Category Archives: Transhuman News

When Space ExplorationTechnologies (SpaceX) launched NASA's third contractedcargo resupply mission to the International Space Station April 18, anexperiment designed by University of California,Davis, was among the cargo headed to space.

The experiment, NanoRacks-Comparison of the Growth Rate and DNACharacterization of Microgravity Exposed Microbial Community Samples(NanoRacks-Project MERCCURI), comparesthe growth rates of microbes isolated from samples collected from ground-basedpublic venues both in the microgravity environment of the space station and inthe lab. This study also characterizes the microbial communities found onsurfaces aboard the station using culture-independent methods.

U.S. company SpaceX ofHawthorne, Calif., launched its Dragon spacecraft atop the company's Falcon 9 rocketfrom the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 12:25 p.m. PDT.

SpaceX developed its Dragoncapsule, the only cargo spacecraft currently servicing the space station withthe capability to return cargo back to Earth, with NASA and now successfullyhas completed three missions to the orbiting outpost. Expedition 39 crewmembers captured the SpaceX-3 Dragon using the station's robotic arm at 7:06a.m. April 20. The capsule is scheduled to remain attached to the station unit for28 days. It then will return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean, offthe coast California. It will return samples from scientific investigationscurrently underway aboard the space station.

The InternationalSpace Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation thatdemonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible onEarth. The space station has had continuous human occupation since November2000. In that time it has been visited by more than 200 people and a variety ofinternational and commercial spacecraft. The space station remains thespringboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future missionsto an asteroid and Mars.

For more informationabout the SpaceX-3 mission and the International Space Station, visit

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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University of California Davis Experiment Launches with NASA Cargo to Space

Expedition 39 commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, currently aboard the International Space Station, will make space-to-Earth musical connections with students in Texas this week to share and explore the relationship between the arts and space exploration.

Students from Pearl Hall Elementary in Pasadena, Texas, will perform songs with NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, Houston Symphony violinist Sergei Galperin and violinist Kenji Williams at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. From the space station, Wakata will perform a piece of the ancient Gagaku music with a Japanese reed instrument called a sho.

The live Music in Space program will be broadcast on NASA Television and webcasted on the DLiNfo Channel at 12:30 p.m. EDT Friday, May 2.

To attend the event at Johnson, media should contact Megan Sumner at 281-483-5111 or megan.c.sumner@nasa.gov. Johnson Space Center is located at 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston.

This is the second Music in Space event. The first featured astronaut Chris Hadfield formerly of the Canadian Space Agency in March 2013. This event is a part of the Building Cultural Bridges program, which links Pearl Hall Elementary with Johnson Space Center and several arts organizations, providing opportunities for students to discover that they are an integral part of society at the local, state, national and international levels.

Linking students directly to space station astronauts provides them with an innovative experience of space exploration, scientific studies and the possibilities for future human space exploration.

These in-flight education events are part of a series with educational organizations in the United States to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics teaching and learning. It is a component of NASA's Digital Learning Network education program, which is designed to deliver interactive instruction in support of long-term retention of knowledge as only NASA can.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit:

NASA TV Live

To watch the Digital Learning Network webcast, visit:

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Pasadena elementary school students to perform songs live with Space Station astronaut

News

April 29, 2014 04:33 PM ET

Computerworld - NASA is reaching out to companies that want to use the International Space Station or low-Earth orbit for research or commercial space activities.

The space agency is asking for ideas from companies interested in using the orbiter to expand the U.S.'s commercial space industry or to propel technologies that will ultimately help NASA explore deep space.

"Now is an exciting time for space research and developing exploration capabilities," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations at NASA, in a statement. "After 10 years of continuous habitation in low-Earth orbit, we know microgravity provides data unattainable on Earth. We are already seeing benefits in pharmaceuticals, medical robotics and materials sciences."

NASA's request for commercial proposals is expected to help the agency decide how to open up the orbiting laboratory to the private sector in better and more practical ways, according to Gerstenmaier.

"Ultimately, [this could help] to pave the way for private microgravity research facilities of the future," he said.

The ideas should focus on:

The complete proposal is available on NASA's website.

Proposals should be no more than 20 pages long and are due by June 30.

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NASA seeks commercial uses for space station

Expedition 39 commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, currently aboard the International Space Station, will make space-to-Earth musical connections with students in Texas this week to share and explore the relationship between the arts and space exploration.

Students from Pearl Hall Elementary in Pasadena, Texas, will perform songs with NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, Houston Symphony violinist Sergei Galperin and violinist Kenji Williams at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. From the space station, Wakata will perform a piece of the ancient Gagaku music with a Japanese reed instrument called a sho.

The live Music in Space program will be broadcast on NASA Television and webcasted on the DLiNfo Channel at 12:30 p.m. EDT Friday, May 2.

To attend the event at Johnson, media should contact Megan Sumner at 281-483-5111 ormegan.c.sumner@nasa.gov. Johnson Space Center is located at 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston.

This is the second Music in Space event. The first featured astronaut Chris Hadfield formerly of the Canadian Space Agency in March 2013. This event is a part of the Building Cultural Bridges program, which links Pearl Hall Elementary with Johnson Space Center and several arts organizations, providing opportunities for students to discover that they are an integral part of society at the local, state, national and international levels.

Linking students directly to space station astronauts provides them with an innovative experience of space exploration, scientific studies and the possibilities for future human space exploration.

These in-flight education events are part of a series with educational organizations in the United States to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics teaching and learning. It is a component of NASA's Digital Learning Network education program, which is designed to deliver interactive instruction in support of long-term retention of knowledge as only NASA can.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit:

NASA TV Live

See the rest here:
Texas Music Students to Perform Live with Space Station Astronaut