Category Archives: Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) is a very important, yet often forgotten, part of U.S. research efforts. Its also recently been found to be quite valuable to manufacturers, thanks in large part to the ongoing efforts of Congress and outside organizations.

As a part of those efforts, Congress andthe Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS)have teamed up to try and get manufacturers interested in using their ISS lab to research manufacturing in space, bring new innovation back to earth and ultimately build a better world for us all.

With as many trips as rockets are making, its not going to be too far into the future that you can make products in space and bring them back to install, said ChristineKretz, vice president of programs and partnerships at the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, who spoke to attendees at AEMs Annual Conference last fall.

According to Kretz, the ISS is in the sky because of U.S. tax dollars, to make Earths economy better, and to provide access to research opportunities. NASA and Congress have displayed great interest in commercial work in space and a low-orbit economy. There are different conditions in space, like sustained microgravity, that could be conducive to higher quality products being made there. Not so far in the future, it is quite possible that the U.S. will have a low-orbit economy or, at the very least, possess the ability to make certain products exclusively in space.

The ISS has been floating around in space for more than decades so, one cant help but wonder -- Why has this opportunity only recently been made?

Things are really coming into confluence in space, explained Kretz. Prior to this year, the U.S still had to take our astronauts to Russia to put them into space.

Now that the U.S. can send rockets up to the ISS from its home turf, its become far easier to take trips to and from the station. In addition, there is much more equipment onboard now than there was in the past. In the beginning, the station had a camera and a microscope; 21 years later it has a ton of hardware, and plans are in place for a bigger and better space station in the future. Lastly, the amount of funding has increased. Within CASIS, there are 245 venture capital organizations watching what's going in and out of the station, as well as looking for investment opportunities.

NASA and Congress have recently extended use of the ISS until 2030 to allow for additional research and manufacturing opportunities. In addition, Congress has several grants for projects that focus on key areas, such as sustainability or the reduction of carbon usage.

There are many perks to using the ISS for research, as all of the tools one would need are already onboard. Hewlett-Packard and IBM have provided supercomputers for other companies to use, with a huge amount of data available to use and analyze. In addition, while other satellites do collect and store data, the ISS has more room for varying types of that data. As an example, one satellite could provide data on a singular area of interest, while the ISS has all of the information one may need in a singular place.

We have a vantage point looking down on our planet 24/7, rotating the earth every 90 minutes and collecting a huge amount of data, explained Kretz. With different kinds of sensors, we collect different kinds of data, whether it be data on methane gas pockets, plastics in the oceans, and different kinds of things. The sensors collect the data, and then it is available to you. So, you can ask for that data, or ask for a different kind of data that you want to be included.

There are plenty of opportunities for manufacturers to get involved. Additive manufacturing is currently happening on the ISS, printing materials such as ceramic, plastic and cell tissue, among others. With the thin layer deposition in space being 10 times higher quality than that on Earth, there is less of a chance for things to get in the way of that deposition, and there is no sedimentation and far fewer bubbles. Products like semiconductors, medical implants, solar panels and consumer electronics could all be manufactured in space one day -- potentially helping to alleviate issues such as the shortage of semiconductors.

The resources are there. Now it's up to manufacturers to take the next step and explore this opportunity. The ISS is truly valuable and exciting initiative. And now that NASA and Congress have extended the lifecycle of the ISS, it's even more important to take advantage of it. In the future, the U.S. economy could look very different than it is right now, and manufacturers would be wise to consider all of the options in front of them.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Annual Conference delivers a single place for members to gather with their peers to examine what this transformational decade will mean for their organization and the equipment manufacturing industry. For more information, visitaem.org./annual.

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Space: a New Frontier for Manufacturing and Research - Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)

OHSU researchers compared before and after brain images of International Space Station astronauts prior to launch and again when they returned. (Getty Images)

Long-duration space flight alters fluid-filled spaces along veins and arteries in the brain, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University and scientists across the country.

The study published today in the journal Scientific Reports.

Juan Piantino, M.D. (OHSU)

These findings have important implications as we continue space exploration, said senior author Juan Piantino, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics (neurology) in the OHSU School of Medicine. It also forces you to think about some basic fundamental questions of science and how life evolved here on Earth.

The research involved imaging the brains of 15 astronauts before and after extended tours of duty on the International Space Station.

Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to measure perivascular space or the space around blood vessels in the brains of astronauts prior to their launch and again immediately after their return. They also took MRI measurements again at one, three and six months after they had returned. Astronauts images were compared with those taken of the same perivascular space in the brains of 16 Earth-bound control subjects.

Comparing before and after images, they found an increase in the perivascular spaces within the brains of first-time astronauts, but no difference among astronauts who previously served aboard the space station orbiting earth.

Experienced astronauts may have reached some kind of homeostasis, Piantino said.

In all cases, scientists found no problems with balance or visual memories that might suggest neurological deficits among astronauts, despite the differences measured in the perivascular spaces of their brains.

In comparing a large group of deidentified astronauts, the study is amongthe first to comparatively assess an important aspect of brain health in space.

Human physiology is based on the fact that life evolved over millions of years while tethered to Earths gravitational pull. Unbound by the forces of gravity, the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain is altered in space.

We all adapted to use gravity in our favor, Piantino said. Nature didnt put our brains in our feet it put them high up. Once you remove gravity from the equation, what does that do to human physiology?

Researchers decided to find out by measuring perivascular spaces, where cerebrospinal fluid flows in the brain.

These spaces are integral to a natural system of brain cleansing that occurs during sleep. Known as the glymphatic system, this brain-wide network clears metabolic proteins that would otherwise build up in the brain. Scientists say this system seems to perform optimally during deep sleep.

The perivascular spaces measured in the brain amount to the underlying hardware of the glymphatic system. Enlargement of these spaces occurs in aging, and also has been associated with the development of dementia.

Researchers used a technique developed in the laboratory of co-author Lisa C. Silbert, M.D., M.C.R., professor of neurology in the OHSU School of Medicine, to measure changes in these perivascular spaces through MRI scans.

Piantino said the study could be valuable in helping to diagnose and treat Earth-bound disorders involving cerebrospinal fluid, such as hydrocephalus.

These findings not only help to understand fundamental changes that happen during space flight, but also for people on Earth who suffer from diseases that affect circulation of cerebrospinal fluid, Piantino said.

In addition to Piantino and Silbert, co-authors included first authors Kathleen E. Hupfeld and Sutton B. Richmond of the University of Florida; Heather R. McGregor and Rachael D. Seidler of the University of Florida; Daniel L. Schwartz and Madison N. Luther of OHSU; Nichole E. Beltran, Igor S. Kofman, Yiri E. De Dios and Ajitkumar P. Mulavara of PBR in Houston; Roy F. Riascos of the University of Texas Health Science Center; Scott J. Wood and Jacob J. Bloomberg of NASA; and Jeffrey J. Iliff of the University of Washington School of Medicine and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

The research was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, grant NNX11AR02G; the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, award NCC 9-58; the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, grants DGE-1315138 and DGE-1842473; the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, grant T32-NS082128; the National Institute on Aging fellowship 1F99AG068440 and grant awards R01AG056712, P30AG008017 and P30AG066518; and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, grant K23HL150217-01.

The co-authors also thank all of the astronauts who volunteered their time, without whom this project would not have been possible.

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New study reveals the effect of extended space flight on astronauts' brains - OHSU News

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying three U.S. NASA astronauts and a German astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA)is dubbed Endurance

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying three U.S. NASA astronauts and a German astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA)is dubbed Endurance

The third long-duration team of astronauts launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA safely departed the orbiting outpost early on May 5 to begin their descent back to Earth, capping a six-month science mission.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying three U.S. NASA astronauts and a German astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA) undocked from the ISS shortly after 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT) to embark on a return flight expected to last about 23 hours. A live video showing the capsule moving away from the station was shown on a NASA webcast.

Wearing helmeted white-and-black spacesuits, the four astronauts were seen strapped into the crew cabin shortly before the spacecraft separated from the space station, orbiting some 250 miles (400 km) above the Earth. A few brief rocket thrusts then autonomously pushed the capsule safely clear of the ISS.

If all goes smoothly, the Crew Dragon craft, dubbed Endurance, will parachute into the sea off the coast of Florida at 12:43 a.m. EDT on Friday (0443 GMT).

The Endurance crew, consisting of American astronauts Tom Marshburn, 61, Raja Chari, 44, and Kayla Barron, 34, along with ESA crewmate Matthias Maurer, 52, arrived at the space station on November 11.

Their departure came about a week after they welcomed their replacement team aboard the station, also currently home to three Russian cosmonauts on a long-term mission. One of those cosmonauts, Oleg Artemyev, assumed command of the ISS from Marshburn in a handover before Thursday's undocking, NASA said.

Earlier in April, a separate all-private astronaut crew launched by SpaceX to the space station under contract for the Houston-based company Axiom Space left the orbiting laboratory, concluding two weeks in orbit.

The NASA-ESA team flying home on Thursday was officially designated "Crew-3," the third full-fledged long-duration group of astronauts that SpaceX has launched to the space station for the U.S. space agency. They will be carrying some 550 pounds of cargo with them on their flight back to Earth.

SpaceX, the California-based company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of electric carmaker Tesla Inc who recently clinched a deal to buy social media platform Twitter has launched a total of seven human spaceflights over the past two years.

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SpaceXs Crew-3 astronauts depart space station on flight back to Earth - The Hindu

On May 18, 2022, Crayola Education will host a Read Along, Draw Along event on Facebook Live, marking the first time Goodnight Moon has been read aloud from space. The event will feature NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, as well as astronauts from the International Space Station and Crayola Education Manager James Wells. During the event, children, families and teachers are invited to partake in the interactive storytelling session, followed by an "Ask an Astronaut" Q&A where two NASA astronauts answer questions submitted by children across the country. To inspire hands-on participation during the Facebook Live event, James Wells and his daughter will demonstrate how to create night sky scenes with the moon seen out the window, inspired by illustrations in Goodnight Moon. Everyone who tunes in from Earth can follow along as the book is read in space and then create art in their own unique way.

"Crayola Education creates free, digital programs that inspire children, and their teachers and families to use creative experiences as a springboard for learning about themselves, others, and the world around them," says Cheri Sterman, Director of Crayola Education. "We are excited to collaborate with NASA and HarperCollins to celebrate how this beloved, classic story, Goodnight Moon, has encouraged generations of children to dream about their place in this world and beyond. Seeing how important creativity is in space exploration inspires children to see themselves in future STEAM careers."

Through this collaboration, Crayola, NASA and HarperCollins continue to engage and excite children about space, literacy, and STEAM, while expressing their ideas visually. As NASA works to establish a long-term presence on the moon and beyond through Artemis, a spaceflight program that will land the first woman and first person of color on the moon, Crayola supports its mission to build awareness of STEAM careers and encourage students across the globe to pursue creativity in their work.

"Millions of readers around the world have enjoyed the soothing words of Margaret Wise Brown and the art of Clement Hurd in Goodnight Moon," says Nancy Inteli, VP and Publishing Director at HarperCollins Children's Books. "What a thrill, and a fitting tribute for the book's 75th anniversary this year, to have Goodnight Moon read from the International Space Station, hundreds of miles closer to the moon itself, thanks to this collaboration with NASA and Crayola."

The Goodnight Moon Read Along, Draw Along from the International Space Station will take place on May 18, 2022 at 7PM EST, through a Facebook Live event presented by Crayola Education. After the Live event, the video will be available to watch anytime, on-demand. Visit http://www.facebook.com/CrayolaEducation/ to tune in and learn more about this, and other exciting events.

Crayola LLC, based in Easton, Pa. and a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Incorporated, is the worldwide leader in children's creative expression products. Known for the iconic Crayola Crayon first introduced in 1903, the Crayola brand has grown into a portfolio of innovative art tools, crafting activities and creativity toys that offer children innovative new ways to use color to create everything imaginable. Crayola Education provides free creative learning resources to K-8 educators to prepare students with academic and life skills that hinge on creativity. For more information, visit http://www.crayola.com or join the community at http://www.facebook.com/crayolaeducation.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is America's civil space program and the global leader in space exploration.NASA is at the forefront of exploration and discovery through Artemis, Moon to Mars activities, and other efforts. Through its leadership in exploration, science, technology and discovery, NASA has shaped innovation on a global scale. NASA's international partnerships create new possibilities for space and science agencies in other nations and bring new benefits to American researchers and explorers.For decades, NASA has worked to address climate change across its centers and offices, pursuing science that helps decision-makers and members of the public understand our changing planet and developing technology that will help society address this pressing challenge. NASA provides opportunities in STEM to the nation's education system andisan inspiration to the next generation of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and explorers.More information can be found at http://www.nasa.gov.

HarperCollins Children's Books is one of the leading publishers of children's and teen books. Respected worldwide for its tradition of publishing quality, award-winning books for young readers, HarperCollins is home to many timeless treasures and bestsellers such as Goodnight Moon, Charlotte's Web, The Hate U Give, A Long Walk to Water, The One and Only Ivan, The Polar Express, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Where the Wild Things Are;series including The Chronicles of Narnia, Curious George, the Giver Quartet, Little Blue Truck, Pete the Cat, Ramona, Red Queen, The School for Good and Evil, and Warriors; and graphic and illustrated novels such as Invisible Emmie, New Kid, and Nimona.Consistently at the forefront of digital innovation, HarperCollins Children's Books delights readers through engaging storytelling across a variety of formats and platforms, including the largest young adult (YA) book community, Epic Reads, and Shelf Stuff, where kids and parents can discover the best middle grade books.Part of HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperCollins Productions develops and produces TV, film, and interactive media for HarperCollins's major franchises, which include Carmen Sandiego, The Oregon Trail, and Pretzel and the Puppies. HarperCollins Children's Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, which is the second largest consumer book publisher in the world, has operations in 17 countries, and is a subsidiary of News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). You can visit HarperCollins Children's Books at http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com and http://www.epicreads.comand HarperCollins Publishers at corporate.HC.com.

CONTACT: Ava Malhotra, [emailprotected]

SOURCE Crayola

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Crayola, NASA and HarperCollins Children's Books Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Goodnight Moon with a Colorful Read Along, Draw Along Event from...

Science & Exploration

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The International Space Station with ESAs Columbus laboratory flies 400 km high at speeds that defy gravity literally. At 28 800 km/h it only takes 92 minutes for the weightless laboratory to make a complete circuit of Earth. Astronauts working and living on the Station experience 16 sunrises and sunsets each day.

The tracker above, developed by ESA, shows where the Space Station is right now and its path 90 minutes ago and 90 minutes ahead. Due to the Station's orbit it appears to travel from west to east over our planet, and due to Earth's own rotation the Space Station's moves 2200 km to the west on each orbit. You can see the International Space Station with your own eyes from here by looking up at the right time.

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ESA - Where is the International Space Station?

This article was originally published atThe Conversation. (opens in new tab)The publication contributed the article to Space.com'sExpert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Ian Whittaker (opens in new tab), Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University

It's not long since billionaires were competing to get to the "edge of space." Now, the first set of private citizens are getting ready to take a SpaceX shuttle up to the International Space Station (ISS). Unlike the short "joyrides (opens in new tab)" of Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, this mission will be reaching the roughly 400km altitude needed to dock with the ISS.

The mission by the US commercial aerospace company Axiom Space is a major step forward in private space travel, and is part of a plan to build a private space station. With Russiarecently pulling out (opens in new tab)of collaborating on the ISS, the world will be watching to see whether the private sector can be trusted to provide reliable access to space for peaceful exploration.

The Ax-1 mission is planned for launch on April 6, using a SpaceXDragon Endeavour spacecraft (opens in new tab) the same as thatused by astronauts (opens in new tab)in 2020 onboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission is planned to last ten days, eight of which will be on the ISS.

Live updates: Ax-1 private mission to space station

With the high altitude and long duration, the preparations have been lengthy. The concept mission has been a plan since the founding of Axiom Space in 2016 by Iranian-American businessmanKamal Ghaffarian (opens in new tab)(who also founded the private nuclear reactor company X-energy) andMichael T. Suffredini (opens in new tab)(whos had a long career at NASA). And while NASA is funding some of the costs, each of the four participants is reportedly having to provide their own contribution of$55 million (42 million) (opens in new tab)as well.

The onboard astronauts will feel weightless for the majority of the ten days and be at risk from thedangers experienced (opens in new tab)by all astronauts, including radiation exposure, muscle degradation and potentially some bone loss. Although with such a short mission, these risks are exceptionally low.

Unlike standard American trips to the ISS, mission control is in Axiom headquarters in Houston rather than on NASA property. While this is the first time it has been used for a full mission, it has previously been used for research looking at how items on the ISS change over time. This resulted in the MCC-A (Mission Control Center - Axiom) being validated as apayload operations site (opens in new tab)by NASA.

Theastronauts onboardare all private citizens, with the mission commander, Michael Lpez-Alegra, a previous NASA astronaut. The other three members, Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe, and Mark Pathy are described by the company as "entrepreneurs" and "investors."

Although if you are thinking of a stereotypical suited investor going into space, then think again. The backgrounds of these three men are very impressive and suggest any of them could already have been chosen as a space agency astronaut, with a private pilot and a military pilot among them.

Looking more into their backgrounds, it is clear that philanthropy is at the heart of those chosen for this mission, with each known for giving back to their communities. As part of this, theastronauts are planning (opens in new tab)to carry out research during their time at the ISS looking at how space travel will affect the health of future astronauts including effects on vision, pain and sleep. Experiments on food growth are also planned all of which are current topics that need researching for future private space endeavors.

This is a very positive and welcome step forwards. It is usually the case that space agency-collected data is madeavailable to researchers (opens in new tab)(usually after an embargo period). If private researchers are willing to do the same then it heralds an age of accelerated research and technology.

The Ax-1 mission is the first part of a plan by Axiom Space to produce the first private space station. This is no small feat; ISS itself had to bebuilt in pieces (opens in new tab), then sent up to be constructed in space. The total mass of a 420 tonnes space station simply isn't feasible to launch into space in one trip. For comparison, this is the same as launching 70James Webb Space Telescopes (opens in new tab)at once.

It took over ten years and 30 launches to finish the ISS. Axiom's plan is to actually construct the space station onboard the ISS, initially building ahabitation module (Axiom Hub One) (opens in new tab), which is estimated for launch in 2024. No doubt, once operational, this module will accommodate and join with more modules as funding comes in for the company.

With the ISS planned for decommission sometime after 2030, there will be a need for an open and international space station. While a space station costs a lot to maintain, NASA and ESA at least will likelypay a rental fee (opens in new tab)to use facilities on such a private space station.

A lot of private firms will be watching the Ax-1 mission to make a decision on whether to pursue their own programs. Success would mean that there could suddenly be an influx of investment and plans for future space station modules or entire stations. If this is the case, space agencies will have to accept that they will not be able to compete with the private sector. Instead, they would be wise to focus on renting private space and performing open access research.

I wish the first four private astronauts luck with their mission and hope they bring lots of data back for both researchers and the general public to learn from.

This article is republished fromThe Conversation (opens in new tab)under a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article (opens in new tab).

Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.

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Ax-1: Why the private mission to the International Space Station is a gamechanger - Space.com

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Amazon is getting into the private space station business.

The company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos has joined the Orbital Reef commercial space station project to provide supply-chain logistics and Amazon Web Services for the private orbital outpost, which is slated to launch by the late 2020s. The Orbital Reef project is led by Blue Origin (another company founded by Bezos) and Sierra Space, and is a partnership with Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering and Arizona State University.

Amazon's role in Orbital Reef, which the company announced Tuesday (April 5) at the 37th National Space Symposium here, includes overseeing logistics using its Distribution and Fulfillment Solutions arm. And Amazon Web Services will offer networking, cloud computing and communications solutions for the station's fight operations, development and design teams.

"We are excited to collaborate with the Orbital Reef team to reimagine logistics for space," Brett McMillen, director of strategic partners for Amazon Distribution and Fulfillment Solutions, said in a statement (opens in new tab). "Amazon looks forward to sharing our expertise in logistics and end-to-end supply chain infrastructure to help develop reliable infrastructure that ensures humans have the resources they need to explore, experiment and sustain long-term habitation in low Earth orbit."

Related: NASA wants to help private space stations get off the ground

Announced in October 2021, the Orbital Reef commercial space station is a collaborative project by Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Boeing and others (including, now, Amazon) to develop a private space station that can be used for a wide variety of commercial applications. Among those potential uses are commercial research and manufacturing, space tourism and media and entertainment projects, its backers have said.

The initial Orbital Reef design calls for a baseline configuration that will offer 29,311 cubic feet (830 cubic meters) of pressurized volume and be able to support up to 10 people at a time.

Blue Origin will contribute large-diameter modules and use its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket to launch components into orbit. Boeing will oversee Orbital Reef operations and maintenance, provide some science modules and use its Starliner spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the station. Boeing already has a NASA contract to fly astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) with Starliner, too.

Sierra Space will build expandable Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) modules to serve as living quarters for astronaut crews. Its Dream Chaser space plane (which NASA has tapped for ISS cargo delivery flights) may also fly cargo and crews to the Orbital Reef.

Meanwhile, Redwire Space will develop solar arrays for the commercial space station while Genesis Engineering Solutions will build a single-person spacecraft for personal "spacewalks" outside. Arizona State University will lead a 14-university consortium to provide research advice and outreach.

The initial Orbital Reef station is envisioned to include a core module, LIFE module, science module, Genesis spacecraft and power system, Blue Origin has said.

"Orbital Reef is applying proven approaches to enable a robust business ecosystem in low Earth orbit," said Brent Sherwood, Blue Origin's senior vice president of advanced development programs, in a statement, in which he hailed new partners Amazon and AWS. "We're working with the world's best to reimagine logistics for a commercial mixed-used space business park."

Email Tariq Malik attmalik@space.com (opens in new tab)or follow him@tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Follow us@Spacedotcom (opens in new tab),Facebook (opens in new tab)andInstagram (opens in new tab).

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A controversy is brewing between remote sensing scientists and administrators from NASA and the agencys international partners. The debate centers around how long the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar system will continue to operate from the International Space Station before the system is decommissioned and left to burn up in the atmosphere.

To just burn up a mission thats actually helping solve this problem is bonkers to me.

Since 2019, scientists have used GEDI to discern characteristics of the land below. Among all the instruments in space, GEDIs lasers have the unique ability to penetrate forest canopies and provide information about the height and structure of vegetation. Remote sensing scientists say the system gives them unparalleled opportunities to assess how much carbon forests storea capability that could be critical for curbing climate change. But GEDI is slated to be decommissioned in March 2023, and these opportunities may go with it. The GEDI team is pushing for the projects end date to be extended an additional year.

Laura Duncanson, a remote sensing scientist at the University of Maryland and a member of the GEDI team, points to dire climate projections in the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report as clear justification for GEDI to continue operating. To just burn up a mission thats actually helping solve this problem is bonkers to me, she said.

GEDI deputy principal investigator Scott Goetz agrees. Its just the worst possible time to be removing this instrument, he said.

Ralph Dubayah, GEDIs principal investigator, started trying to get a vegetation-penetrating lidar system into space in 1997. NASA canceled the first project he took part ina mission to launch a satellite-based systemafter the engineering team ran into technical problems. A subsequent project aimed to launch two satellites, one carrying lidar and the other carrying radar, which provide complementary information. Budget concerns became the second projects downfall. Dubayah said that he and his colleagues thought, Well, maybe we can put it on the space station. It took two attempts to get NASA to fund the GEDI mission, but in late 2018, the instrument finally launched.

The problems werent over, however. The space stations orbital altitude varies, for example, to avoid debris or to counter its slow fall toward Earth, and high altitudes cause the station to pass over the same parts of Earth repeatedly rather than crisscrossing regions. Dubayah says that after GEDI was installed, the space station cruised to an altitude that prevented the instrument from collecting more than a fraction of the data the team had hoped to get and also affected several other instruments. Dubayah and his colleagues worked with NASA and the agencys partners to adjust the altitude variations, but the process was completed only recently. NASA agreed to extend GEDIs stay on the space station by an additional year (to 2023) to compensate.

With GEDI finally functioning properly, scientists are diving into the data to analyze forest ecosystems. Antonio Ferraz, a remote sensing scientist from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a member of the GEDI team, is looking for links between a forests structural diversity and its ability to store carbon and support diverse life-forms. We need to know where to conserve both carbon and biodiversity, Ferraz said. He hopes to find hot spots that are the best candidates for both.

I understand from a NASA perspective that they have to be a good neighbor and try to preserve goodwill for other instruments and give other instruments chances to get up there, Dubayah said. But with GEDI finally running smoothly, he doesnt think it makes sense to decommission the system next year. Lidar systems are very hard to get into space and hard to keep working, he explained. Here you have one thats workingthats giving you the data youve been waiting for for 25 years. And yet youre going to pull it out. Because of the disruptions, hes not sure GEDIs currently scheduled run will allow researchers to obtain widespread coverage of Earths forests.

Maintaining GEDI will let scientists collect baseline information for countries that committed to halting deforestation during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Duncanson said. Goetz pointed out that without additional time, scientists will miss the opportunity to combine in-depth, localized information from GEDI with broad-spanning data from two radar-carrying satellites that are set to launch next year. Thatd be a travesty, he wrote in an email.

In the last 10 yearsand GEDI has been a huge part of thisweve had a golden age of new modalities of remote sensing.

Ryan Pavlick, a researcher from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says GEDIs data have become valuable for scientists throughout the remote sensing community. In the last 10 yearsand GEDI has been a huge part of thisweve had a golden age of new modalities of remote sensing, he said. He added that tools and tutorials created by the GEDI team have contributed to widespread use of their data.

It was a game changer for us, said Joo Pereira-Pires, a Ph.D. student at NOVA University of Lisbon whos focusing on remote sensing. Part of Pereira-Piress research involves using GEDIs data to monitor fuel breakscleared strips of forest intended to limit the spread of wildfires.

Keeping GEDI in the sky will require buy-in from NASAs Earth Science Division and, ultimately, its partners in the International Space Station consortium. NASA spokesperson Tylar Greene wrote in an email that GEDI is currently manifested on station through early 2023, and it is scheduled to be replaced by a new experiment (STP-H9). According to a technical report (scientists involved in the project werent available for comment), STP-H9 will include a project on using artificial intelligence to analyze images obtained with a hyperspectral sensor for scientific and defense-related purposes.

Saima Sidik (@saimamaysidik), Science Writer

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Scientists Fight to Keep Lidar on the Space Station - Eos

A young Nick Hague once looked up toward the sky from his hometown in Hoxie, Kansas, and dreamt of visiting the stars and seeing what he could discover.

"Who doesn't grow up in western Kansas and stare up at the night sky?" Hague said. "You can see so much, and you look up, and you're like, hey, I want to figure out what's out there go discover what's unknown."

Hague, who was born in Belleville, but considers Hoxie his home town,visited the Dillon Lecture Series on Tuesday, April 5, at the Hutchinson Sports Arena as the series' 162 speaker.

After the lecture, Hague visited with second-grade students from Plum Creek Elementary School and fifth-grade students from McCandless Elementary School at the Cosmosphere. There, he reviewed a NASA experiment where Hague was directly involved.

Hague said as a child he wanted to become an astronaut, as many other children dream of, but at one point, he began to look at it as a goal.

"There's a difference between a childhood dream and professional ambition," he said.

After finding interest in complicated machinery and STEM education, especially in aeronautics and astronautical engineering, he began to look at becoming an astronaut.

"Then it became a professional ambition because that's what the space business is all about," Hague said.

The road toward becoming an astronaut, Hague said, wasn't easy. He hit multiple bumps, including his first-ever launch ending in aborting the spacecraft and landing safely on the ground.

"Sometimes, it doesn't go the way you expected. Right after the first stage of the launch, we were supposed to throw away the empty fuel tanks," Hague said. "After we tried to throw them, one of those empty tanks hit the rocket and caused it to disintegrate."

Hague and his crewmate, Aleksey Ovchinin from Russia, were traveling at 4,000 miles per hour when the craft began to fall apart. By following procedures, they ejected from the spacecraft.

When he flew back to the United States, Hague recalled when his wife, Caitie Hague, greeted, huggedand reassured him after the successful landing.

"She put her hand on my chest and says, 'don't worry, you'll get another chance,'" Hague said. "Fast forward five months later, it's a nighttime launch this time... It goes off flawless. Six hours later, I docked to the International Space Station, went through the hatch and embraced the crew."

Hague then spent 203 days at the space station as a flight engineer. In the first few days, he said his body had to adjust to the weightlessness of orbit.

In the following seven months, he maintained the ship, completed three spacewalks and conducted experiments with his other crewmates.

What surprised Hague was the diversity of the crew on the space station and all the countries that provided training up until launch.

"Of all the things that I probably shouldn't have been surprised about was how international flying on the International Space Station really is," Hague said. "I spent long periods of time in Houston training, but also Huntsville in Montreal, Canada, in Tokyo, Japan, Cologne, Germany and Star City, Russia."

On the space station, Hague said he and the crewmates would often sit around the ship's dinner table, swapping stories of their families or celebrating a birthday while one of the crewmates played their favorite music.

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While on the space station during expeditions 59 and 60, one of the experiments Hague helped with was growing plants while in zero gravity.

These experiments would help NASA on its mission to find new strategies for longevity during space travel, especially for long flights like a mission to Mars.

In one of their experiments, NASA decided to include two elementary classes from Hutchinson, McCandless Elementary School's sixth-grade students and Plum Creek Elementary School'ssecond-grade students.

The students received two groups of tomato seeds, one that developed on the space station as group P and another that originated on Earth, group N.

The students and their teachers didn't know which group had developed in zero-gravity conditions but treated both groups the same and made predictions about the plants.

"A week after spring break, we all started growing our plants at the same time. Both groups got the same exact sunlight, same exact water, they were both in the same condition," said Hope Yohn, 12, a sixth-grade student at McCandless.

After observing the plants in each group, Hopesaid she and her classmates predicted group P was the group that developed in space. On Tuesday, Hague visited the classes at the Cosmosphere and confirmed Hope'shypothesis.

Hope's classmate, Milo Howard, 12, suspected that the radiation from the sun caused the plants to be less successful during germination.

One of McCandless's sixth-grade teachers, Elizabeth Vieyra, said helping with this experiment was exciting for her class and her students.

"Hope loves space, and Milo wants to be an astronaut, and so the fact that I can offer them that real-life experience that they can hopefully someday use on a resume is amazing to me as their teacher," Vieyra said.

After watching Hague walk through the doors into one of the Cosmosphere's conference rooms, Hope said she felt light-headed from excitement.

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Once Hague finished recounting his story about his expeditions to the space station, he decided to walk into the audience and answer questions from school children and attendees.

Hague said he often speaks with school children and visits their classrooms, even once from the space station through a video call to the sixth-grade class at McCandless and the second-grade class at Plum Creek.

Something he thought essential to share with the younger audience was to "dream big, and be passionate about that dream," Hague said.

He also wanted to appeal to the older audience members, sharing something he learned through his time on the space station.

"The exploration of space has proved over time to be this endeavor that has this immense power to draw people together, to bridge divides in perspective and culture," Hague said.

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Kansas astronaut Nick Hague returns to state to talk about his time in space - The Hutchinson News

The ARISS team, from left: Front Megan Jordan and Rebekah Clark. Back Ocean Bowling, David Tutinzhu, Aiden Price, Joseph Hayes, Tony Lope and Jaiden Stark.

Space Hardware Club

Eight area sixth and eighth graders will be placing a long-distance call to lower Earth orbit when they dial up the International Space Station (ISS) via ham radio on April 7.

The students from New Hope Elementary, Sparkman Middle and Mountain Gap Middle schools will get a rare live interview with the ISS astronauts from the SHC Communications Lab in the UAH Engineering Building, courtesy of a Space Hardware Club (SHC) team at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program.

The SHC team took on the project after a proposal was submitted to ARISS by Amber Porteous, a junior in aerospace engineering at UAH, a part of the University of Alabama System. Advised by Dr. Richard Tantaris, a mechanical and aerospace engineering lecturer, and Dr. Gang Wang, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, SHC has been involved with ARISS before, most recently in 2017.

We luckily got the contact, says Porteous, a Mobile native. In May of 2021, we heard from the ARISS organization that we were one of nine organizations that had been accepted for a contact in the spring of 2022.

ARISS worked to schedule the contact while SHC worked on organizing the ham radio station.

Porteous served as the SHCs outreach manager last year and says she developed a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.

Rebekah Clark, a junior aerospace engineering major from Tampa, Fla., who is the current SHC outreach manager, says her passion for outreach began when she was a Girl Scout for 13 years in grade school and hosted team and individual service projects to win awards for community service. They often involved educating younger Girl Scouts or students younger than herself.

After finishing my time in Girl Scouts, I came to UAH and began to miss being involved in service projects and I missed the opportunity to be in front of students, she says. Soon I heard of the vacancy for the SHC outreach program manager position, as well as Amber's successful application to the ARISS program, and I immediately wanted to jump in headfirst as this is a major program that Amber and I could not have completed without each other."

ARISS David Jordan is the teams technical advisor.

Hes been able to walk Amber and I through the logistical process and paperwork needed to be approved for ISS contact, Clark says. Kathy Lamont serves as our ARISS educational advisor and has been able to help us organize our educational day presentations for each middle and elementary school.

She says ARISS contact veterans, UAH alumni and former SHC members Beth Dutour and Mark Becnel helped the team, as well.

Through its outreach programs, the ARISS effort has affected many more than the eight students invited to participate in the ISS contact, Clark says.

During our educational visits to the schools, the UAH SHC ARISS team was able to teach approximately 800 students about STEM topics such as rocketry, high altitude ballooning, ham radio and the history of the ISS, she says. In addition to this, the ARISS contact event will be publicly streamed and we hope to reach even more students beyond Huntsville and Madison County.

The students who will speak to the astronauts were selected by the SHC ARISS team after a blind question submission process.

One of the biggest rules we gave the students when submitting questions was, If you can Google it, it's too easy a question, Clark says.

Once the team narrowed the submissions to around six or eight questions, a poll was created for SHC members to vote on which questions they liked the best, she says.

Only after this double vote would we return to find the names of the students and reach out to the school to let them know who was selected.

ARISS SHC members are:

We have had some really great support for our ARISS project, Clark says. We have had a lot of Space Hardware Club members volunteer for our educational days.

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UAH Space Hardware Club team will connect area students with International Space Station - UAH News