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Category Archives: Space Station

The worst trip around the world

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As you celebrate the end of the year in the warmth of your home, spare a thought for the organisms riding with a third-class ticket on the International Space Station - bolted to the outside with no protection against open space.

As part of ESA's Expose-R2 project, 46 species of bacteria, fungi and arthropods were delivered by a Progress supply ship to the Station in July. Spacewalking cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev attached the package to the outside of the Zvezda module on 18 August, where it will stay for 18 months.

Freeze-dry, warm, repeat The vacuum of space is sucking out the water, oxygen and other gases in the samples. Their temperature can drop to -12 C as the Station passes through Earth's shadow, rising to 40 C at other times, and undergoing a similar process to the freeze-drying used to preserve foods.

The Expose experiments are exploring the limits of terrestrial life, whether the organisms can survive in space and how the full blast of solar radiation is affecting accompanying chemicals.

Earth is protected from the Sun's full radiation by our atmosphere filtering out the hard-hitting short wavelengths that are damaging to life. It is difficult to recreate on the ground the full spectrum of the Sun's light so these experiments in space are the only way to test how biological and material samples behave in conditions beyond Earth.

ESA has a long history of testing organisms and organic chemicals in the harsh environment of space. Previous experiments revealed that lichens and water bears can survive spaceflight unprotected, hinting at the possibility of species colonising planets via meteoroids.

Bringing Mars closer to Earth Not every sample is suffering the same level of discomfort on its epic ride in space. Expose has special compartments that recreate the martian atmosphere by filtering some sunlight and retaining some pressure.

Rene Demets, ESA's project scientist for Expose, explains: "The martian sections allow us to investigate to what extent terrestrial life can cope with the extreme conditions on the Red Planet. We hope they will contribute to the discussion about the possibility of life on Mars."

All the samples are stored in duplicate or even triplicate to strengthen the scientific results when the three trays are returned to Earth in early 2016 for analysis.

Who knows what we will find or even if any of the organisms will have survived possibly the worst voyage around the world.

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The worst trip around the world

Time-lapse videos of Earth capture line between life and death

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Astronaut Alexander Gerst combines more than 12,000 photos taken about the International Space Station in 2014 into a collection of spellbinding videos that show our lively planet in gorgeous HD.

Auroras abound in the ESA's time-lapsed view of Earth from space. Video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET

We've already taken a look at some of the best still photos captured of the Earth from space in the past year, but high-quality video footage of our world from above can be harder to come by. Enter European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst, who has gifted all of humanity the beautiful compilation of time-lapse HD videos below, shot during his six-month stint on the International Space Station.

The six-minute video is actually created from combining 12,500 images taken at regular intervals by cameras that Gerst often setup to document experiments and docking procedures. Gerst's mission aboard the ISS ended in November.

Images of auroras abound in the video below, as do spellbinding shots of humming cities at night, storms and flashes of lightning, all captured as the space station sailed overhead, traveling as fast as 17,000 miles per hour. Also keep an eye out for the eye of a tropical storm, a few fascinating docking and detachment operations with visiting spacecraft, as well as a nice token outward-looking time lapse of the Milky Way.

But my favorite thing among all these thousands of images is the ever present greenish glow of the edge of our home planet's atmosphere, protecting us from the vacuum of space and from the punishing rays of the sun, also captured in blinding time-lapsed sunrises in the video. That emerald line, like everything else Gerst shares with us, is a stark reminder of just how tiny and fragile the vibrant envelope we live within is against the backdrop of a cold, unforgiving universe.

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2015 will be to watch this video anytime I have a bad day and be thankful that I not only get to live inside that beautiful green bubble but also that I live among others audacious and brave enough to leave it and send back images like these, so that we may be more aware of our great fortune (and in 4K, even). Happy New Year!

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Time-lapse videos of Earth capture line between life and death

International Space Station spotted in the sky over Britain on Christmas Eve – Video

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International Space Station spotted in the sky over Britain on Christmas Eve
Residents of southern European nation are forgiven for thinking that Santa was creating his annual rounds early this year, once the International satellite appeared as a sparkling dot in sky...

By: Arshad Ali

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International Space Station spotted in the sky over Britain on Christmas Eve - Video

International Space Station spotted in the sky over …

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Southerners enjoyed the best view of the man-made satellite, which looks like a small ball of light moving across the sky when viewed from earth.

It crossed the sky at about 5.20pm and was visible for about three minutes.

In London, people were advised to look at 35 degrees from the horizon and look to the west, and people further north at a slightly lower angle.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: The space station will be passing over and it might look like santas sleigh.

Twitter was quickly flooded with images of the passing space station, including a festive snap posted by astronaut Sam Cristoforetti from inside the craft itself.

The platform looks very different close up, with six astronauts currently on board performing experiments in zero gravity as part of its 42nd crew rotation.

A portion of the International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Endeavour is featured in this image photographed by a spacewalker It is made up of a series of interconnected modules for habitation and banks of solar panels for power.

The space station is maintained by a number of countries including the European Space Agency, NASA, and the Russian Federal Space Agency.

The station's crew reportedly took delivery of tins of caviar last month, which will be consumed as a New Year feast.

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International Space Station spotted in the sky over ...

Space station will be briefly visible over SD

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Wind Advisoryissued December 26 at 12:10AM PST expiring December 27 at 12:00PM PST in effect for: Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego

Frost Advisoryissued December 26 at 3:32AM PST expiring December 27 at 9:00AM PST in effect for: San Diego

Wind Advisoryissued December 26 at 3:32AM PST expiring December 27 at 12:00PM PST in effect for: San Diego

Wind Advisoryissued December 26 at 3:32AM PST expiring December 27 at 12:00PM PST in effect for: San Diego

Frost Advisoryissued December 26 at 3:32AM PST expiring December 27 at 7:00AM PST in effect for: San Diego

Frost Advisoryissued December 26 at 3:32AM PST expiring December 28 at 8:00AM PST in effect for: San Diego

Frost Advisoryissued December 26 at 12:10AM PST expiring December 27 at 9:00AM PST in effect for: San Diego

Wind Advisoryissued December 25 at 4:01AM PST expiring December 27 at 12:00PM PST in effect for: Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego

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Space station will be briefly visible over SD

ESA Time-Lapse Video Captures Six Months Of Space In Six Minutes From 'Blue Dot' Mission

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Ever wonder what it would be like to watch a time-lapse video of space while listening to trippy music? Now you can find out. An astounding video released by the European Space Agency this week compiled 12,500 photographsfrom the International Space Station for viewing in just six minutes.

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was serving as a flight engineer during a six-month-long expedition on the space station when he captured these striking images, encompassing lightning, sunrises, auroras and cities at nighttime, according to an ESA press release. Seen from a distance, our planet is just a blue dot, a fragile spaceship for humankind, Gerst said in a statement this year. We need to understand the universe we live in to protect our home.

Gerst, a German native, returned to Earth from the so-called Blue Dot mission last month, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, the commander, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman. All three have been monitored to see how they readapt to gravity after spending almost half a year in the weightlessness of space, according to an ESA press release.

The German, Russian and American documented their mission together on Twitter, posting photos of the crew and videos of floating water. The collaborative expedition included research projects on seedling growth, observation of meteors entering Earths atmosphere and studies of animal biology and bone and muscle physiology, according to NASA.

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ESA Time-Lapse Video Captures Six Months Of Space In Six Minutes From 'Blue Dot' Mission

How to photograph the Earth from space, with Chris Hadfield | At-Bristol Science Centre – Video

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How to photograph the Earth from space, with Chris Hadfield | At-Bristol Science Centre
Chris Hadfield is the world #39;s most famous moutachioed astronaut. Join Ross of the Live Science Team as he asks Chris about his experiences on-board the International Space Station, the future...

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How to photograph the Earth from space, with Chris Hadfield | At-Bristol Science Centre - Video


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