Category Archives: Transhuman News

While many of us are practicing social distancing, working from home or living in quarantine-like and isolated situations, life goes on as normal for the space station-dwelling astronauts.

They're aware of the pandemic and have been sharing their support for people across the globe through their Twitter accounts. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir shared her perspective: "From up here, it is easy to see that we are truly all in this together. #EarthStrong."

But the astronauts aren't just floating around and taking cool pictures of Earth. Each week, hundreds of science experiments are in progress on the station. In addition to working on these experiments, the astronauts study themselves to better understand the human body in space.

Here's a look at the cool science they've been doing 254 miles from Earth.

Space pants

Living in space is an adjustment for the human body as it adapts to the lack of gravity.

Over the years, astronauts have noticed changes in their vision as a response to the headward fluid shift they experience. This also increases pressure in the head.

Last week, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan, as well as Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, tested out the Russian Chibis hardware, also known as the Russian Space Agency's Lower Body Negative Pressure experiment.

It's basically a pair of pants housed in the Russian Orbital Segment of the space station.

The rubber pants use suction to draw fluids back down towards the legs and feet, just like we experience walking on Earth.

Researchers hope that hardware to reverse the fluid shift astronauts experience in space could also help with their vision changes.

While Morgan was wearing the Chibis pants, Meir used a tonometer to measure his eye pressure, with doctors on Earth watching in real time. Morgan's head and chest were also scanned to monitor blood flow.

The astronauts also tested their hearing as part of the European Space Agency's Acoustic Diagnostics experiment to monitor if the astronauts' hearing changes in response to noise and lack of gravity on the station.

Heart, muscle and bone

Multiple experiments are currently occurring on the station that could not only benefit the health of astronauts, but human life on Earth as well.

These cells could treat astronauts who experience heart abnormalities and be used to treat people and children with cardiac diseases and disorders on Earth. The cells can also be used to investigate the development of new pharmaceuticals.

One experiment, called Engineered Heart Tissues, allows the astronauts to watch heart cell muscle contractions in real time.

Meir and Morgan have been taking care of the heart cells, watching how they react to the lack of gravity. When the heart cells return to Earth, the results of the space experiment will be compared with a similar control experiment on Earth.

The astronauts have also been studying bone samples to understand and develop bone treatments for astronauts who suffer bone loss in space, as well as people diagnosed with osteoporosis on Earth. The goal is to determine new treatments for both.

Mice are also sharing space on the station with the astronauts in a mouse habitat so they can study how the mice and their gene expression reacts to zero gravity.

Understanding how their gene expression is altered can help NASA better prepare for long-term human spaceflight. The study also serves a secondary purpose of allowing them to determine countermeasures for muscle atrophy, which can occur in space or for patients on bed rest.

It's all in your gut

Astronauts don't get much of a chance to vary their diets in space. That means they could also be missing out on vital nutrients and other added benefits of the fresh food we consume on Earth.

The Japanese space agency's Probiotics investigation is studying how good gut bacteria could improve the human microbiome on long-term missions.

Meanwhile, the astronauts are also participating in an experiment called Food Acceptability, looking at the "menu fatigue" that happens when they eat based on limited options over months on the station. This usually causes them to lose weight by the time they return to Earth.

Link:
While we were stockpiling, here's what astronauts were up to in space last week - CNN

The International Space Station will again be visible over Greater Manchester for the next two weeks.

And this time round, most of the spacecrafts passes will occur at the end of each day from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

From tonight until Saturday, April 4 you will have 14 chances to spot the glowing ISS as it moves across the sky approximately 29 times faster than a commercial jet.

The space station is currently occupied by an international crew of three people who live and work there while travelling at five miles per second.

The crews living and working space is larger than a six-bedroom house and contains a gym and a 360-degree view bay window.

The International Space Station orbits the Earth every 90 minutes travelling through 16 sunrises and sunsets in the space of 24 hours.

To see it this year, head outside during the times listed below.

The ISS looks like a fast flying plane or a very bright star moving across the sky - but it doesnt have flashing lights or change direction.

Planes usually fly at approximately 600 miles per hour whereas the space station flies at 17,500 miles per hour.

Read more from the original source:
When you can see the International Space Station flying over Greater Manchester over the next week - Manchester Evening News

For some light relief, take the kids into the garden tonight ( Wed 25 March ) to view the International Space Station over Nottingham should be a clear night too!

The space station looks like an aeroplane or a very bright star moving across the sky, except it doesnt have flashing lights or change direction. It will also be moving considerably faster than a typical aeroplane (aeroplanes generally fly at about 600 miles per hour; the space station flies at 17,500 miles per hour)

Wed Mar 25, 7:38 PM

5 min

62

12 above WSW

21 above E

Time is when the sighting opportunity will begin in your local time zone. All sightings will occur within a few hours before or after sunrise or sunset. This is the optimum viewing period as the sun reflects off the space station and contrasts against the darker sky.

Visible is the maximum time period the space station is visible before crossing back below the horizon.

Max Height is measured in degrees (also known as elevation). It represents the height of the space station from the horizon in the night sky. The horizon is at zero degrees, and directly overhead is ninety degrees. If you hold your fist at arms length and place your fist resting on the horizon, the top will be about 10 degrees.

Appears is the location in the sky where the station will be visible first. This value, like maximum height, also is measured in degrees from the horizon. The letters represent compass directions N is north, WNW is west by northwest, and so on.

Disappears represents where in the night sky the International Space Station will leave your field of view.

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How to see the International Space Station over Nottingham tonight - West Bridgford Wire

Science fiction has always been a medium for futuristic imagination and while different colored aliens and intergalactic travel are yet to be discovered, there is an array of technologies that are no longer figments of the imagination thanks to the world of science fiction. Some of the creative inventions that have appeared in family-favorite movies like "Back to the Future" and "Total Recall," are now at the forefront of modern technology. Here are a few of our favorite technologies that went from science fiction to reality.

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From: "Star Trek: The Original Series"

It's something that almost everyone has in their pockets. Mobile phones have become a necessity in modern life with a plethora of remarkable features. The first mobile phone was invented in 1973, the Motorola DynaTAC. It was a bulky thing that weighed 2.4 lbs. (1.1 kilograms) and had a talk time of about 35 minutes. It also cost thousands of dollars.

The Motorola DynaTAC was invented by Martin Cooper, who led a team that created the phone in just 90 days. A long-standing rumor was that Cooper got his inspiration from an episode of Star Trek where Captain Kirk used his hand-held communications device. However, Cooper stated in a 2015 interview that the original inspiration was from a comic strip called Dick Tracy, in which the character used a "wrist two-way radio."

From: "Star Trek: The Original Series"

While exploring space, characters such as Captain Kirk and Spock would come across alien life who spoke a different language. To understand the galactic foreigners, the Star Trek characters used a device that immediately translated the alien's unusual language. Star Trek's universal communicator was first seen on screen as Spock tampered with it in order to communicate with a non-biological entity (Series 2 Episode 9, Metamorphosis).

Although the idea in Star Trek was to communicate with intelligent alien life, a device capable of breaking down language barriers would revolutionize real-time communication. Now, products such as Sourcenext's Pocketalk and Skype's new voice translation service are capable of providing instantaneous translation between languages. Flawless real-time communication is far off, but the technological advancements over the last decade mean this feat is within reach.

From: "Star Trek: The Original Series"

The idea behind "beaming" someone up was that a person could be broken down into an energy form (dematerialization) and then converted back into matter at their destination (rematerialization). Transporting people this way on Star Trek's USS Enterprise had been around since the very beginning of the series, debuting in the pilot episode.

Scientists haven't figured out how to teleport humans yet, but they can teleport balls of energy known as photons. In this case, teleportation is based on a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement. This refers to a condition in quantum mechanics where two entangled particles may be very far from one another, yet remain connected so that actions performed on one affect the other, regardless of distance. The information exchange between the two photons occurs at least 10,000 times faster than the speed of light.

Related: Chinese Scientists Just Set the Record for the Farthest Quantum Teleportation

From: "Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope"

Not long into the first Star Wars movie, Obi-Wan Kenobi receives a holographic message. By definition, a hologram is a 3D image created from the interference of light beams from a laser onto a 2D surface, and can only be seen in one angle.

In 2018, researchers from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, created a real hologram. Their technique, called volumetric display, works like an Etch-A-Sketch toy, but uses particles at high speeds. With lasers, researchers can trap particles and move them into a designated shape while another set of lasers emit red, green and blue light onto the particle and create an image. But so far, this can only happen on extremely small scales.

Related: Cool! 'Star Wars'-Like Tech Warps Light into 360-Degree 3D Images

From: "Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back"

Imagine getting your hand chopped off by your own father and falling to the bottom of a floating building to then have your long-lost sister come and pick you up. It's unlikely in reality, but not in the Star Wars movies. After losing his hand, Luke Skywalker receives a bionic version that has all the functions of a normal hand. This scenario is now more feasible than the previous one.

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, have been developing a way for amputees to control each of their prosthetic fingers using an ultrasonic sensor. In the movie, Skywalker's prosthesis uses electromyogram sensors attached to his muscles. The sensors can be switched into different modes and are controlled by the flexing or contracting of his muscles. The prosthesis created by the Georgia Tech researchers, however, uses machine learning and ultrasound signals to detect fine finger-by-finger movement.

From: "Blade Runner"

Director Ridley Scott presents a landscape shot of futuristic Los Angeles in the movie "Blade Runner." While scanning the skyscrapers, a huge, digital, almost-cinematic billboard appears on one of the buildings. This pre-internet concept sparked the imagination of Andrew Phipps Newman, the CEO of DOOH.com. DOOH which stands for Digital Out Of Home is a company dedicated to providing live, dynamic advertisements through the use of digital billboards. The company is now at the forefront of advertising as it offers a more enticing form; one that will make people stop and stare.

Digital billboards have come a long way since DOOH was founded in 2013. They have taken advantage of crowded cities, such as London and New York, to utilize this unique advertising tactic. Perhaps the more recent "Blade Runner 2049" will bring us even more new technologies.

From: "Blade Runner"

The "Blade Runner" story heavily revolves around the idea of synthetic humans, which require artificial intelligence (AI). Some people might be worried about the potential fallout of giving computers intelligence, which has had disastrous consequences in many science-fiction works. But AI has some very useful applications in reality. For instance, astronomers have trained machines to find exoplanets using computer-based learning techniques. While sifting through copious amounts of data collected by missions such as NASA's Kepler and TESS missions, AI can identify the telltale signs of an exoplanet lurking in the data.

Related: Why You Shouldn't Expect to See 'Blade Runner' Replicants Anytime Soon

From: "2001: A Space Odyssey"

Orbiting Earth in "2001: A Space Odyssey" is Space Station V, a large establishment located in low-Earth orbit where astronauts can bounce around in microgravity. Does this sound familiar?

The Space Station V provided inspiration for the International Space Station (ISS), which has been orbiting the Earth since 1998 and currently accommodates up to six astronauts at a time. Although Space Station V appears much more luxurious, the ISS has accomplished much more science. The ISS has been fundamental to microgravity research since the start of its construction in 1998.

The Space Station V wasn't just an out-of-this-world holiday experience, it was also employed as a pit-stop before traveling to the Moon and other long-duration space destinations. The proposed Deep Space Gateway would be a station orbiting the moon that would serve a similar purpose.

Related: The 25 Greatest Spaceships of Science Fiction

From: "2001: A Space Odyssey"

Tablets are wonderful handheld computers that can be controlled at the press of a finger. These handy devices are used by people across the globe, and even further upwards on the ISS. Apple claims to have invented the tablet with the release of its iPad. However, Samsung made an extremely interesting case in court that Apple was wrong: Stanley Kubrick and Sir Arthur C. Clarke did, by including the device in 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in 1968.

In the film, Dr. David Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole watch news updates from their flat-screen computers, which they called "newspads." Samsung claimed that these "newspads" were the original tablet, featured in a film over 40 years before the first iPad arrived in 2010. This argument was not successful though, as the judge ruled that Samsung could not utilize this particular piece of evidence.

From: "Back to the Future Part II"

The Back to the Future trilogy is a highly enjoyable trio of time-traveling adventures, but it is Part II that presents the creators' vision of 2015. The film predicted a far more outlandish 2015 than what actually happened just five years ago, but it got one thing correct: hoverboards, just like the one Marty McFly "borrows" to make a quick escape.

Although they aren't as widespread as the film perceives, hoverboards now exist. The first real one was created in 2015 by Arx Pax, a company based in California. The company invented the Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA) used to provide the levitation of a hoverboard. The board generates a magnetic field, which in turn creates an eddy current, which then creates another opposing magnetic field. These magnetic fields repel each other against a copper "hoverpark" that provides lift.

From: "Total Recall"

In the 1990 film, set in 2084, Total Recall's main protagonist Douglas Quaid (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) finds himself in the middle of a sci-fi showdown on Mars. In one scene Quaid is on the run from the bad guys and jumps into a driverless car. In the front is "Johnny Cab," which is the car's on-board computer system. All Johnny needs is an address to take the car to its intended destination.

Although the driverless car wasn't seen in action before the protagonist yells profanities and takes over the driving, the idea of having a car that takes you to your destination using its onboard satellite navigation has become increasingly popular. The company at the forefront of driverless cars is Waymo, as they want to eradicate the human error and inattention that results in dangerous and fatal accidents.

In 2017, NASA stated its intentions to help in the production of driverless cars, as they would improve the technologies of robotic vehicles on extraterrestrial surfaces such as the Moon or Mars.

Additional resources:

This article was adapted from a previous version published in All About Space magazine, a Future Ltd. publication. Email Lee Cavendish at lee.cavendish@futurenet.com. Follow us on Twitter@Spacedotcomand onFacebook.

Read more:
Welcome to the future: 11 ideas that went from science fiction to reality - Space.com

Multiple missions and launches have now been put on hold.

Space companies and organizations have continued to announce a swathe of delays and closures, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to have a lasting impact on the space industry.

Already last week, several rocket launches and space missions had been affected by the pandemic. A European mission to Mars was postponed for two years in part due to the pandemic, for example, while launches from a spaceport in French Guiana had ceased

Now the COVID-19 pandemic has led to more recent shutdowns in the UK and US, limiting the ability of employees to work on key missions and in some instances, shutting down entire companies for the foreseeable future.

NASA

NASA is continuing to limit how many of its employees work on site, moving most of its workforce to remote working. After two NASA employees contracted the virus, the agency has moved many of its centres to mandatory telework.

This has put the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope on hold, raising fresh doubts about its launch. The much-delayed telescope had been expected to finally launch in 2021.

And key questions remain over whether the agency will be able to launch humans on SpaceXs Crew Dragon spacecraft in May, its Perseverance rover to Mars in July, and even its planned Artemis mission to the Moon.

However, other NASA operations are continuing, including its operation of the International Space Station (ISS). NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoli Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner remain on schedule to launch to the ISS on April 9.

Astronauts are continuing to live and work on the ISS.

Bigelow Aerospace

According to media reports, Nevada-based company Bigelow Aerospace laid off its entire workforce on Monday, March 23. SpaceNews quoted one source as saying that the coronavirus pandemic was just one of a perfect storm of problems.

Bigelow installed a module on the ISS in 2016, called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM). The impressive module launched in a compact form and inflated to its full size once attached, a technology that could be useful for future missions to Mars and elsewhere.

However, reports suggested the layoffs could be permanent rather than temporary, leaving the future of BEAM and other developments at Bigelow including plans for an orbiting space hotel in partnership with the United Launch Alliance (ULA) up in the air.

ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced yesterday, Tuesday, March 24 that it was putting four of its ongoing missions on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, they said that the Earth-observing Cluster spacecraft, the Mars-orbiting Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express, and the Sun-orbiting Solar Orbiter, were all being put into standby mode and would cease scientific operations for the time being.

Our priority is the health of our workforce, and we will therefore reduce activity on some of our scientific missions, especially on interplanetary spacecraft, which currently require the highest number of personnel on site, ESA's Director of Operations Rolf Densing said in a statement.

These have stable orbits and long mission durations, so turning off their science instruments and placing them into a largely unattended safe configuration for a certain period will have a negligible impact on their overall mission performance.

Other missions that required more essential human involvement, such as the BepiColombo spacecraft that is currently on its way to orbiting the planet Mercury, would continue to be more directly supported.

BepiColombo is scheduled to arrive at Mercury in 2025.

Rocket Lab

The U.S. company Rocket Lab, which launches its Electron rocket from New Zealand, has postponed its next launch on Monday, March 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the company said it had paused launch preparations for the time being, in response to instructions from the New Zealand government for businesses to close and for people to stay at home.

We are working with the government, health officials, and our customers to determine when launch operations can resume, Rocket Lab said. The launch vehicle and ground systems will remain in a state of readiness for launch as the evolving situation allows it.

Virgin Orbit

The California-based company Virgin Orbit, which hopes to begin launching rockets from a carrier aircraft in the near-future, said it was sending its employees home for a week, in line with the states recommendations for all 40 million residents to work from home.

The company noted it had been deemed an essential service, however, and would resume operations next week. We will continue our essential work with fierce determination and perseverance, the company said in a statement.

But they noted that this would likely affect their plans to start launching soon. Unavoidably, this will have some impact on our launch date, and on the launches that immediately follow, they said.

Virgin Orbit hopes to complete its first launch this year.

SpaceX

Elon Musks California-based company is continuing to operate, following somewhat controversial comments from the founder and CEO that downplayed the pandemic.

SpaceX launched its sixth Starlink mission last week, taking its total number of satellites in orbit up to about 360, and is continuing preparations to launch humans for the first time on the Crew Dragon mission with NASA in May.

However, the company's next launch, a mission for the US Air Force on Monday, March 30, has now been put on indefinite hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

And reports yesterday said that two workers at SpaceX had tested positive for coronavirus, with the company sending some of its employees home. SpaceX has so far been deemed a critical infrastructure business, and thus is allowed to remain open despite the pandemic.

OneWeb

Despite launching 34 more satellites in its planned space internet mega constellation on Sunday, March 22, the U.K.-based and Softbank-backed company OneWeb is facing growing problems

A report in Bloomberg last week claimed the company was considering bankruptcy owing to financial difficulties, prior to launching its satellites. In a subsequent statement, the company confirmed it had laid off employees and would likely experience launch delays owing to the coronavirus.

Like others, we are impacted by the global health and economic crisis and we need to dynamically adjust our workforce, the company said, reported TechCrunch.

"Therefore, we made the difficult decision to eliminate some roles and responsibilities as we work to focus on core operations. We are sorry to have had to take this step and were doing everything we can to support those affected.

OneWeb launched 34 satellites on Saturday, March 21, on a Russian Soyuz rocket.

Small satellites

Small satellite industry body ACCESS.SPACE warned yesterday, Tuesday, March 24 that several companies in Europe faced difficulties due to the ongoing pandemic.

The body said that cash flow constraints, delays in research projects, and difficulties in networking posed a number of challenges for the operations of various NewSpace companies.

It recommended governments taking extraordinary measures to counteract the crisis and anticipate long term consequences, such as financial support for companies, protect workers against income losses, and introduce support measures to allow companies to operate remotely.

Read more:
The Coronavirus Is Starting To Have A Serious Impact On The Space Industry - Forbes

With billions of people around the world suddenly adjusting to social distancing measures as part of the battle to slow the spread of COVID-19, some professionals who are used to confinement have some tips. From astronauts to submariners, here are some practical ways to boost your well-being and stave off cabin fever during those weeks stuck at home.

'Have a schedule'

Scott Kelly, a retired NASA astronaut, spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station. He told AFP that mindset was crucial.

"People need to have the right expectation, we don't know when this is gonna be over," he said.

"We could be in this for the long haul so your mindset needs to be: I'm living a similar thing to living in space for a year, I need to have a schedule, I need to get up at a regular time, to go to sleep at a regular time."

He also said exercise was key for both physical and mental well-being while confined.

"You need to schedule time for exercise. If you cannot get out if you don't have a garden, raise the window shade, open the window and stick your head outside, make that part of daily routine."

Find your mission

For Vincent Larnaudie-Eiffel, a former commander of a nuclear submarine, working well in confinement means finding and investing in your own personal "mission".

Just like on board the sub, "stuck in our apartments, we all share a mission and that is to protect others, medical workers and successfully navigate this ordeal."

He said it was important to establish a daily routine and stick to it.

"You can't give in... you need to do something with this suspended time."

For Larnaudie-Eiffel and his crewmates, this involved building models or growing plants under artificial light during their spare time.

"It's also important that everyone has their own space," he told AFP. "In a submarine it might be a cramped bed-space. It's the same in a cramped apartment."

'Try new things'

Sailor Isabelle Autissier was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe alone. This involved a lot of time to herself.

But she said she never felt lonely because "I chose to be alone."

For people stuck at home she recommends using the time "to try new things, reading, listening to different music, write your journal, take photos, start drawing."

Above all it's important that people don't look too far ahead.

When she was at sea, facing an indeterminate amount of time alone "the first thing is not to count the days," said Autissier.

"You can't constantly be thinking I'll get there in three months, in a month, in 10 minutes."

Morale dips are normal'

Cyprien Verseux, an astrobiologist at Germany's University of Bremen, once spent over a year in a small pod with five other volunteers simulating conditions in a future mission to Mars.

"It's normal for your morale and productivity to dip," he said. "That's not a sign of weakness. Don't add guilt to your problems."

When in confinement for the experiment, Verseux wasn't allowed outside and was forbidden from communicating in real time with the outside world.

"Even if we don't all react the same to confinement we can adopt good practice that makes these periods more manageable," he said.

He recommends choosing one or two activities and practicing hard.

"Also do your sport, light weights, do yoga, zumba... even if there's a lack of space there are solutions to stay in shape," he said.

Stay in touch

In 2009 astronaut Frank de Winne became the first European to command the International Space Station.

He said it was vital to maintain human contact, even if only electronically.

"Means of communication are there, you have to make the effort and use them," he said.

The Belgian, now in quarantine on Earth, makes sure to video call his elderly mother at the same time each day.

"That allows her to see me. It also creates a bit of structure for her because she knows that I'm going to call her," he said.

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In space, at sea: tips on isolation from the pros - The Jakarta Post - Jakarta Post

- 'Have a schedule' -

Scott Kelly, a retired NASA astronaut, spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station. He told AFP that mindset was crucial.

"People need to have the right expectation, we don't know when this is gonna be over," he said.

"We could be in this for the long haul so your mindset needs to be: I'm living a similar thing to living in space for a year, I need to have a schedule, I need to get up at a regular time, to go to sleep at a regular time."

He also said exercise was key for both physical and mental well-being while confined.

"You need to schedule time for exercise. If you cannot get out if you don't have a garden, raise the window shade, open the window and stick your head outside, make that part of daily routine."

- Find your mission -

For Vincent Larnaudie-Eiffel, a former commander of a nuclear submarine, working well in confinement means finding and investing in your own personal "mission".

Just like on board the sub, "stuck in our apartments, we all share a mission and that is to protect others, medical workers and successfully navigate this ordeal."

He said it was important to establish a daily routine and stick to it.

"You can't give in... you need to do something with this suspended time."

For Larnaudie-Eiffel and his crewmates, this involved building models or growing plants under artificial light during their spare time.

"It's also important that everyone has their own space," he told AFP. "In a submarine it might be a cramped bed-space. It's the same in a cramped apartment."

- 'Try new things' -

Sailor Isabelle Autissier was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe alone. This involved a lot of time to herself.

But she said she never felt lonely because "I chose to be alone."

For people stuck at home she recommends using the time "to try new things, reading, listening to different music, write your journal, take photos, start drawing."

Above all it's important that people don't look too far ahead.

When she was at sea, facing an indeterminate amount of time alone "the first thing is not to count the days," said Autissier.

"You can't constantly be thinking I'll get there in three months, in a month, in 10 minutes."

- 'Morale dips are normal' -

Cyprien Verseux, an astrobiologist at Germany's University of Bremen, once spent over a year in a small pod with five other volunteers simulating conditions in a future mission to Mars.

"It's normal for your morale and productivity to dip," he said. "That's not a sign of weakness. Don't add guilt to your problems."

When in confinement for the experiment, Verseux wasn't allowed outside and was forbidden from communicating in real time with the outside world.

"Even if we don't all react the same to confinement we can adopt good practice that makes these periods more manageable," he said.

He recommends choosing one or two activities and practising hard.

"Also do your sport, light weights, do yoga, zumba... even if there's a lack of space there are solutions to stay in shape," he said.

- Stay in touch -

In 2009 astronaut Frank de Winne became the first European to command the International Space Station.

He said it was vital to maintain human contact, even if only electronically.

"Means of communication are there, you have to make the effort and use them," he said.

The Belgian, now in quarantine on Earth, makes sure to video call his elderly mother at the same time each day.

"That allows her to see me. It also creates a bit of structure for her because she knows that I'm going to call her," he said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

View original post here:
In space, at sea: Professionals thriving in confinement have some Covid-19 work-from-home tips - Livemint

A Houston-based organization affiliated with NASA has teamed up with a video game company to advance virtual simulation in space medicine.

The Translational Research Institute for Space Health, known as TRISH, in partnership with NASA in a consortium led by Baylor College of Medicine, California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge has advanced a new approach for space medicine using video game technology by collaborating with video game company, Level Ex.

"We discovered Level Ex through a process of landscaping the many virtual simulation companies that were out there," says Andrew Peterman Director of Information System at TRISH. "We especially noted those that were on the cutting edge of the technology."

Based in Houston, TRISH aims to collaborate with the best and the brightest to revolutionize space health, providing grants to companies with innovative concepts. With Level Ex, they found a new approach to decode earthly medical technologies in space.

Level Ex, a Chicago-based company created in 2015 was founded to provide training games for doctors to use to practice surgeries and procedures. The games are interactive, with the virtual patient reacting to the actions of the player. The training simulations consist of in-depth and physics-driven medical simulations that are verified by doctors in their advisory board.

"We're hoping to completely change the ways that doctors stay up to speed," says Level Ex founder-and-CEO Sam Glassberg.

With their ongoing collaboration with TRISH, they have a challenge that's out of this world. In space, astronauts have limited space for medical tools and run on a limited crew. This makes providing basic medical training to all astronauts especially important.

Especially since the body begins to react to the new environmental conditions of space missions. The effects can be small or lead to new changes or challenges for astronauts who take on long-range missions. Astronauts may see their bodies slowly start to lose bone and muscle mass. Their fluid begins to shift toward their head, leading to increased risks of hypertension and thrombosis.

All of these are challenges NASA is working to address with the help of gaming technology from Level Ex that innovates the technology with higher-level capability and training. Combining video game technology and medical simulation applications to incorporate and explore the interplay of environmental conditions found in space.

"What we really liked about Level Ex is that they have an amazing team both on the clinical and technical side, says Peterman. "They are a group of former big-name game developers who along with clinical experts have married technology and medicine with their platform producing full in engine physics-driven real simulations rather than video playback."

The astronauts will train using simulations that allow them to practice a procedure in zero gravity conditions and even simulate the gravity conditions of Mars. The game will also allow astronauts to get their own on-screen avatar with their medical information thus allowing fellow astronauts to gain more practice and experience with fewer variables in space.

The advanced medical simulation platform has potential for commercial uses on earth, improving the range of the technology to simulate new, rare, and complex scenarios across a range of medical specialties, allowing doctors to practice a range of difficult scenarios without putting patient lives at risk.

Peterman says that the partnership is expected to continue into the future for immediate applications along with other innovations in astronaut healthcare, including autonomous frameworks to provide medical knowledge in outer space.

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Houston-based research organization taps video game makers to advance space medicine - InnovationMap

UAE students have been invited to take part in a challenge that allows them to programme robots to save the International Space Station from disastrous situations.

The Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC) is being held by Japans space agency, Jaxa, in collaboration with Nasa.

The UAE Space Agency and Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre made the challenge available to all students in the country too.

The competition requires students to come up with breakthrough programming for Jaxas free-flying camera robot, Int-ball, and Nasas free-flying robotic system, Astrobee, so they can solve emergencies that may arise on the ISS.

For this specific competition, the emergency scenario given to students is a meteor having crashed into the ISS, causing a life-threatening air leakage on the outpost.

Pupils will work in teams to create their own programme which allows Int-ball to support Astrobee as a camera drone in order to stop the leakage. They will use Jaxas online simulation environment to develop the programmes.

Participants will have the chance to learn cutting-edge methodologies and to hone their skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through this programme, the competition guidebook read.

The KiboRPC will also expand international exchange by encouraging students to interact with other participants from around the world.

The competition aims to promote the study of Stem subjects among young people.

Engineering teaches us that a simulation can only approximate the real world. Thus, participants are expected to learn techniques for creating simulation programmes that perform well in the real world despite uncertainties and within margins of error, the guidebook said.

Students will learn the necessity of controlling and correcting positions and orientation of a free-flying robot and how to perform assigned tasks in the onboard environment through simulation trials.

The Astrobee and Int-ball are functioning robots used on the ISS. UAE astronaut, Maj Hazza Al Mansouri, gave a presentation using the Int-ball onboard the station during his space mission last year.

Competition applications must be submitted by April 19.

The preliminary round will be hosted by UAEs Space Agency in June. The winning teams will go on to the final round hosted at Jaxas Tsukuba Space Centre, with real-time connections to the ISS.

The final, expected to take place in September, will also be broadcasted worldwide.

More information on the competition is available online at UAE Space Agencys website.

Updated: March 21, 2020 08:52 PM

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