A soccer ball originally packed onto space shuttle Challenger in 1986 is now orbiting the Earth on board the International Space Station, 31 years later. The soccer ball was signed and presented to NASA astronaut Ellison Onizuka by soccer players including his daughter from Clear Lake High School, near NASA's Johnson Space Center. It was recovered following the space shuttle's fatal explosion. (NASA / Courtesty photo)

Lt. Col. Ellison Onizuka

More than 31 years after University of Colorado graduate Lt. Col. Ellison Onizuka lost his life on the space shuttle Challenger, his spirit is being remembered aboard the International Space Station, by way of a soccer ball from his daughter's former school.

It's a ball that, like Onizuka himself, had once been destined for space, before fate intervened.

According to NASA, when Onizuka and six other astronauts launched from the Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 28, 1986, he carried several items with him. One item on board was a soccer ball, which had been signed and presented to him by soccer players including his own daughter from Clear Lake High School in Houston, which his daughter attended and is located near NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Following the catastrophic explosion of the Challenger 73 seconds after launch, killing everyone on board, that soccer ball was recovered and returned to the high school. It has been displayed there for the past 30 years.

However, Clear Lake Principal Karen Engle recently learned of the story behind the ball, and soon after, ISS Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough whose son attends the same school offered to take a school memento to the space station. Engle suggested that the memento should be the soccer ball.

It's there now, and Kimbrough sent out a picture of it with this tweet from his account on Feb. 3: "This ball was on Challenger that fateful day. Flown by Ellison Onizuka for his daughter, a soccer player. @Clear_LakeHS. #NASARemembers."

Word of the ball in space has reached Onizuka's sister, Shirley Matsuoka, at her home in Captain Cook, Hawaii.

"I think that's great something that was recovered and, you know, went up into space again," Matsuoka said.

She still has great pride in what her brother accomplished in his 39 years.

"I remember him as one that really tried be on top, and would do anything to get ahead," she said. "We think he did great."

One of those connected with CU who remembers Onizuka best is Robert Culp, professor emeritus and former chair of the Ann and H. J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences department.

"I was his adviser for both his bachelor's and his master's degrees in that department and knew him very well at that time," Culp said. "He was one of those students who came in to see me several times a week. He liked to sit and talk about the aerospace industry. At that time, he was really more interested in airplanes than space."

Culp said Onizuka secured both degrees in the same year a rarity. A difficult feat.

"I can still remember when we got the phone call" about the loss of the Challenger, said Culp, who lives in Northglenn. "We were just trying to finish up something. I was going to run down to the television room where we had the launch on live, when I got a call from a colleague at the University of Texas and he told me what had happened. It was a shock, and it occupied us for quite some time. Lots of people liked to talk about Ellison."

Onizuka had some CU memorabilia with him on the Challenger such as a CU flag and football now on display in the CU Heritage Center as well as more important items with local connections. There were several CU payloads and experiments on the Challenger, including the Spartan Halley satellite, which was to be released from the shuttle to gather data on that comet, as well as a sophisticated camera system with which to capture images of the comet from inside the spacecraft.

Culp had not heard that the Clear Lake soccer ball had made it onto one NASA launch, much less a second, these many years later.

"He had never mentioned it when I was in touch with him," Culp said. "I guess he had a number of things he had taken up there, and that was just one that I had never heard about.

"I think it's very nice that they took it back up there. It helps to keep Ellison's name on people's minds. You don't want him to ever be forgotten. He was such a wonderful person."

Charlie Brennan: 303-473-1327, brennanc@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/chasbrennan

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CU Boulder's Ellison Onizuka remembered aboard space station - Boulder Daily Camera

On Saturday, February 18th, a SpaceX Dragon capsule will shuttle a superbug into space that kills more Americans each year than emphysema, HIV/AIDS, Parkinsons Disease, and homicide combined: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as MRSA. Its on behalf of a study conducted by NASA and biomedicine company Nanobiosym, but I cant help but feel like this was Elon Musks idea for a science fiction spec hes working on.

To be fair, theres a valid reason to send this particular strain of bacteria into space. On Earth, MRSAwhich physically manifests like a bad staph infection on a persons skinis resistant to many penicillin-related drugs, including methicillin. The idea is that by sending MRSA into microgravity, where theres reason to believe it may mutate faster, we can improve our understanding of how the deadly bug develops resistance in the first place.

Microgravity may accelerate the rate of bacterial mutations, Dr. Anita Goel of Nanobiosym, whos leading the study, told Space.com. If we can predict future mutations before they happen, we can build better drugs.

This is far from the first time bacteria have been sent into space for the purpose of developing better treatments. Such experiments trace back to 1960, when a Russian satellite ferried disease-causingE. coli, Aerobacter aerogenes, and Staphylococcus into space, only to find that these bacteria could in fact survive in microgravity, according to the Washington Post. Since then, several strains of bacteria have been sent off Earth for observation, in some cases increasing their resistance to antibiotics, or altering their growth patterns.

In 2006, microbiologist Cheryl Nickerson sent salmonella aboard the Atlantis Space Shuttle to see how it would react in microgravity. After the salmonella was returned to Earth for further examination, Nickerson found it was killing mice at an abnormally fast rate. So yeah, not great.

Hopefully, this experiment will bring us closer to a cure for MRSA. As for the safety of the astronauts aboard the ISS right now, NASA assures us the bug will be kept at a high level of containment.

And maybe if were lucky, Elon Musks shitty sci-fi movie will never get made.

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Scientists Are Sending a Lethal Pathogen to the Space Station This ... - Gizmodo

February 16, 2017 by Samson Reiny NASA engineer Chip Holloway waits for the sun to align with the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III instrument during a clean room "sun-look" test on March 4, 2013, at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. SAGE III will measure aerosols, ozone, water vapor and other gases to help scientists better understand levels of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere. Credit: NASA Langley/Sean Smith

The number of instruments on the International Space Station dedicated to observing Earth to increase our understanding of our home planet continues to grow.

Two new instruments are scheduled to make their way to the station Feb. 18 on the SpaceX Dragon capsule.

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III instrument will monitor the condition of the ozone layer, which covers an area in the stratosphere 10 to 30 miles above Earth and protects the planet from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation. Its predecessors, SAGE I and SAGE II, which were mounted to satellites, helped scientists understand the causes and effects of the Antarctic ozone hole. The Montreal Protocol of 1987 led to an eventual ban on ozone-destroying gases and to the ozone layer's recovery; SAGE III, designed to operate for no less than three years, will allow scientists to continue monitoring its recovery.

The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS), first launched as an instrument on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission in 1997, records the time, energy output and location of lightning events around the world, day and night. From its perch on the ISS, the new LIS will improve coverage of lightning events over the oceans and also in the northern hemisphere during its summer months. Because lightning is both a factor and a gauge for a number of atmospheric processes, NASA as well as other agencies will use the new LIS lightning data for many applications, from weather forecasting to climate modeling and air quality studies.

While SAGE III and LIS are the latest Earth science instruments slated for operation aboard the ISS, they or not the first or the last.

For two years, beginning in September 2014, the Rapid Scatterometer, or RapidScat, collected near-real-time data on ocean wind speed and direction. The instrument was designed as a low-cost replacement for the Quick Scatterometer, or QuikScat satellite, which experienced an age-related failure in 2009. In addition to addressing such questions as how changing winds affect sea surface temperatures during an El Nio season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Navy relied on RapidScat data for improved tracking of marine weather, leading to more optimal ship routing and hazard avoidance.

The Cloud Aerosol Transport System (CATS) was mounted to the exterior of the space station in Jan. 2015 and is in the midst of a three-year mission to measure aerosols, such as dust plumes, wildfires and volcanic ash, around the world. Built to demonstrate a low-cost, streamlined approach to ISS science payloads, the laser instrument is providing data for air quality studies, climate models and hazard warning capabilities.

Over the next several years, NASA is planning to send to the space station several more instruments trained toward Earth.

Total and Spectral solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS-1) will measure total solar irradiance and spectral solar irradiance, or the total solar radiation at the top of Earth's atmosphere and the spectral distribution of that solar radiation, respectively. The data are critical for climate modeling and atmospheric studies. TSIS-1 will continue the work of NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment satellite, which has been taking those measurements since 2003.

NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder program is supporting the following instruments that are currently in development. The program is managed by NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) instrument will monitor carbon dioxide distribution around the globe. Assembled with spare parts from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite, OCO-3 will provide insights into the greenhouse gas's role as it relates to growing urban areas and changes in fossil fuel combustion. The instrument will also measure the "glow" from growing plants (solar-induced fluorescence).

Homing in on tropical and temperate forests is the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI). The lidar instrument will provide the first high-resolution observations of forest vertical structure in an effort to answer how much carbon is stored in these ecosystems and also what impacts deforestation and reforestation have on habitat diversity, the global carbon cycle and climate change.

The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment (ECOSTRESS) will also focus on vegetation by providing high-frequency, high-resolution measurements of plant temperature and plant water use. Among the data's numerous uses will be to indicate regions of plant heat and water stress and also improve drought forecasting for the benefit of farmers and water managers. Researchers will also use ECOSTRESS in concert with other data to calculate water use efficiency among plants and identify drought-resistant species and varieties.

Also on the horizon is the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder comprising two instruments for measuring solar irradiance: a reflected solar spectrometer and an infrared spectrometer. CLARREO will collect highly accurate climate records to test climate projections in order to improve models.

Explore further: NASA's ISS-RapidScat Earth science mission ends

NASA's International Space Station Rapid Scatterometer (ISS-RapidScat) Earth science instrument has ended operations following a successful two-year mission aboard the space station. The mission launched Sept. 21, 2014, and ...

The International Space Station (ISS) will soon get an important tool capable of conducting highly accurate measurements of aerosols and gaseous constituents in the stratosphere and troposphere. The Stratospheric Aerosol ...

The International Space Station has been called a stepping stone to other worlds.

On Sept. 21, 2014, NASA scientists and engineers launched RapidScat toward the orbiting International Space Station, 250 miles above the Earth's surface, with a few objectives in mind: improve weather forecasting on Earth, ...

A $34 million solar instrument package to be built by the University of Colorado at Boulder, considered a crucial tool to help monitor global climate change, has been restored to a U.S. government satellite mission slated ...

Mission managers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, are assessing two power system-related anomalies affecting the operation of NASA's ...

On Feb. 17, 2005, NASA's Cassini spacecraft was making the first-ever close pass over Saturn's moon Enceladus as it worked through its detailed survey of the planet's icy satellites. Exciting, to be sure, just for the thrill ...

NASA's Dawn mission has found evidence for organic material on Ceres, a dwarf planet and the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists using the spacecraft's visible and infrared mapping ...

The distribution of normal matter precisely determines gravitational acceleration in all common types of galaxies, a team led by Case Western Reserve University researchers reports.

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Earth science on the Space Station continues to grow - Phys.org - Phys.Org

As a boy growing up in Nigeria, Abba Zubair dreamed of becoming an astronaut.

But as he prepared to apply to college, an advisor told him to find a different path.

He said it may be a long time before Nigeria sends rockets and astronauts into space, so I should consider something more practical, Zubair saud.

He decided to become a physician, and is currently the medical and scientific director of the Cell Therapy Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. And while hell almost certainly never get to make a journey outside the Earths atmosphere himself, if the weather stays good Saturday hell be sending a payload into space.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch at 10:01 a.m. Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center on a cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station. Among the cargo it will be carrying are several samples of donated adult stem cells from Zubairs research lab.

Zubair believes adult stem cells, extracted from bone marrow, are the future of regenerative medicine. Currently at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville they are being used in clinical trials to treat knee injuries and transplanted lungs.

But a big problem with using stem cells to treat illnesses is that it may require up to 200 million cells to treat a human being and the cells take a long time to reproduce. Based on studies using simulators on Earth, Zubair believes that the stem cells will more quickly mass produce in microgravity.

Thats the hypothesis hell be testing as the stem cells from his lab spend a month aboard the space station. Astronauts will conduct experiments measuring changes in the cells. They will then be returned on an unmanned rocket and Zubair will continue to study them in his lab.

We want to undersrand the process by which stem cells divide so we can grow them at a faster rate and also so we can suppress them when treating cancer, he said.

Zubair became interested in the idea of sending stem cells into space four years ago, when he learned of a request for proposals that involved medicine and outer space. Hes been trying to arrange to send stem cells into space for three years.

In May 2015, he sent stem cells to the edge of space as a hot-air balloon carried a capsule filled with cells from his lab to about 100,000 feet then dropped the capsule. The idea was to test how the cells handled re-entry into the Earths atmosphere.

It turned out well, he said. The cells were alive and functioning.

Zubair was supported in that effort as he is being supported in sending cells to the space station by the Center for Applied Science Technology. Its chief executive is Lee Harvey, a retired Navy pilot and former astronaut candidate who lives in Orange Park.

While stem cells have myriad potential medical applications, one that particularly interests Zubair is the use of them in treating stroke patients. Its a personal cause to Zubair, whose mother died of a stroke in 1997.

Weve shown that an infusion of stem cells at the site of stroke improves the inflammation and also secretes factors for the regeneration of neurons and blood vessels, he said.

Zubair hasnt entirely given up on his old dream of being an astronaut. Hes applied for the civilian astronaut program. But he doesnt expect that to happen.

Im not sure I made a cut, he said. I just wanted to apply.

And he realizes what a long, strange trip hes made.

I have come so far from Africa to here, he said, and now Im sending stem cells into space.

Charlie Patton: (904) 359-4413

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Mayo researcher Abba Zubair is sending stem cells for study on the International Space Station - Florida Times-Union

The two contractors that NASA has hired to build new spacecrafts to fly astronauts to the International Space Station could face further delays that push certification of their vehicles to 2019, two years behind schedule, according to a report issued Thursday by government investigators.

If that happens, NASA might be stranded, with no way to get its astronauts to the International Space Station, the Government Accountability Office said.

In 2014, NASA awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX to develop vehicles that could restore the agency'sability to put human in space afterthe space shuttle was retired in 2011. Under the Commercial Crew program, Boeing was awarded $4.2 billion; SpaceX $2.6 billion.

Since the shuttle was mothballed, NASA has had to rely on Russia to fly its astronauts to the station, an orbiting laboratory some 240 miles above Earth. NASA currently has bought seats with Russia through 2018, the report said. But there could be a problem if Boeing and SpaceX face further delays because it typically takes three years to procure seats from Russia, the report said.

In order to avoid a potential crew transportation gap in 2019, the contracting process would have needed to start in early 2016, the GAO said.

It added that if NASA does not develop a viable contingency plan for ensuring access to the ISS in the event of further Commercial Crew delays, it risks not being able to maximize the return on its multibillion dollar investment in the space station.

Relying on Russia has come at considerable cost for NASAand for a country that won the Apollo-era space race to the moon.

Last year, a report issued by NASAs Inspector General found the cost Russia charges jumped from $21.3 million in 2006 to $81.9 million in 2015.

In its report, the GAO said that in 2015, SpaceX identified cracks in the turbines of its engine. NASA informed SpaceX that the cracks amount to an unacceptable risk for human spaceflight, the GAO said. SpaceX officials told us that they are working closely with NASA to eliminate these cracks in order to meet NASAs stringent targets for human rating.

The GAO said that SpaceXs biggest risks stem from the fact that it is constantly upgrading its rocket to make it more efficient and robust. The GAO said there may not be enough time for SpaceX to implement these changes and get them approved prior to the first uncrewed flight test in November 2017.

The company has already had two catastrophic failures of its Falcon 9, the rocket that it would use to fly astronauts to the station. In 2015, a Falcon 9 exploded while it was carrying cargobut no crewto the station. Then last September, another one blew up while it was being fueled on a Cape Canaveral launch pad ahead of an engine test fire.

The company has since returned to flight, and plans to launch another cargo mission to the station Saturday.

Unlike other rockets, which are fueled before astronauts board, SpaceX plans to fuel the rocket while they are in the vehicle. And that, the GAO said, is another potential safety risk.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The risks with Boeings offeringa Starliner capsule that would launch aboard an Atlas V rocketare related to the rockets Russian-made engine. While the rocket is viewed as highly reliable and has been certified by the Pentagon to launch national security satellites, it hasnt yet been certified by NASA to fly humans.

But getting the data needed to make that certification has been difficult because it is highly restricted by agreements between the U.S. and Russian governments.

Boeing said that the United Launch Alliance, which makes the Atlas V, will provide NASA with complete insight into the RD-180 engines.

It also said that, providing astronauts with safe crew transportation to and from the International Space Station is our first and most important priority. Both companies have made significant progress on their launch sites. Boeing recently showed off the Cape Canaveral launch pad it renovated for the program. And on Saturday, SpaceX plans to launch from pad 39A, the historic site that hosted many of the Apollo and shuttle launches.

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Government watchdog says SpaceX, Boeing delays could imperil NASA's presence on the space station - Washington Post

February 16, 2017 Backdropped by the blackness of space and the thin line of Earth's atmosphere, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation. Earlier the STS-119 and Expedition 18 crews concluded 9 days, 20 hours and 10 minutes of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 2:53 p.m. (CDT) on March 25, 2009. Credit: NASA/ESA

Today, ground control in Belgium switched off a package that had been continuously watching the Sun from the International Space Station for nine years.

'Solar' has been measuring most of the radiation emitted by our closest star across the electromagnetic spectrum. Built to run for only 18 months, it was still working until today exceeding all expectations.

Solar's observations are improving our understanding of the Sun and allowing scientists to create accurate computer models and predict its behaviour.

To predict how the Sun behaves, scientists create complex computer models to build a virtual star. With more observations, scientists can fine-tune their models. Modelling and predicting the Sun's activity with precision is an important step towards understanding humankind's effect on Earth's climate.

Between 2012 and 2016, the Space Station turned itself five times to position Solar so that it could track the Sun without interruption for a complete solar day around a month of Earth days.

It was the first time the Station changed attitude for scientific reasons alone and a huge achievement it's not every day that you move a 450 tonne orbital outpost.

Today, Solar was moved to a parked position where it was secured with a pin. Even during its last days, Solar was delivering important data.

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The teams at the control centre in Brussels, Belgium, used the final moments to stress the hardware to its limits and gain a better understanding of how the observations have been affected by age and the intense changes in temperature it endures outside the Station. Using this extra information, researchers are developing software that will improve calibration of parts of the data.

ESA's project leader, Astrid Orr, comments, "After all these years of gaining valuable information about our Sun it is an emotional moment for the team, but Solar has far exceeded everyone's expectations."

"This kind of research does not deliver pretty pictures, but numbers. I tip my hat to the researchers who patiently sort through the wealth of data this field of science may seem tedious and unexciting to the outside world, but climate studies heavily rely on these data to understand the world we live in and how we are shaping it."

Explore further: International Space Station salutes the Sun

The distribution of normal matter precisely determines gravitational acceleration in all common types of galaxies, a team led by Case Western Reserve University researchers reports.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft recently detected organic-rich areas on Ceres. Scientists evaluated the geology of the regions to conclude that the organics are most likely native to the dwarf planet. Data from the spacecraft suggest ...

War correspondent, statesman, astronomer. Stargazing may not be what Winston Churchill is best remembered for, but a treatise he wrote on extraterrestrial life has revealed his scientific acumen six decades later.

(Phys.org)Astronomers have detected four faint, polarized flares at 154 MHz from the nearby variable star UV Ceti. The newly observed flares are much fainter than most flares found at these frequencies. The findings were ...

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Using a novel method and data from the Gaia space telescope, astronomers from the University of Toronto have estimated that the speed of the Sun as it orbits the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy is approximately 240 kilometres ...

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Setting sun on space station solar research - Phys.org - Phys.Org

Feb. 15, 2017: A team of students from Bearden Elementary entered and won the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. Now, their test will be performed by astronauts on the International Space Station.

Michael Crowe, WBIR 7:26 PM. EST February 15, 2017

Riley Speas holds a replica of the test tube that will be sent to the International Space Station. (Photo: WBIR)

A group of Knox County students is preparing for an out of this world experience this weekend.

A team of students fro Bearden Elementary entered and won the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. Now, their experiment on the effect of microgravity on the efficacy of antibiotics on a strain of the pink eye virus will be performed by astronauts on the International Space Station.

Students from Bearden Middle work on their experiment. (Photo: WBIR)

On the ISS, bacteria spreads much quicker because you cant use water, and its a lot harder to clean things, said Alex Hoffman, and eighth-grader at Bearden who worked on the project.

The group hopes their test could help solve one of the big problems of long-haul space travel the spread of germs on a sealed spacecraft.

Many of them could be close quarters disease that could spread really fast, said Riley Speas, another eighth-grader in the group. So to have an experiment that might help humans get to Mars faster is really exciting to think about.

Riley Speas is one of several Bearden Middle School students headed to Florida this weekend to watch their experiment launch for the ISS. (Photo: WBIR)

The students will travel to Florida this weekend for the SpaceX rocket launch, which is slated for Feb. 18. The launch has been delayed several times from August 2016.

The International Space Station. (Photo: WBIR)

The group also includes students from Vine Middle and Halls. Halls won second place, but their project will not go to space.

The Vine teams project was selected for a later launch, scheduled in June. That group is led by Melody Hawkins, an 8th grade science teacher at Vine.

Its truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for our students, she said. Im excited to see that maybe it will create a love or new passion for science they didnt have before.

The Vine experiment involved separating blue-green algae from water which could help advance water purification technology.

We focus a lot on standards, that definitely is our education model, standards based, but this gave us an opportunity to take the standard that were working on in the classroom, and extend it out into things that happen in the real world," Hawkins said.

When they found their project had been selected it was a huge surprise.

A group of students from Vine Middle School work on their experiment, which is slated to be sent to the ISS in June. (Photo: WBIR)

She passed out, laughed Sude Buyuktazeler, gesturing at Shukurani Cimpaye.

"I literally jumped out of my seat and started jumping, it was so exciting, she added.

And the educators are happy to have students taking a hands-on role in their education designing experiments and proposals that could further the future of space travel before they can drive here on earth.

It feels really, really cool because a lot of people, they don't get to help with stuff and theyre adults, said Speas. So being the age I am it's like, Woah, it's pretty awesome that I'm affecting the course of history almost.' It's pretty cool."

( 2017 WBIR)

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Knox Co. students' experiment headed to space station - WBIR.com

Have you ever wanted to take a trip to the International Space Station without going through all the invasive medical tests, rigorous astronaut training, and excessive consumption of tang? Well, now you can. All you need is a computer and internet connection.

The Beacon has created an interact guide giving you a glimpse of life on board the International Space Station. The guide includes the space stations many modules as well as a timeline for when the modules were added to the Station. The guide also shows the many activities one might enjoy on the Station (when you arent busy doing the mannequin challenge, of course).

Have you ever wondered where an astronaut sleeps? Check out the crew quarters. How they exercise? The Cevis and The Colbert are two state-of-the-art exercise machines designed to keep the ISS inhabitant health and strong. Maybe youre wondering how an astronaut uses the restroom. Well thats a bit weird, but hey, that information is there too. Heres a hint, it involves a suction system. You know, the same type of suction system we use here on Earth.

Launched into orbit in 1998, the International Space Station is the largest artificial body in orbit around the Earth. According to NASA.gov, the ISS measures 357 feet end-to-end which is as large as a standard football field. An international partnership of space agencies maintains and operates the ISS. The United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada have all participate in the upkeep of the station.

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Interactive guide gives you taste of life on the International Space Station - The Corner News (blog)

When it comes to basic sci-fi setups, nobody would ever accuse fighting for your life on a space station thats been taken over by aliens of being particularly fresh. Whether youre talking about movies, books, or games, its the kind of premise that serves as sturdy scaffolding a framework on which to hang what are (hopefully) much more interesting ideas and interactions. So when I sat down to preview the first hour of Prey, Arkane Studios upcoming reboot of the mid-aughts shooter, I didnt quite know what to expect. What I found was a first-person action game, with some solid role-playing elements, set off by some creative narrative twists. Well, enough twists for the first hour, at least.

To start off, Prey has nothing to do whatsoever with the original game, or its canceled sequel. When asked by journalists why the game has the title it does given the utter lack of connective tissue, lead designer Ricardo Bare was honest: "Because Prey is a really good name for a game." This version takes place in the year 2032, in an alternate reality timeline where the player takes on the role of Morgan Yu. (Players can select either a male or female version of the character; I went with the latter.)

When the game begins, Morgan is preparing to undergo some strange psychological and behavioral tests at the behest of her brother, Alex. Everything seems to be going fairly smoothly until an alien creature attacks one of the doctors. Soon, Morgan finds herself on the space station Talos I, which has been completely overrun by a shape-shifting alien species called the Typhon. It turns out that Morgans been the subject of these mysterious experiments far longer than she realizes, and has suffered massive holes in her memory as a result. She begins chasing down the clues and videos that shes left for herself in order to understand whats going on and, one assumes, to eventually stop the Typhon.

This isnt a horror title; its an action game

Despite the look of some of the early footage, Prey isnt a horror title; its an action game, though it does utilize handy jump scares from time to time as random objects suddenly morph into the scurrying, multi-legged Typhon for an attack. It has a semi-open-world feel, allowing players to explore the space station largely at will. Most obstacles in the game offer multiple solutions. A locked door can be accessed by finding a keycard, for example, or by exploring an alternate route to circumvent the issue altogether.

The role-playing side of things comes into play with what Prey calls neuromods. In the game, humans are able to give themselves enhanced skills by collecting what are essentially cybernetic implants. They cover a trio of skills sets hacking, engineering, and combat with branching skill trees for each discipline letting users shape their character as they see fit. Its another way in which Prey lets players solve problems in multiple ways. I unlocked a pesky door by upgrading my hacking abilities. A hard-to-reach second floor in an atrium could have been reached by upgrading ones engineering skills to repair the lift, or by creating a makeshift platform using a weapon that shoots rapidly hardening foam. (According to Bare, theres an elaborate crafting system in the game as well, though it never came up during my hour of gameplay.)

While the notion of an overrun space station isnt particularly novel, Prey does stand out by creating a world with some beautiful aesthetics that look both believably near-future, and lived in. According to the games backstory, the Talos I started as a government space station in the 60s before being taken over by a private company in 2030, and the design melds the design language of 1960s science fiction large, magnetic tape storage systems and retro hardware litter the place with the kind of wood panelling and gold trim youd expect from a gaudy hotel.

The first hour is filled with its share of plot twists and turns

In terms of sheer gameplay, nothing about Prey was particularly mind-blowing in the time I spent with the game. Its using concepts weve seen before, put together in combinations weve seen before. But theres a polish to the whole thing that makes it undeniably fun on the most basic level; the kind of game that you can just pick up and dive into with total and complete familiarity right at the top. But much like the premise itself, that easygoing gameplay feels like its there to set up some larger aspirations: the ideas behind the narrative itself.

Ive been trying to stay away from too many plot specifics, because the first hour of Prey turns out to be filled with more than its fair share of twists and turns and one of the early reveals was one of my favorite moments of the game. Its safe to say that there is an overarching mystery, and its not really about the alien creatures at all. Its about Morgan Yu herself, with the player thrown into the role of a character who cant trust her own memory or perception of reality. She ends up relying on clues she has left for herself, a kind of unreliable narrator that adds a Memento-esque twist to the fighting, exploring, and side missioning.

Arkane has also made a point of noting that players can choose either male or female versions of the lead character. Morgan was picked as the characters name precisely because it was gender neutral, and in terms of representation, the move is to be applauded. However, despite that choice, Bare says that swapping gender roles doesnt actually change the story in any appreciable way. Different pronouns are used when characters address Morgan, and family photos that appear in the game reflect the players choice. But other than that, theres nothing about the ways in which characters interact with Morgan that shifts. For a game that is purportedly about identity, it seems like it could end up being a missed opportunity particularly given that Bare says the story can be impacted by the ways in which the player interacts with various survivors they come into contact with.

Of course, depending on how the mysteries of Prey play out, that issue may not be as problematic as it seems at first. And thats assuming the narrative actually continues to fire throughout the entirety of the game in the first place. Bare says the average time to finish has been running between 14 to 16 hours, though some players have needed 20 hours or more, and that could end up being a lot of mystery to string out depending on how engaging the pure gameplay is unto itself. No matter what happens on that front, however, one things for certain: its certainly going to look glorious.

Prey is scheduled for release on May 5th for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

More:

Prey puts the fun back into fighting for your life on a space station ... - The Verge

UF researchers will launch seeds into space to prepare for the future of space travel and Earths changing environment Friday.

The researchers will be conduct- ing the first experiment on plants epigenetics, or how the environment in space modifies plants DNA, said Collin LeFrois, a second-year UF doctoral student working with the researchers. Studying plants in space will help researchers understand how they grow while Earths environment changes.

The important thing is that this is kind of the first experiment of its kind, LeFrois said. No one has really looked at epigenetics in space-flight in any system.

Once the seeds of the arabidopsis, a plant in the mustard family, reach the International Space Station, astronauts will plant them in a growth hardware machine and take photos

of their growth for 11 days. Then, the plants will return to Earth to be studied at the UF Space Plants Lab, said Anna-Lisa Paul, the co-principal investigator with the lab.

UF researchers have sent plants into space six other times, Paul said. Studying plants reactions to space is important because as carbon dioxide levels and pollutants increase on Earth, it becomes more stressful for plants to grow, she said.

Paul said she knows humans arent going to be on Earth forever.

Even if it means short exploration trips to Mars or to the moon, we are going to need to bring plants with us. Its what we do, she said.

Go here to see the original:

UF researchers to send plants to the International Space Station - The Independent Florida Alligator

Blink and you'll miss it. Astrophotographer Thierry Legault posted a spectacular video of the International Space Station bisecting the moon last week. The European Space Agency highlighted his work on Monday.

Catching a transit is tricky. Legault originally tried to photograph it from Lyon in France, but cloudy skies foiled the effort. Another attempt from Rouen, the birthplace of ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, on February 4 proved more successful. Pesquet is currently in residence on board the ISS.

The transit took place during just a fraction of a second. Legault's video first shows the station streaking along, but then slows it down to give viewers a better look at its movement as it cuts down the moon's center line.

A zoomed-in version shows off Legault's photography skills and the surprising amount of detail on display from both the ISS and the moon. You can even see the station's long solar arrays.

Astrophotographers relish the challenge of snapping an ISS transit. NASA photographer Bill Ingalls captured an image of the ISS transiting the sun in 2015 and another of it in front of the moon that same year.

Does the Mac still matter? Apple execs tell why the MacBook Pro was over four years in the making, and why we should care.

Solving for XX: The industry seeks to overcome outdated ideas about "women in tech."

11

These 10 space images look unbelievable, but are actually real (pictures)

Read the rest here:

See the space station gloriously bisect the moon - CNET - CNET

Just before 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 the ISS will fly over Asheville and be visible as it crosses overhead for just over four minutes. (Photo credit: MGN)

The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth, and it's visible when it flies over Asheville, if you know where and when to look.

Just before 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 the ISS will fly over Asheville and be visible as it crosses overhead for just over four minutes.

If skies are clear in your area, look northwest at about 7:15 p.m., and wait for the ISS to become visible over the horizon. It will look like a bright, fast-moving star, and will travel overhead and move out of sight into the eastern horizon.

The ISS travels at about 17,150 mph hour, if you can believe that, and you can view how many people are aboard it right here.

You can track where the ISS is here. There's even a livecam on the ISS, and you can see what the international astronauts are seeing here.

See original here:

LOOK UP! International Space Station flies over Asheville on Valentine's Day - WLOS

Last week, U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson tweeted a picture of the Chinese cabbageshes growing on the International Space Station as part of an ongoing study called, aptly enough, the Veggie Project. Think about that: Not only can someone use social media from nearly 250 miles above the planet, they can also grow delicious vegetables there, too.

I am growing cabbage on station. I love gardening on Earth, and it is just as fun in space I just need more room to plant more! pic.twitter.com/5hGMltDVCy

Peggy Whitson (@AstroPeggy) February 8, 2017

ThisFriday, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station will harvestand eatthecabbage, a variety called Tokyo Bekana, which is the first cabbage to be grown in space (astronauts have previously growna romaine variety and some flowers, too.)

Like everything else at NASA, how Tokyo Bekana was selectedinvolves research, research, and more research. Short stature and fast growth were the two main traits scientists were looking for in a crop. A variety of plants, including Swiss chard, several lettuce varieties, spinach and beets, were tested and consideredafter all, the whole point is to get the astronauts to eat their veggies. (Just kidding. In actual fact, the project is about figuring out the best way to grow vegetables in space for long-duration trips, such as goingto Mars, and to provide the crew with a means of recreation and relaxation.)

We conducted a survey of several leafy green vegetables and looked at how the crops grew, how nutritious they were, and how a taste panel felt about them, Gioia Massa, a scientist on the project, told Modern Farmer in an email. The Tokyo bekana Chinese cabbage variety was rated as the top in growth and the favorite of tasters.

Since this is space,a special system was needed. The Vegetable Production System(nickname: Veggie) forgoes soil in favor of aplant pillow that includescontrolled-release fertilizer, water, and calcined clay, which helps with aeration. The system, developed byOrbital Technologies Corp,also uses red and green LED grow lights to replacesunlight. A new, large, plant-growing system namedtheAdvanced Plant Habitat(no nick name yet) has been developed and is expected to head up to ISS sometime this year.

According to Massa, one thing the scientist have learned is that the plants are growinga bit more slowly than expected, but are generally growing well. This is pretty much uncharted territory and things dont always go as imagined.

Our testing has revealed that leaves growing under the high CO2 of the International Space Station sometimes have yellowing and we are seeing a little of this yellowing response, she says. Being able to distribute the correct level of moisture and oxygen to plant roots has been one of the biggest challenges we face. Getting other environmental conditions optimal for plants is also a challenge.

The astronauts have already successfully grown (and eaten, and experimented on) red romaine lettuce, but this is the first time Chinese cabbage will be on the menu.Whitson, who loves to garden on Earth, too, has been in charge of growing this round of vegetables.How the crew plans to enjoy this mild and peppery green hasnt been determined. It can be eaten raw as a salad green or sautedin a stir fry. But they only get to eat half the crop as the rest will be used for experiments.

Original post:

The Astronauts on the International Space Station Are About to Harvest Chinese Cabbage - Modern Farmer

It may look more like a Companion Cube than R2-D2, but the ISS is getting an astromechdroid of sorts.

According to [Trey Smith] of the NASA Ames Research Center, Astrobee is an autonomous robot that will be able to maneuver inside the ISS in three dimensions using vectored thrust from a pair of turbines. The floating droid will navigate visually, using a camera to pick out landmarks aboard the station, including docking ports that let it interface with power and data. A simple arm allows Astrobee to grab onto any of the hand rails inside the ISS to provide a stable point for viewing astronaut activities or helping out with the science.

As cool as Astrobee is, were intrigued by how the team at Ames is testing it. The droid is mounted on a stand that floats over an enormous and perfectly flat granite slab using low-friction CO gas bearings, giving it freedom to move in two dimensions. We cant help but wonder why they didnt suspend the Astrobee from a gantry using a counterweight to add that third dimension in. Maybe thats next.

From the sound of it, Astrobee is slated to be flight ready by the end of 2017, so well be watching to see how it does. But if they find themselves with a little free time in the schedule, perhaps adding a few 3D-printed cosmetics would allow them to enter the Hackaday Sci-Fi Contest.

Go here to see the original:

Turbine-driven Robot to Navigate Inside Space Station - Hackaday

For years, their existence has been debated: elusive electrical discharges in the upper atmosphere that sport names such as red sprites, blue jets, pixies and elves. Reported by pilots, they are difficult to study as they occur above thunderstorms.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen during his mission on the International Space Station in 2015 was asked to take pictures over thunderstorms with the most sensitive camera on the orbiting outpost to look for these brief features.

Denmark's National Space Institute has now published the results, confirming many kilometre-wide blue flashes around 18 km altitude, including a pulsating blue jet reaching 40 km. A video recorded by Andreas as he flew over the Bay of Bengal at 28 800 km/h on the Station shows the electrical phenomena clearly - a first of its kind.

Satellites had probed these events but their viewing angle is not ideal for gathering data on the scale of the blue jets and smaller blue discharges. In contrast, the Station's lower orbit is ideally placed to capture the sprites and jets.

Andreas aimed for cloud turrets - cloud pillars extending into the upper atmosphere - and shot a 160 second video showing 245 blue flashes from the top of a turret that drifted from the Bay of Bengal's thunderstorm.

The blue discharges and jets are examples of a little-understood part of our atmosphere. Electrical storms reach into the stratosphere and have implications for how our atmosphere protects us from radiation.

Permanent observation This experiment confirms that the Space Station is a suitable base for observing these phenomena. As a follow-up, the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor is being prepared for launch later this year for installation outside Europe's Columbus laboratory to monitor thunderstorms continuously to gather information about such 'transient luminous events'.

Andreas concludes, "It is not every day that you get to capture a new weather phenomenon on film, so I am very pleased with the result - but even more so that researchers will be able to investigate these intriguing thunderstorms in more detail soon."

Link:

Blue jets studied from Space Station - Space Daily

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Last week, you probably heard a lot about the full 'snow moon,' the lunar eclipse, and even the faint green comet passing close to Earth. But the most stunning photo of the week involved none of those things.

Florida photographer James Boone captured a series of photos Thursday night showing the International Space Station passing in front of the bright nearly-full moon, which is known as a lunar transit. It's an incredibly difficult feat to achieve -- many photographers plan and practice for years to be ready for such an occasion.

That was indeed the case for James, who's a regular contributor of stunning weather photos to FOX 13 (see his other photos above or click over to his website). We asked him to elaborate a little on how he managed to get the shot, and if he had any advice for other astrophotographers out there.

Here are his answers:

When and where did you shoot this photo?

I shot this from near the Orlando Airport [Thursday night] around 10pm. Exact time was 10:05:38...the ISS takes less than a second to transit the Moon.

How long have you been trying to get a shot like this?

I've wanted this shot as soon as I saw similar photos online of ISS transits. I've probably planned this photo around a dozen times over the past four years...mostly missed my chances due to the weather not cooperating or because I wasn't able to drive to the location the day of the transit.

What inspired you to try for this shot?

There are a few photographers / amateur astronomers who do some incredible work and post their techniques online. Thierry Legault, a French astronomer, is probably the most inspiring. He has captured lunar and solar transits with the ISS and even the space shuttle.

Let's talk about the technical details: What kind of camera, how many exposures? How did you determine what settings to use?

For last night's transit, I had two camera setups -- one with a traditional DSLR lens and the other hooked up with a telescope. The traditional setup was a Nikon D500, Nikkor 300mm f/4 lens and a Nikkor TC-20e Teleconverter (which gives the lens two times the reach). This setup is equivalent to a 900mm lens on a 35mm camera. I also used a polar aligned tracking mount - SkyWatcher Star Adventurer on a tripod. This moves the camera at the same speed as the Earth's rotation so that the Moon stayed center of the frame during the time I was shooting.

My telescope setup was a Nikon D750 and Orion 10" Dobsonian DSE telescope with an adapter to hook the camera up to the eyepiece. The telescope setup was the most difficult one to get as you're only working with a section of the moon so you have to hope that the ISS will cross where you have the telescoped pointed. Also the D750's memory buffer fills up at around 5 seconds so I can't start shooting until the last moment.

I fired off around 20 seconds worth of exposures with my D500, so that ended up being around 200 exposures total...only six of those frames ended up showing the transit. The telescope setup I probably shot 30 exposures and it only showed up in one (and it was the first shot I took...so I was cutting it close).

And the logistics: How did you know where and when to shoot from in order to get the station lined up with the moon?

I use two sites in order to prepare for shots like this. Calsky is the standard as it's been around for years but it's also somewhat tricky to use. Thankfully they've made it a little easier to find these transits within the last couple of years. Also, Transit-Finder.com is a relatively new site but uses the same basic data as Calsky but is more focused and way more user-friendly to use. I'll probably use that one from now on. Also there are a few apps out there, like ISS Finder and SkyView, that I use for tracking the ISS that are handy when I'm shooting. I've attached one of the screenshots from the SkyView app I use.

A little about you: How long have you been shooting? Do you have a 'day job'?

I've been taking photos since I was a kid but didn't pick up a DSLR until 2008. Outside of shooting astronomical objects, I'm a motorsports shooter for races like the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and St. Pete Grand Prix. I also take photos of lightning during our storm season. And yes, I have a day job. I'm not good enough to earn a living as a full-time photographer.

What are some of your other favorite shots through the years?

Probably my most popular photos are some of my moonrise photos, storm shots and some motorsports stuff. Not everyone is into racecars, which I understand, but it is some of the toughest, most demanding photography out there. Plus I love how technically difficult it is when shooting fast cars at slow shutter speeds. Also shooting some astrophotography objects can be really rewarding once you get the image fully processed, which is a lot of work. See attached.

Any advice for aspiring photographers on getting this photo or any other tough shot?

Planning is key. For most of these transit shots, you can't actually see the ISS moving across the sky as it's either too late in the evening for the lunar transits or during the day for the solar transits. You really have to trust the data from the websites. Having a long lens or telescope is definitely a plus but this shot can be done relatively inexpensively. Also, don't give up if you don't get it the first trying to get a difficult shot. I miss plenty of shots but I also love the challenge of a truly difficult photo.

LINK: http://www.JamesBoonePhoto.com

Read the rest here:

Photographer explains how he captured rare space station moon photo - FOX 5 DC

Forbes

What It Takes For The International Space Station To Stream Video To The Internet Forbes I read on Quora that ISS has a slow Internet connection (slow as a dial-up). How do they manage to stream live HD videos from ISS to YouTube? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others ...

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What It Takes For The International Space Station To Stream Video To The Internet - Forbes

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Last week, you probably heard a lot about the full 'snow moon,' the lunar eclipse, and even the faint green comet passing close to Earth. But the most stunning photo of the week involved none of those things.

Florida photographer James Boone captured a series of photos Thursday night showing the International Space Station passing in front of the bright nearly-full moon, which is known as a lunar transit. It's an incredibly difficult feat to achieve -- many photographers plan and practice for years to be ready for such an occasion.

That was indeed the case for James, who's a regular contributor of stunning weather photos to FOX 13 (see his other photos above or click over to his website). We asked him to elaborate a little on how he managed to get the shot, and if he had any advice for other astrophotographers out there.

Here are his answers:

When and where did you shoot this photo?

I shot this from near the Orlando Airport [Thursday night] around 10pm. Exact time was 10:05:38...the ISS takes less than a second to transit the Moon.

How long have you been trying to get a shot like this?

I've wanted this shot as soon as I saw similar photos online of ISS transits. I've probably planned this photo around a dozen times over the past four years...mostly missed my chances due to the weather not cooperating or because I wasn't able to drive to the location the day of the transit.

What inspired you to try for this shot?

There are a few photographers / amateur astronomers who do some incredible work and post their techniques online. Thierry Legault, a French astronomer, is probably the most inspiring. He has captured lunar and solar transits with the ISS and even the space shuttle.

Let's talk about the technical details: What kind of camera, how many exposures? How did you determine what settings to use?

For last night's transit, I had two camera setups -- one with a traditional DSLR lens and the other hooked up with a telescope. The traditional setup was a Nikon D500, Nikkor 300mm f/4 lens and a Nikkor TC-20e Teleconverter (which gives the lens two times the reach). This setup is equivalent to a 900mm lens on a 35mm camera. I also used a polar aligned tracking mount - SkyWatcher Star Adventurer on a tripod. This moves the camera at the same speed as the Earth's rotation so that the Moon stayed center of the frame during the time I was shooting.

My telescope setup was a Nikon D750 and Orion 10" Dobsonian DSE telescope with an adapter to hook the camera up to the eyepiece. The telescope setup was the most difficult one to get as you're only working with a section of the moon so you have to hope that the ISS will cross where you have the telescoped pointed. Also the D750's memory buffer fills up at around 5 seconds so I can't start shooting until the last moment.

I fired off around 20 seconds worth of exposures with my D500, so that ended up being around 200 exposures total...only six of those frames ended up showing the transit. The telescope setup I probably shot 30 exposures and it only showed up in one (and it was the first shot I took...so I was cutting it close).

And the logistics: How did you know where and when to shoot from in order to get the station lined up with the moon?

I use two sites in order to prepare for shots like this. Calsky is the standard as it's been around for years but it's also somewhat tricky to use. Thankfully they've made it a little easier to find these transits within the last couple of years. Also, Transit-Finder.com is a relatively new site but uses the same basic data as Calsky but is more focused and way more user-friendly to use. I'll probably use that one from now on. Also there are a few apps out there, like ISS Finder and SkyView, that I use for tracking the ISS that are handy when I'm shooting. I've attached one of the screenshots from the SkyView app I use.

A little about you: How long have you been shooting? Do you have a 'day job'?

I've been taking photos since I was a kid but didn't pick up a DSLR until 2008. Outside of shooting astronomical objects, I'm a motorsports shooter for races like the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and St. Pete Grand Prix. I also take photos of lightning during our storm season. And yes, I have a day job. I'm not good enough to earn a living as a full-time photographer.

What are some of your other favorite shots through the years?

Probably my most popular photos are some of my moonrise photos, storm shots and some motorsports stuff. Not everyone is into racecars, which I understand, but it is some of the toughest, most demanding photography out there. Plus I love how technically difficult it is when shooting fast cars at slow shutter speeds. Also shooting some astrophotography objects can be really rewarding once you get the image fully processed, which is a lot of work. See attached.

Any advice for aspiring photographers on getting this photo or any other tough shot?

Planning is key. For most of these transit shots, you can't actually see the ISS moving across the sky as it's either too late in the evening for the lunar transits or during the day for the solar transits. You really have to trust the data from the websites. Having a long lens or telescope is definitely a plus but this shot can be done relatively inexpensively. Also, don't give up if you don't get it the first trying to get a difficult shot. I miss plenty of shots but I also love the challenge of a truly difficult photo.

LINK: http://www.JamesBoonePhoto.com

View original post here:

Photographer explains how he captured rare space station moon ... - FOX 13 News, Tampa Bay

The International Space Station will soon be getting some new robot occupants. Astrobee is a robotic cube packed with sensors, cameras, computers, and apropulsion system. Its designed tohelp astronauts around the ISS with a variety of tasks.

While the robot is designed to fly freely on board the ISS, for testing on the ground, Astrobee is mounted on top of a sled that uses a jet of CO2 to create a low-friction air bearing above a perfectly flat (and very enormous) block of granite. This allows the researchers to simulate microgravity in two dimensions to test the robots propulsion and navigation systems, but once its up in space, the entire robot will consist of just the cube thats defined by the blue bumpers, without all of the stuff underneath it.

Last fall, IEEE Spectrum visited NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., to have a look at the latest Astrobee prototype and meet the team behind the robot.

NASA expects to have Astrobee on orbit at some point between July 2017 and June 2018. Theyll be sending three of them to the ISS, although they only expect two robots to be active at once: The third will be packed away in a space closet somewhere.

Read More: How NASA's Astrobee Robot Is Bringing Useful Autonomy to the ISS

Originally posted here:

Astrobee: NASA's Newest Robot for the International Space Station - IEEE Spectrum

Mashable

This is a legitimately funny space prank Mashable According to the tweet, the two astronauts floated Whitson into the Russian half of the Space Station and gave their cosmonaut colleagues quite a surprise when she "popped out" of the bag. All in all, it sounds like a pretty good space prank. This is ... The Future Of Human Reproduction: Space PregnancyVocativ A look at the crazy-hardcore fitness regimen NASA is using to keep astronauts healthy and impenetrably strongMen's Fitness Space Traveling Affects Human Body SubstantiallyScience Times all 6 news articles »

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This is a legitimately funny space prank - Mashable