of human existence and of our collective destiny on "spaceship Earth".

But not everybody who shared those concerns was on board.

A few years before Mr Anders took his iconic snap, an ebullient English historian and pacifist, Arnold J. Toynbee, began publicly voicing reservations about the entire space program.

Professor Toynbee's main objection was an ethical one; space was costing money and vital resources at a time when humanity faced bigger challenges, such as poverty and the threat of nuclear war.

He dismissed the space race as a "childish competition" between two superpowers, and suggested it was premature to be looking to the moon and stars when our own house was not in order.

"It's rather scandalous, when human beings are going short of necessities, to do this," Professor Toynbee said.

There has been a lot of hype around space.

Last year, the Federal Government announced the creation of a new Australian Space Agency (ASA), while the United States President, Donald Trump, has committed NASA to a five-year plan to go back to the moon and push on to Mars.

To do that, Mr Trump wanted to increase the agency's $US20-billion budget for 2020 by $US1.6 billion, and Scott Morrison has pledged $150 million to secure Australian involvement in the project.

But the deadline has led some of the industry's most prominent supporters including astronaut Andy Thomas to express concerns.

"Unrealistic schedule expectations can be very dangerous in the spaceflight business and we know that from experience," Dr Thomas told ABC Radio Adelaide last month.

Climate change has also caused some to rethink human involvement in space.

"Let's be clear. If we had the same enthusiasm and the same budget available for the technologies to solve some of the problems we have now, we'd probably be able to do it," said renewable energy advocate Giles Parkinson.

"Money that's thrown at things like space travel, and exploration for oil and gas that's money that could also be spent on addressing the climate change issue."

Mr Parkinson said he was not opposed to space exploration, but he questioned levels of investment at a time when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted dangerous warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius within decades.

"The other thing that disturbs me is this idea that space travel might be our saviour," Mr Parkinson said.

"It seems to be loading the dice and taking enormous risks to think that if we stuff this planet up, because of global warning and other environmental impacts, then we can all live happily on another planet."

One person who proposed to do just that was Elon Musk, who joked that he wanted to die on Mars but not on impact.

"He's done a lot of great things for space," said Nikki Coleman, a Canberra-based researcher and military chaplain.

"He has inspired a whole generation of young people, but I still think he needs oversight.

"I don't think we should be allowing people to just be able to invest and do whatever they want."

Dr Coleman and her husband Stephen Coleman are experts in an emerging field called space ethics at the University of New South Wales.

They have both been proponents of human involvement in space, but believed ethical considerations should play a stronger role in steering it.

"We rely so much on space now in ways that people don't even realise," Professor Coleman said.

"I don't think it's possible to say 'well, let's just leave space alone'.

"It costs a lot to do this, but what does it cost to not do it?"

There have been plenty of examples of space technology leading to ongoing benefits on terra firma: food production, communication, transport navigation (including planes), and weather prediction all heavily rely on satellites.

"Climate projections are using a lot of space-based technology," Professor Coleman said.

"Realistically, there's no climate scientist in the world who's not using space-based resources and space-based research to assist them if you look at what's happening in Greenland with the ice sheet; they're using satellites for that."

But there have been concerns about the so-called "militarisation" of space, and fears of a space arms race in which countries compete to launch satellites with hostile intent.

"In June of last year, President Trump announced the forthcoming formation of a sixth branch of the US military a so-called Space Force," said physician and anti-nuclear campaigner, Tilman Ruff.

Professor Ruff helped to establish the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, and believes more thought needs to be given to how space could trigger nuclear conflict.

"If satellites were disrupted to provide a false alert of an attack, or to disable communications between facilities and forces in different places, then it's a real can of worms in terms of unpredictable escalation."

One of the ways in which space could become a de facto military frontline is through the weaponisation of space junk and debris.

It sounds bizarre but it would involve a hypothetical scenario known as the Kessler syndrome, which describes the potential effects of space junk colliding with a satellite.

"One collision might create so much junk that it starts a chain reaction where you just can't avoid collisions again, and you get more and more pieces of junk piling up, more and more satellites being destroyed, more and more pieces of debris," Professor Coleman said.

Experts have said it was more than plausible, and it has been on the ASA's radar, which has committed to minimising space junk.

"Applications for the launch of an Australian satellite overseas, or a launch to space from Australia, include consideration of the space environment, including space debris," the ASA said in a statement.

Currently, there are millions of artificial objects in orbit around the Earth.

"We keep putting more stuff up there and it's really hard to keep track," Professor Coleman said.

"In low-Earth orbit, it's moving around at many kilometres per second, so an impact between these things has huge consequences."

Recent research by Dr Coleman has focused on the likelihood of terrorist groups trying to trigger this scenario, especially as the cost of launching satellites decreases.

"Non-state groups can actually use space debris deliberately against developed nations to knock out our infrastructure," she said.

Another hot topic in space ethics has been safety, including for astronauts and future space tourists.

While the nature of space means there will always be a huge risk, Dr Coleman described Elon Musk's push to get to Mars as "ethically really problematic", and her husband agreed.

"One of the main issues there, for example, is radiation," Professor Coleman said.

"If that's literally a mission that takes years for those astronauts, what are the effects of years of exposure to that level of radiation?

"We really don't know."

So should we be looking to the stars to secure our future, or should we be focusing our efforts closer to home?

"There's one area of potential use of space-based technology that I think we should develop and invest in further," Dr Ruff said.

"Of all the existential threats, one that is not of our making is [the] potential for [a] collision of the Earth with a large celestial body.

"A collective effort to try and predict such dangers and address them effectively does seem to me one of the few things we should be doing in space."

Topics:astronomy-space,ethics,philosophy,money-and-monetary-policy,stars,spacecraft,the-moon,defence-forces,academic-research,human-interest,human-activities-effects,research-organisations,information-technology,inventions,environmental-policy,defence-and-aerospace-industries,ethical-investment,climate-change,poverty,climate-change---disasters,pollution-disasters-and-safety,space-exploration,federal-government,world-politics,planets-and-asteroids,the-universe,adelaide-5000,sydney-2000,university-of-new-south-wales-2052,canberra-2600,greenland,united-states

First posted October 19, 2019 06:30:00

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Space is about to get a funding boost but there are ethical questions to consider, experts say - ABC News

History was made on Oct. 18, 2019, when Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir of NASA finished the first all-female spacewalk. For roughly seven hours, the two women replaced a battery and performed a series of maintenance tasks on the orbiting lab. This landmark mission was technically supposed to have happened seven months earlier, but it was abruptly canceled due to the explanation thatNASA didn't have two suits that fit.

Koch has been on board the space station March 14, doing scientific research as part of the Expedition 59 crew. She is scheduled to remain in orbit until February 2020; that mission will set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman. The nearly year-long stay in space will also give scientists a chance to study the long-term effects of a spaceflight on women.

"Astronauts demonstrate amazing resilience and adaptability in response to long duration spaceflight exposure," said Jennifer Fogarty, chief scientist of the Human Research Program, in a NASA press release. "These opportunities have also demonstrated that there is a significant degree of variability in the responses of humans to spaceflight, and it is important to determine the acceptable degree of change for both men and women."

So far, the majority of research has been on men, most notably by former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent 340 days in space in 2015-2016.

We've been launching Earthlings into space for 58 years now, but only 11% of them have been women. In 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space. It took 20 years for NASA to follow suit, with Sally Ride becoming the first American woman in space in 1983. To give you an idea of how far we've come in gender-based stereotypes, NASA actually designed a makeup kit in 1978 Ride opted not to use it.

American, Japanese and Russian crew members gather for a group portrait in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station in April 2010. (Photo: NASA [public domain]/Wikimedia Commons)

When it comes to men, vision change is the biggest challenge when spending an extended amount of time in antigravity. Around half of the male astronauts who've journeyed to space have developed an intracranial pressure that reshapes their optic nerve and changes their eyesight. Women are not affected, and doctors are still at a loss to explain why.

However, women are more likely to feel sick going into space, while men are prone to re-entry sickness and diminished hearing when coming back to Earth. Doctors are also unsure if these are hormonal differences or physiological changes.

In an interview with the BBC, Dr. Varsha Jain, a space gynecologist for NASA, explained that menstruation and toilets are also an additional challenge for women especially because engineers never factored in blood when building the International Space Station.

"In space, urine isn't wasted, it's recycled and drinking water is reclaimed from it," notes Jain. "Period blood is considered a solid material and none of the toilets on the space station can differentiate solid from liquid material, therefore the water in it is lost and not recycled." Jain adds that many female astronauts take a contraceptive pill or use an IUD to stop their period altogether.

Reproductive health is also a concern for both genders. Astronauts are at risk of radiation exposure while in space, but how that impacts their fertility is still unknown. "The quality of sperm and sperm count decreases after space travel, but then sperm regenerates back on Earth, so there is no known long-term damage," Jain says. "Women are born with all the eggs they need for their lifetime, so NASA is very supportive of female astronauts freezing their eggs before their missions."

Both male and female astronauts have successfully had children after completing a mission. But overall, Jain describes the physiological changes that happen to both men and women as an "accelerated aging process." Astronauts actually lose bone mass when they go into space, and much of it is never regained, despite the recovery countermeasures and programs in place back home.

As NASA continues to make sending humans to Mars their priority, more women should be launching into space to prepare for these future missions. Adds astronaut Koch: Any time you increase the diversity of a pool of folks participating in any of those human research studies, you make the results of those studies more robust. Were happy to be participating in those and to get the numbers up.

Space affects women's and men's bodies in different ways

From nearsightedness to bone mass, a trip to the International Space System has a notable effect on astronauts' bodies.

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Space affects women's and men's bodies in different ways - Mother Nature Network

Today, and tomorrow's, astronauts will ride in style.

Although much of the focus on 20th century space travel was, for good reason, focused on space shuttles and the missions astronauts took part in, one particular ground vehicle also happened to capture the hearts of so many: the Astrovan.

As of Monday, the world is no longer void of a vehicle prepared to carry astronauts to the launch pad as Airstream revealed the appropriately titled Astrovan II. The vehicle, built as a modified Airstream Atlas Touring Coach, will first go into service starting in 2020. Then, it will carry the first astronauts for a crewed mission onboard the Boeing-built CST-100 Starliner.

With room for eight astronauts, the Astrovan II doesn't necessarily invoke the same charm as the original Astrovan, but its purpose is nonetheless significant.

Americans looked on in awe as individuals prepared to tackle a whole new frontier in the 20th century, and Astrovan II continues that tradition. The vehicle will carry three astronauts next year, who will then board CST-100 Starliner for a mission to the International Space Station. Airstream's had the honor of this role since 1969.

Special graphics adorn the sides of the Astrovan II that show off the CST-100 Starliner, and Boeing's company colors, silver and blue, wrap the rest of the vehicle. Inside, the cockpit's eight seats are specially tailored to make room for a suit pressurization device that astronauts will take with them when boarding CST-100 Starliner. Additionally, there's livestreaming tech inside so fans can watch as crews travel to the launch pad.

Astronvan II has already effectively earned its place in history. While the original vehicle sits on display in NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex, it can rest easy knowing Astrovan II is prepared for duty. Who knows where the astronauts it carries will be heading to in the future.

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Astrovan II is ready to carry America's astronauts to liftoff - CNET

As avid viewers of science-fiction films and television series, the fictional practice of space travel fascinates us. Seeing how different sci-fi universes handle faster-than-light travel is endlessly entertaining.

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What is so great about this particular aspect of sci-fi is how different franchises will handle it. They'll call FTL travel by different names, use varying pieces of technology to utilize it, and be totally unique inhow they make it appear. For today, we're going to go over the best sci-fi methods of FTL travel. Read on if you want to find out which movies and series handled it the best.

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Younger viewers might not recall the filmEvent Horizon. It was a thrilling sci-fi romp that involved demonic horrors leaking onto a ship thanks to some FTL travel gone wrong. The ship is using an experimental gravity drive meant to reduce the time it takes to travel through space by creating an artificial black hole for portal purposes. Unfortunately for the crew of the ship, this little hole in space-time leads directly to hell. And we mean that quite literally. This mode of FTL travel gets bonus points for being directly involved in the film's plot complications.

Call it what you will, this device is just one of those insane FTL inventions made to masquerade as teleportation. A Boom Tube is used to create openings across space and time that people, vehicles, and armies can use to traverse great distances.

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And by great distances, we mean the space between universes. DC Comics struck gold with this idea because how else were the denizens of Apokolips and New Genesis supposed to terrorize Earth? Boom Tube technology featured heavily in the DC filmJustice League, and if the film gets a sequel, you can bet it will involve more Mother Boxes.

ThoughBattlestar Galactica didn't have a snazzy name for their faster-than-light travel (they just called them "FTL jumps," really), this mode of transportation boosted itself up on this list thanks to the random chance it uses. For those of you who haven't seen the hit sci-fi show, just know that luck has more to do with "jumps" than coordinates. And for those of you who have seen the show, we will never listen to the song "All Along the Watchtower" in the same way ever again.

Granted,Dead Space started as a video game, but it has an animated film, too, so we thought we'd include it here anyways. Plus, its FTL travel is delightfully named. InDead Space, space ships travel using ShockPoint drives. This means that when a ship is about to travel faster than the speed of light, crew members will frequently say, "We're about to shock out."

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That's a colloquial way of stating that the ship is about to enter ShockSpace, which functions as a sort of space thatisn't space. It's like a bubble in space and time. For the simple pleasure of saying "shock out," we had to includeDead Space's method of FTL travel on this list.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has its own method of FTL travel, but we wouldn't have included it if it hadn't been for the insane scene inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Yondu, Rocket, Kraglin, and Groot make 700 "jumps" through space-time in order to reach the rest of the team on Ego's planet in time. That many jumps takes a hilarious toll on their bodies, distorting them in funny, bubbly ways. It might be a spot of juvenile humor, but hey, if FTL travel can make you laugh, we count that as a win.

Like withDead Space,Halo is primarily a video game, but since it has some live-action features and specials within its franchise, we thought we'd sneak it on here anyway.Halo's method of FTL travel is called Slipspace.

RELATED: 10 Of The Best Sci-Fi Space Ships Ever, Ranked

Using Shaw-Fujikawa Drives (a fictional drive named after a fictional person in theHalo universe), space ships will enter Slipspace at one point, and then exit it after having traveled vast distances. Random jumps into Slipspace can be made, but watch out. You could find yourself next to a Halo ring if you try it.

Black holes are terrifying things when you stop to think about it, but in Christopher Nolan's mind-bending filmInterstellar, human astronauts use them to travel faster than the speed of light. Though the movie's black-hole travel is not named anything fancy, it earned a high spot on this list thanks to its unconventional depiction in the film. Plus, the amount of thought that goes into comprehending the differences in time for those in the black hole and those left on Earth is gargantuan. In fact, it's an integral part of the film.

No one who thinks of FTL travel in film can help but remember the streaks of stars whizzing past the Millennium Falcon as it made the jump to hyperspace. It is perhaps the most iconic form of FTL travel, especially in terms of visuals. Plus, the colloquial term "lightspeed" just sounds perfect for describing the mode of transportation. No other film has made FTL travel sound so cool and catchy asStar Wars. Instead of the gut-wrenching terror you would feel if you actually hurtled through space at the speed of light, all you feel is a thrill of excitement.

While it might attract the ire ofStar Wars fans everywhere,Star Trek's warp speed had to be higher on the list at the very least because it was made years before the firstStar Wars film. Any Trekkie worth their salt knows the importance of the warp engine to travel on the final frontier. You can't go where no man's gone before traveling on impulse engines alone, right? If you want to have a truly interstellar voyage, you've got to go warp.

The zaniest, unlikeliest, and, therefore, best mode of FTL travel has to go toThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's Infinite Improbability Drive. This strange device of propulsion was made to travel toevery single point in the universe before depositing the lucky ship it was housed in exactly where it wanted to go. This happens in the mere nothing of less than a second. Not much is known as tohow it does this, but, suffice it to say, improbabilities have a lot to do with it. And when it comes to ranking FTL travel in a science-fiction world, the acknowledgement of how improbable the whole venture is makes Infinite Improbability the coolest means of transportation.

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FTL: The 10 Best Versions Of Space Travel In Sci-Fi Movies & Shows, Ranked - Screen Rant

PENDLETON Before introducing retired NASA engineer Jim McBarron to the students assembled in the Pendleton High School auditorium Monday, organizer James Loftus said there were two types of people in life those who looked at the sky and those that looked at the ground.

It was meant as a metaphor, but McBarron did spend a chunk of his life looking at the ground.

McBarron spent his career working on equipment for some of the countrys most important space missions, culminating in a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Richard Nixon in 1971, but his undergraduate degree isnt in aeronautics or engineering, but geology.

The son of a restaurant owner and a nurse, McBarron grew up in Lima, a small town in Northwest Ohio.

When McBarron went to school an hour south at the University of Dayton, he originally majored in physics before his struggles in applied math caused his academic advisor to suggest switching to geology.

During high school and college, McBarron worked a series of odd jobs car washer, Christmas tree lot salesman, movie theater usher, and bartender.

When he caught on as a test subject for the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Aeromedical Laboratory in 1958, the work was a lot more exotic and much more grueling.

To simulate the extreme conditions of space travel, McBarron was ordered to do tests like sitting in a hot box that could reach temperatures of 200 degrees or dip into an ice water tank that averaged minus-20 degrees.

McBarron did all this for $1.85 per hour, $3 per hour for hazardous tests, but he had found his career path.

NASA offered him a job as an aerospace technologist in 1961, changing his life trajectory.

If he hadnt joined NASA, McBarron told the audience he would likely take over his familys restaurant, an offer he declined once he found his passion for space engineering.

While McBarron would go on to lead a distinguished career at NASA, it almost ended before it began.

McBarron was working with a team of engineers on the space suit for Project Mercury, Americas first human spaceflight program, when they noticed a faulty zipper.

McBarron acted quickly and sent the suit to NASAs contractor to get it fixed, but when his boss found out that he did it without the proper authorization, he threatened to have McBarron arrested.

Every decision you make has a consequence, he said as a word of advice to his young audience.

McBarron never ended up in jail, and he contributed to the Apollo program and the International Space Station over the course of his 39-year career at NASA.

At 81, he still lends his expertise to NASA as a consultant on Project Artemis, NASAs program to get Americans back on the moon by 2024.

McBarron came to Pendleton as a part of a tour of Eastern Oregon organized by Loftus, NASA, and the Pacific Power Foundation.

The director of the Joseph Phillip Loftus Jr. Mobile Museum in Stayton, Loftus said the idea originated from a similar trip former NASA engineer Norman Chaffee made to Pendleton in 2017.

Loftus said the hope is to do a trip to Eastern Oregon every other year. McBarron will visit La Grande and Baker City before concluding his trip in Wallowa County.

Pendleton School District Superintendent Chris Fritsch said the school invited students from Umatilla and Ukiah to participate in the event.

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NASA vet explains how he went from a small town boy to a space engineer - East Oregonian

After a seven month delay, today NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir finally carried out the first all-women spacewalk. Unlike in March, they now had two spacesuits of the correct size at the space station.

For some people, the spacesuit debacle has become symbolic of the inequality in space. After all, if there had been more women, there would have been earlier opportunities for two of them to need a well-fitting suit at the same time.

But long before the current space mission, some artists already used space suits to point out that space exploration has never been equally accessible to everyone. Both Cristina de Middel and Yinka Shonibare have used spacesuits in their art to highlight that predominantly Western nations have been to space.

Cristina de Middel speaks about her serie of photographs, The Afronauts, during the Lagos Photo ... [+] Festival on November 12, 2013. (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)

On the surface, space suits look like the ultimate equalizer. Theyre bulky, somewhat shapeless, and hide most of the astronaut. It seems like a uniform that everyone can wear - but in reality, not everyone has.

Setting aside the issue of gender in space for a moment, another inequality is that of nationality. Of the more than five hundred humans who have been in orbit, more than half have been American. Russia and former Soviet states account for another fifth. A few Asian countries are starting to catch up to North American and Europe, but the rest of the world is underrepresented in space. Africa, in particular, is not doing well.

A few African countries have space agencies, but they mainly focus on satellites and remote sensing. None of them have launched crewed missions.

However, in 1964, Zambian Edward Makuka Nkoloso set up his own very quirky space agency, and was adamant that Zambians would be the first on the moon, thanks to his space programme, that - if we can judge it by archive footage - mostly involved people rolling down hills in barrels and jumping up and down.

The amateuristic and optimistic nature of the Zambian space program has inspired films and art works. One of them is Cristina de Middels 2012 work Afronauts. Through a method best described as fictional photojournalism, she photographed models as if they were part of a reimagined version of the Zambian space program.

In some photos from her collection, models in space suit pose as if theyre walking on the moon or a remote planet. But their suits are not the white plain space suit were familiar with. Theyre colorful, like some African fabrics are. Even without seeing the face of the astronaut, the suit identifies them as African.

De Middel is not the only one who recreated spacesuits with African-style patterned fabrics. For British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, the astronaut has been a recurring theme in his work. His series of Refugee Astronauts draw attention to survival on planet Earth, commenting on issues such as climate change. His use of patterned fabrics also gives these sculptures an African identity, and invokes thought of the process of Western globalization - and Western space exploration.

Yinka Shonibare's work Refugee Astronaut III, on display at the Wellcome Collection in London.

De Middels and Shonibares work incorporate space suits as a reminder of the lack of Africans in space. Meanwhile, Koch and Meirs real spacesuits have become a symbol of the shortage of women in space.

Now you might be asking yourself: Wasnt it just about size? Wouldnt two short men not have had the exact same problem? Oh, absolutely. There were never enough short people in the space program to warrant having enough available suits for them. But there would have been if there had been more women overall, who are shorter on average. This is one of those situations where everyone benefits from having more diversity overall.

Another common reaction to hearing that an entire spacewalk was delayed because of the wrong size suits is puzzlement. Isnt it so obvious? Its not...rocket science. No, its not, and thats exactly the problem.

Math and physics can take humans into space, but when it comes to humans - whether theyre in space or on Earth - we also need the social sciences, arts and humanities, to think about questions like the representation of different people in space, and of the practicalities of having the right equipment on board.

Its not rocket science, because theres more to space travel than rockets alone.

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From Art To Space Walks: Space Suits As Symbols Of Equality - Forbes

The International Space Station is a stepping stone for NASA's Artemis program that will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. As the only place for conducting long-duration research on how living in microgravity affects living organisms, especially humans, as well as testing technologies to allow humans to work at the Moon, the space station serves as a unique asset in the effort establish a sustainable presence at the Moon.

Missions to the Moon will include a combination of time aboard the Gateway, on the lunar surface, and in multiple spacecraft including Orion and the human landing system. The skills and technologies developed to explore the Moon will help build the capabilities needed for future missions to Mars.

Here are some of the ways this orbiting laboratory is contributing to the path forward to the Moon and Mars.

The human elementKeeping crew members safe in space is a top priority of lunar missions, and it requires a broad understanding of how living in microgravity affects humans. The space station has offered close to two decades of human research opportunities in a way that no other platform has been able to accomplish. Here is some of what we're learning:

Bone and Muscle lossIn weightlessness, bones and muscles have less to do, and astronauts experience bone and muscle loss during extended stays in space. Researchers continue to investigate the underlying mechanisms and contributing factors of this loss.

One investigation scans the hip bones of astronauts to assess the likelihood of bone fracture following exposure to microgravity. Other studies compare subjects on the ground to those aboard the station or in simulated conditions of spaceflight in ground-based laboratories. Researchers also have used the space station to understand how to use diet and exercise to counteract some of the negative effects of life in microgravity.

VisionOne of the most valuable tools an astronaut will have for gathering information during a Moon mission will be his or her own eyes. Long-duration spaceflight, though, often causes changes to a crew member's vision. Scientists monitor spaceflight-induced visual impairment, as well as changes believed to arise from elevated pressure in the head, to characterize how living in microgravity affects the visual, vascular and central nervous systems. These studies could help develop measures to help prevent lasting changes in vision and eye damage.

Health MonitoringMissions to the Moon will prepare astronauts for missions to Mars, which will require greater self-sufficiency and independence from Earth, including monitoring health and wellness so that crew members can recognize and avoid risky health conditions on their own. For example, the Personal CO2 Monitor investigation attempted to demonstrate a system which can unobtrusively collect and monitor crew members' exposure to carbon dioxide.

Humans produce the gas naturally by breathing, but exposure to high concentrations can cause health issues. Wearable monitors can help the crew track their exposure to carbon dioxide and keep it within safe levels during long-duration stays in space. Similarly, research on airway inflammation in crew members seeks to help astronauts identify early signs of health conditions caused by free-floating dust and particles in the microgravity environment.

Physical and mental functionExposure to space flight changes many systems in the body in ways that could make it harder for crew members to perform critical mission tasks immediately after landing on a planetary surface. Crews traveling to the Moon or Mars will have little time to recover from these changes upon arrival and will lack access to Earth's medical and rehabilitation facilities.

One study identifies tasks that may be affected, and supports design of countermeasures to overcome any impairments. Another study validated a battery of tests for measuring cognitive performance in space. Other research looked at the complexity, severity and duration of physical changes in order to improve recovery time and prevent injury.

Technologies to support the mission to - and on - the MoonIn order to travel through space or set up sustainable bases on the Moon or other planetary bodies, crew members need technology and hardware that provide basic human needs, including oxygen and water, along with the ability to maintain and repair those systems. They also require the tools to conduct mission operations.

Life support systemsThe space station has provided the impetus for development of state-of-the-art life support systems for space, and has served as a testbed for refining those systems. The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) currently on station supplies oxygen, potable water, and appropriate cabin pressure and temperature and removes carbon dioxide, traces of gases, and particles. A set of hardware is used to monitor the station's water supply and other hardware generates oxygen from recovered carbon dioxide. A recent project tested a new technology using evaporative cooling to maintain appropriate temperatures in spacesuits.

Waste management systemsEveryone "goes," and space presents challenges for managing human waste. Decades of human occupation of the space station have contributed to improvements in design of toilets and waste management systems. The new Universal Waste Management System (UWMS) incorporates the best features from previous designs on the space shuttle and existing space station hardware with new technology to improve hygiene, crew comfort and sustainability. It includes a double stall enclosure that provides privacy for a Toilet System and a Hygiene Compartment.

Fire safetyUnderstanding how fire spreads and behaves in space is crucial for the safety of astronauts, especially as humans travel farther from Earth. The Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) and facilities such as the Microgravity Science Glovebox provide a secure and safe environment in which to study combustion aboard the space station. The CIR has supported a wide range of combustion and flame experiments. One major discovery resulting from this research came from an analysis of fire suppressants: researchers identified the existence of "cool flames" that apparently continue "burning" after flame extinction under certain conditions.

Operations in spaceAstronauts have tested and used three-dimensional (3D) printers on the space station, advancing the ability to manufacture parts on-demand either aboard a spacecraft or on the surface of the Moon or Mars. Such manufacturing could even use recycled waste plastic materials to reduce the mass and number of tools or spare parts a crew would need to bring from Earth.

Thanks to other research, we can now perform DNA sequencing in space. This technology makes it possible to identify microbes and diagnose diseases to help maintain crew member health, as well as to potentially detect DNA-based life on the Moon, Mars or elsewhere in the solar system.

Space station research also has tested navigation techniques that use the Moon and stars. These techniques could serve as an emergency backup or confirm navigation information on future missions.

Large-scale international and commercial partnershipsThe International Space Station represents the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken, involving the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. It brings together international flight crews; multiple launch vehicles; launch, operations, training, engineering, communications and development facilities around the globe; and the international scientific research community.

In addition, space station research has evolved from relying almost solely on government funding and operations to involving a variety of commercial players. This commercialization drives future growth and innovation, including payload integration and the small satellite market.

The space station's international and commercial partnerships provide valuable experience for achieving human presence on the Moon by 2024, part of Artemis. This larger, sustainable exploration campaign with international and commercial partners unifies nations, creates new economic opportunities and inspires future generations.

For more information about NASA's Moon to Mars plans, visit here

Related Linksby Melissa Gaskill for ISS NewsSpace Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

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How the International Space Station is helping us get to the Moon - Space Daily

The chairmen of the House and Senate aviation subcommittees spoke Wednesday about the challenges facing by American air travel in an age of lightning-fast technological innovation.

Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzAviation chairmen cite safety, new tech among concerns for the future The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Better Medicare Alliance - Diplomat's 'powerful' testimony and 'lynching' attract headlines Partisan squabbles endanger congressional response to Trump's course on Syria MORE (R-Texas) and Rep. Rick LarsenRichard (Rick) Ray LarsenAviation chairmen cite safety, new tech among concerns for the future The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Better Medicare Alliance - Diplomat's 'powerful' testimony and 'lynching' attract headlines The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Better Medicare Alliance - Trump's impeachment plea to Republicans MORE (D-Wash.) discussed regulations, drones, commercial spaceflight and decaying infrastructure at an event on the future of U.S. aviation hosted by Delta Airlines and The Hill.

Larsen told The Hill Editor-in-Chief Bob CusackRobert (Bob) CusackAviation chairmen cite safety, new tech among concerns for the future Hill editor-in-chief: 'Hard to imagine' House leadership without Cummings The Hill's Editor in Chief Bob Cusack: Warren must have an answer on medicare for all, why impeachment is dangerous for Dems MORE that safety remains the most important aspect of aviation.

"The priority is safety. If people don't feel comfortable flying on airplanes and they don't feel safe, they won't fly. And if they don't fly, there's no reason for airlines to buy airplanes, and if you don't build them, you don't get the jobs," said Larsen, whose Washington district is home to 23,000 Boeing employees.

Larsen added that keeping the United States competitive in international aviation, keeping up with technological innovation and improving the airline customer experience are also priorities.

"Aviation is fundamental to commerce in this country, it's fundamental to life in this country," Cruz told The Hill editor-at-large Steve Clemons.

"But you've got to have the flying public comfortable to get on a plane and believing that they're going to be safe. It's still the case that getting in a plane is much safer than getting in a car, but [in] the 737 MAX, 346 people were killed, and those were preventable deaths" said Cruz.

Both the House and Senate aviation subcommittees have held hearings to investigate the regulatory and engineering failures that led to two Boeing 737 MAXcrashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia in 2018 and 2019.

Larsen said Boeing has faced criticism of how it handled the accidents, which were attributed in part to a flight control software system, but"a lot of it is a criticism of the public relations side of things."

But Larsen said the committee's investigation has to focus on whether Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) appropriately followed laws on how aircraft systems are implemented, tested and approved for commercial use.

Larsen added the committee's work will be "pretty interesting" over the next five to 10 years, given the pace of technological advances.

"When you talked about 'new entrants,' you talked about new airlines coming in to use the airspace. Today's new entrants, you have to think about new users of the airspace," said Larsen.

Cruz said the rising use of new technologies such as drones and air taxis will face resistance from users and legislators alike.

"When the automobile was introduced, the horse and buggy producers weren't very happy about it. At every stage, whether it's new energy sources, new transportation sources, there's always disruption," Cruz said.

"We are certainly on a path to more and more driverless transportation," he added.

"As with any technology, there will be a time period before people are comfortable with it and satisfied with it."

But deteriorating infrastructure is limiting the consumer benefits of existing American aviation technology, according to industry experts at the event.

"We're all for new innovation and technology, but look, we have an airline industry that needs an updated air traffic control system, general aviation needs it we need to figure out a way to get it done," said Ed Mortimer, the vice president of transportation and travel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"We're looking at increased cargo, we're looking at increased passengers almost double in the next 15, 20 years and so utilizing the airspace more efficiently is the only way we're going to be able to handle those types of increased cargo and passengers," Mortimer added.

Emily Feenstra, managing director of government relations and infrastructure initiatives at the American Society of Civil Engineers, said the focus on fixing existing infrastructure should not take away from an eye on the future of air and space travel.

"We've got to think long-term about that Jetsons-like future and believe that's possible, but also just address some of these short-term issues," said Feenstra.

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Aviation chairmen cite safety, new tech among concerns for the future | TheHill - The Hill

Retired astronaut, aquanaut, emergency physician, pilot, CEO, public speaker, husband, father and author Dave Williams has been defying limits since he was hit by a car while riding his bike to school in Beaconsfield. He was in Grade 5 at the time and walked away without serious injury.

Williams grew up to become a record-breaking astronaut, completing two space missions and in the process becoming the first Canadian to complete three space walks, spending a total of 17 hours and 47 minutes executing complex tasks while hovering in space with only an ankle attachment preventing him from floating away.

On Sunday, Oct. 27, Williams comes to the Hudson Community Centre as part of the literary event Storyfest to talk about his book Defying Limits: Lessons from the Edge of the Universe (Simon and Schuster) and to read one of his childrens books at StoryFest for Kids.

Astronaut Dave Williams cuts a ribbon at the entrance to the science wing at Beaconsfield High School in Beaconsfield in 2012.Phil Carpenter / The Gazette

Williams was born in Saskatoon, Sask. and raised in Beaconsfield. His wife Cathy Fraser, a pilot for Air Canada, grew up in Pointe-Claire. They have three children, Evan, Olivia and Theo and now live in Oakville, Ont.

Willams spoke with the West Island Gazette about his life on planet earth and beyond.

Answers have been edited for space.

Q: Your medical studies and research and your astronaut/aquanaut training and execution required intense focus. Is that something you were born with?

A: No, I wasnt born with it. I learned how to focus by riding a motorcycle. Your situational awareness and judgment are critical. Make a mistake and you will not survive. And I learned how to fly in my twenties. That clearly demands critical focus. And when I was studying medicine, I would go to the library at 8 a.m. on Saturday and study until 6 p.m. For me, focus is about the willingness to put in whatever work was necessary to achieve my dreams.

Q: You are no stranger to defying limits. You survived being thrown from a military truck as a teen. A degenerative condition of the retina almost derailed your first space mission. Prostate cancer almost derailed your second space mission. And in 2003, the space shuttle Columbia exploded during re-entry, killing seven close friends. How did you move through all this?

A: Some say happiness is the most important thing in life. I dont agree. The most important thing to me is meaning. And you learn that through adversity. When you find meaning, your life is richer and fuller.

Q: What advances in space travel do you envision?

A: I think astronauts will be sent back to the moon by 2025. And hopefully, by the 100th anniversary of space travel, we will have humans on Mars.

Q: What role does human emotion play in the world of medicine and space travel?

A: Humans are emotional beings, but in a harsh environment, emotion must be handled. Lifting off into space is not natural. There is risk. Courage comes with the doing. I tend to experience the fear before and after the event. And humour is important. During my second space walk I was handling a 650 kilogram gyroscope. It was right in front of my face. Right in the middle of my task, I hear in my headset Hows the view?

Q: Your parents played an important role in encouraging your interests as a child. How did you and your wife help nurture your childrens interests and what are they doing today?

A: We didnt point them in the same directions we took (doctor/astronaut and pilot). Instead, we exposed them to a breadth of activities and let their interests evolve. Evan is 25. He was born with special needs. He is remarkable. He completed a volunteer police officer training program and hes busy with track and yoga. Olivia is 22. She has her pilots license and is studying neuroscience at the University of Guelph, so I guess the apple doesnt fall far from the tree. Theo is 16 and is finishing high school. Hes interested in political science.

Q: You wrote four childrens books to help engage childrens love of science. And then you wrote your autobiography Defying Limits. How does the challenge of writing books compare to your medical and space challenges?

A: I remember being so proud sending off the first five chapters of Defying Limits to Simon and Schuster in New York. Then the editor got back to me saying, its not an academic treatise. I had to find my voice. Ive learned a lot.

Williams is not the type to retire. He is currently working as an aerospace consultant, is on the speaker circuit, is involved in space medicine research and continues to hone his flying skills. This month the University of Western Ontario inaugurated the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration. Williams is the inaugural chair of Western Spaces Advisory Council.

The literary event Storyfest is presented by the Greenwood Centre for Living History. Dave Williams is at the Hudson Community Centre, 394 Main Rd., for StoryFest for Kids, Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. Donations are welcome. He speaks about Defying Limits at the same location, same day, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20. For information, visit http://www.greenwoodstoryfest.com.

kgreenaway@postmedia.com

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Retired astronaut Dave Williams continues to live life by defying limits - Montreal Gazette

Produce does not have a reputation for brilliant or particularly out there advertising. Mexican avocados simply sell themselves by stating theyre always in season (true if you specifically count one state in the country, Michoacn), the California Artichoke Board asks you to stop and eat the artichokes, and the best the egg has come up with is incredible (and even then, followed by merely edible). Mostly, thats because certain staples dont have to worry about recognition because almost everyone knows what eggs and artichokes and avocados are. If theyre not buying them, its for a different reason than lack of awareness.

But occasionally, a new basic comes on the market, and consumers need to be reminded of all the potential that lies within something as de rigueur as a piece of fruit. This is the concept behind the ad campaign around the Cosmic Crisp, also known as WA 38, a new apple bred by Washington State University researchers over the past 20 years which is dropping in grocery stores this winter. Im obsessed. Behold the slightly deranged but still effective ad, which suggests the apple can inspire children to follow their dreams, that its flavor could launch us into space travel (again). THIS IS THE APPLE THE WORLD HAS BEEN WAITING FOR, it declares, in case you hadnt realized youd been waiting for an apple that has STRIKING COLOR and is NATURALLY SLOW TO BROWN. (Tag yourself, Im EXCELLENT STORAGE).

Cosmic Crisp has been hinting at its drop all summer, but according to the New York Post, the apple will be available beginning December 1. Growers have already planted 12 million Cosmic Crisp trees and 450,000 40-pound boxes will be available for sale this year. By 2020, more than 2 million boxes will be available. The apple is a cross between the Enterprise and the Honeycrisp, the former known for its durability, the latter for its flavor. It is a rich red that almost sparkles with starburst-like lenticels, evoking the star-patterned apples of Wes Andersons The Fantastic Mr. Fox fitting as the idea of such fervor around a new apple feels like something out of a twee fiction.

The Cosmic Crisp is also backed by a massive consumer launch. In a report on the apple in California Sunday Magazine, writer Brooke Jarvis described the rise and fall of the Red Delicious, staple of cafeterias everywhere and Washington states one time moneymaker, and how apples in general are falling out of favor thanks, in part, to heavy marketing from clementines. [Red Deliciouss] 50-year reign as Americas most-grown apple had officially come to an end... But though the industry was adapting, with fields of newer, market-tested apples going in every year, much of the old confidence was gone, she wrote. Growers are hoping the Cosmic Crisp could bring them back to the glory days, especially with this publicity campaign. That the era of just making things and letting them go was over, said Bruce Barritt, the developer of the Cosmic Crisp. Thats not the way the world is anymore. This apple has a $10.5 million marketing budget.

If you live in a region where fall heralds an abundance of apple varieties, you may also be familiar with the annual agony of trying to remember which apples are which. We all know Red Delicious suck, but you might have mistaken a mealy Roma for a crisp Cortland, or forgotten the difference between a Winesap and Macoun. It can get overwhelming, which means its easy to not have hard opinions about apples. Remember one or two you like, forget the rest. What the Cosmic Crisp is up against is both oversaturation and established tastes. Can it really be that much better than your favorite Jonagold? And if it is, is it $2.99 per pound better?

Its also a reminder that few things that end up in the grocery store get there without marketing. Like everything else, apples are ruled by patents and ownership and the changing climate and changing tastes, whatever is going to make the growers and developers enough money to keep growing. It feels weird to watch an ad asking you to IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES of an apple, because apples feel like part of the fabric of American life. Its like watching an ad for the concept of clothing, or a sales rep asking if youve considered having hair. Its an apple, you eat it, this shouldnt be this complicated. But of course theres nothing fundamentally different about an ad for an apple and an ad for a granola bar. No matter how close to the earth it is, its still a product.

Update: October 22, 2019, 6:09 p.m.: The article originally stated that the Cosmic Crisp was developed at the University of Washington. It was actually developed at Washington State University.

Update: October 23, 2019, 5:38 p.m.: A previous version of this story stated that Mexican avocados are not always in season.

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Everything You Need to Know About the Cosmic Crisp Apple - Eater