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Category Archives: Space Station

Space station ‘farm’ successfully grows a variety of crops

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MOSCOW, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A variety of crops successfully grown and harvested on the International Space Station have been verified as safe to eat, a Russian scientist says.

Space-based agriculture has long been of interest, as plants not only scrub carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts but could be a renewable food source, scientists have said.

"The experiments with peas have been very promising," Margarita Levinskikh, a researcher at the Institute of Biomedical Problems, told an annual space conference in Moscow in describing the ISS "farming."

Russian cosmonauts have grown Japanese leafy greens and a variety of dwarf wheat that has produced seeds of "just extraordinary quality," RIA Novosti quoted her as saying.

Russian cosmonauts will sow rice, tomatoes and bell peppers in the station's Lada greenhouse next year, she said, a cooperative effort between the institute and the Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University.

Currently all food onboard the space station is flown there on periodic resupply missions. Long-duration deep space missions without agriculture would require many months' or years' worth of food, greatly adding to their launch weight, the institute said.

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Space station 'farm' successfully grows a variety of crops

AIP FYI: International Space Station to be Extended Until 2024; Asteroid Mission Reaffirmed

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We are pleased to announce that the Obama Administration has approved an extension of the International Space Station (ISS) until at least 2024,wrote Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden earlier this month. This announcement extends the station for four additional years beyond its previous schedule.

In hisstatementand in a speech at the International Space Exploration Forum at the U.S. Department of State, Holdren outlined the benefits of research on the station and the four year extension. He said the station is critical as a research laboratory for a human mission to Mars in the 2030s. NASA has identified 32 human-health risks likely to be encountered on long-duration flights. Research conducted on the station is necessary to mitigate fully 21 of these risks, he said. Holdren also described medical and other societal benefits from station research. Extension of the ISS will require more commercial cargo and crew flights to the station. This should, to some extent, reduce doubts that some Members of Congress have expressed about whether commercial providers would be willing to undertake robust development of servicing hardware for only a few years. The extension will, Holdren predicted, reduce the per flight cost of servicing the station, and make this investment even more attractive. He also spoke of the stations importance to Earth science research and its role in fostering international cooperation.

Bolden reiterated Holdrens statements about the station in his comments to the forum:From a NASA perspective the ISS is absolutely essential to the goals of sending humans to Mars in the 2030s, developing and establishing a robust U.S. crew transportation capability to low Earth orbit, achieving a self-sustaining commercial use of space in LEO, and returning benefits to humanity through research and technology development.

The Ranking Member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), released the following statement regarding the station extension: I am pleased that the Administration is initiating an important dialogue with its international partners on the extension of ISS operations to at least 2024. The ISS has been a critical element of our nations human space exploration program, and it is important that a decision on its potential extended operations be made in a way that enables NASA and its partners to ensure its effective utilization and operation. I look forward to further details on the Administrations proposal and on the planned priorities and objectives for ISS activities during the proposed extension.

Holdren and Bolden both reiterated their support for the proposed Asteroid Redirect Mission to retrieve a near-Earth asteroid and put it into orbit at the L2 gravitational-equilibration point where it would be visited by astronauts. Holdren described this mission as one that will significantly raise the bar for what humans could accomplish in space.

Funding for the International Space Station is provided through NASAs Space Operations budget. The FY 2014 request was $3,882.9 million, of which $3,049.1 million or 79 percent was for the station (the remainder being for Space and Flight Support.) The FY 2014 appropriation for Space Operations is $3,778.0 million, approximately 97 percent of the request. The agreement maintains strong support for the ISS declared the Explanatory Statement accompanying the bill.

Congress has been much less enthusiastic about the asteroid mission. The FY 2014 Explanatory Statement included this passage:NASA has proposed a new mission known as the ARM that would engage both scientific and human exploration activities. While the ARM is still an emerging concept, NASA has not provided Congress with satisfactory justification materialssuch as detailed cost estimates or impacts to ongoing missions. The completion of significantpreliminary activities is needed to appropriately lay the groundwork for the ARM prior to NASAand Congress making a long-term commitment to this mission concept.

Richard M. Jones Government Relations Division American Institute of Physics rjones@aip.org 301-209-3095

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AIP FYI: International Space Station to be Extended Until 2024; Asteroid Mission Reaffirmed

NASA announces funding for space station physics research

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PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- NASA says it will fund seven proposals for physics research using its new microgravity laboratory, set to launch to the International Space Station in 2016.

The Cold Atom Laboratory will provide an opportunity to study ultra-cold quantum gases in the microgravity environment of the space station, a frontier in scientific research expected to reveal interesting and novel quantum phenomena, the space agency said Thursday.

Operating experiments in space makes it possible to conduct research in a way unachievable on Earth because atoms can be observed over a longer period and mixtures of different atoms can be studied free of the effects of gravity, where cold atoms can be trapped more easily by magnetic fields, it said.

The chosen proposals came from seven research teams, which include three Nobel laureates, in response to NASA's research announcement "Research Opportunities in Fundamental Physics." The proposals will receive a total of about $12.7 million over a four- to five-year period and development of selected experiments will begin immediately, the agency said.

The Cold Atom Laboratory is a joint partnership of three NASA branches; the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., the International Space Station Program Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Space Life and Physical Sciences Branch at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

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NASA announces funding for space station physics research

Space.com Speaks with Space Station Astronaut Today: Watch It Live Online

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A NASA astronaut currently in orbit on the International Space Station will speak with Space.com today (Jan. 31), and you can watch the conversation live online. Astronaut Rick Mastracchio is scheduled to speak with Space.com Staff Writer Miriam Kramer about his life in space, the Olympics and the Super Bowl on orbit.

Mastracchio will chat with Space.com for 10 minutes beginning at 10:45 a.m. EST (1545 GMT), and you can watch the astronaut interview live online via NASA TV. We will ask Mastracchio about all things having to do with his life in the space laboratory, but we can also take your questions. Just leave your questions in the comments below this story or send them to Space.com on Twitter using @SPACEdotcom or @mirikramer.

This long-duration flight to the space station is the fourth spaceflight for Mastracchio, 53, who had previously flown on three shorter space shuttle flights. He was selected for astronauts training in 1996 after joining NASA in 1987. Before becoming a part of the station's Expedition 38 crew, Mastracchio clocks close to 40 days in space and had ventured out on six spacewalks. [See Amazing Photos from Rick Mastracchio on the International Space Station]

Quiz: The Reality of Life in Orbit

As an any astronaut will tell you, life in space is a lot like life on Earthwith some very important differences. On Earth, for example, if you leave your fork floating in air while you grab for your spoon, it will quickly hit the floor. Other difference

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Quiz: The Reality of Life in Orbit

As an any astronaut will tell you, life in space is a lot like life on Earthwith some very important differences. On Earth, for example, if you leave your fork floating in air while you grab for your spoon, it will quickly hit the floor. Other difference

Since launching to the International Space Station in November 2013, Mastracchio went on two spacewalks with fellow NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins to fix the orbiting outpost's vital cooling system during the Christmas season. Mastracchio now has 51 hours and 28 minutes of spacewalking time to his credit.

In May, Mastracchio is scheduled to fly back to Earth with fellow space station crewmembers cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and Koichi Wakata of Japan. Hopkins and cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy round out the Expedition 38 crew.

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Space.com Speaks with Space Station Astronaut Today: Watch It Live Online

NASA Astronaut Brings Space Travel Down to Earth for Kids

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LOS ANGELES NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson shared her experiences on the International Space Station with elementary school students in her home state on Jan. 23.

"Can you tell I really like being an astronaut?" she asked the third, fourth and fifth graders of La Crescenta Elementary in California. And they answered with a resounding, "Yes!"

"Everything I do as an astronaut are the things I enjoy doing," Caldwell Dyson said. "What you choose to do later in life needs to be what you enjoy doing because that's going to bring out the best in you. We want that. Every one of you has a best you. And you keep striving your whole life to be the best you." [8 Surprising Space Shuttle Facts]

The discussion began when a student asked her what inspired her to become an astronaut. It was a mixture of her parents asking her to list what she wanted to do (she enjoyed studying science, working with tools and learning to speak another language) and of inspiration resulting from Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher chosen to go to space on the Challenger in 1986.

Caldwell Dyson showed a video that detailed her time at the International Space Station. It included her shuttle launch, exercising, eating sushi, doing experiments, making repairs as well as having fun with the team on board (hide and seek, singing and participating in space shuttle Olympics).

There was audible wonderment when the video showed water in an open plastic sandwich bag and how the water remained in the bag when it was turned upside down. This was one of the "Kids in Micro-g"experiments where kids across the country develop experiments that get performed on board by astronauts.

Caldwell Dyson told the kids that she hoped some of them would participate in the space program; it's where they could use their talents and gifts. She explained she worked really hard in the space program because she believes in it.

"I believe that we as a country and a world need to keep exploring space," she said. "My experience, because of my age and where we are with our space program, I'm probably going to only see the lower orbit of Earth. My experience is going to be circling around the Earth."

She asked the students where they thought space exploration would advance to when they're her age. Among the responses: Another galaxy,Jupiter, Mars, and biggest world in the universe.

Every year Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) invites an astronaut to visit schools in his district. Dyson is the eighth participant. In honor of Dyson's visit, Congressman Schiff presented a flag to La Crescenta Elementary principal Kim Bishop. The flag was previously flown over the United States Capitol.

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NASA Astronaut Brings Space Travel Down to Earth for Kids

Let’s Play Space Engineers – Episode 72: Space Station Project Part 2 – Video

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Let #39;s Play Space Engineers - Episode 72: Space Station Project Part 2
On this episode of Space Engineers, we start a new project where we build a Space Station. This time I try to hollow out the inside a bit more to make some m...

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Let's Play Space Engineers - Episode 72: Space Station Project Part 2 - Video

Dead Space 3 Gameplay Walkthrough Part 1 – Rude Awakening – Chapter 1 (DS3) – Video

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Dead Space 3 Gameplay Walkthrough Part 1 - Rude Awakening - Chapter 1 (DS3)
NEW Dead Space 3 Gameplay Walkthrough Part 1 includes the Prologue and Chapter 1: Rude Awakening of the Campaign for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. This Dea...

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Dead Space 3 Gameplay Walkthrough Part 1 - Rude Awakening - Chapter 1 (DS3) - Video


  1. Space Station