Category Archives: Transhuman News

NASA will host its first Google+ Hangout live with the International Space Station from 11 a.m. to noon EST, Friday, Feb. 22. This event will connect NASA's social media followers with astronauts on the ground and living and working aboard the laboratory orbiting 240 miles above Earth.

Google+ Hangouts allow as many as 10 people to chat face-to-face, while thousands more can tune in to watch the conversation live on Google+ or YouTube.

NASA's social media followers may submit video questions prior to the Hangout. During the event, several video questions will be selected and answered by the station crew and astronauts on the ground. Unique and original questions are more likely to be selected. Additionally, NASA also will take real-time questions submitted by fans on Google+, Twitter and Facebook.

The deadline to submit video questions is Feb. 12. To be considered, video clips must be no longer than 30 seconds and must be uploaded to YouTube and tagged with #askAstro. Submitters should introduce themselves and mention their location before asking their question.

Also use #askAstro to ask real-time questions on Google+, YouTube or Twitter during the event. On the morning of the event, NASA will open a thread on its Facebook page where questions may be posted.

The hangout can be viewed live on NASA's Google+ page or on the NASA Television YouTube channel. To join the hangout, and for updates and opportunities to participate in upcoming hangouts, visit the NASA's Google+ page at:http://www.google.com/+NASA

Astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn of NASA and Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency will answer questions and provide insights about life aboard the station. Crews conduct a variety of science experiments and perform station maintenance during their six-month stay on the outpost. Their life aboard the station in near-weightlessness requires different approaches to everyday activities such as eating, sleeping and exercising.

For information about the space station, research in low-Earth orbit, NASA's commercial space programs and the future of American spaceflight, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

To follow Marshburn and Hadfield on Twitter, visit:http://www.twitter.com/AstroMarshburn and http://www.twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield

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NASA Hosts Its First Google+ Hangout Connecting with Space Station

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Notre Dame grad Indiana native who's commanding the International Space Station said Thursday he's looking forward to a visit back home after he returns from his five months in orbit.

Astronaut KevinFord spoke via video hookup to the Indiana Senate in the Statehouse, where his older brother, David, was a state senator when he died of cancer in 2008.

Ford wore a blue shirt with a large Indiana flag emblem as he floated inside one of the space station's modules for the 20-minute conversation that was shown on a large video board above the Senate's rostrum. He spoke about the scientific work being done on the station during his stay as he took questions from senators and a couple of teenage family friends from his Blackford County hometown of Montpelier.

Ford demonstrated biting a solid bubble of juice that floated in front of him before seventh-grader Kelli Neff asked Ford what he wanted to do first after returning to Earth.

Ford drew laughs when he exclaimed he wanted a shower "because I haven't had a shower in 107 days."

The 52-year-old Ford flew to the space station in October with two Russians aboard a Soyuz that lifted off from Kazakhstan. He's scheduled to be at the station until March.

State Senate leaders invited schools around Indiana watch the conversation with Ford that was streamed over the Senate's website.

Ford said he didn't see himself becoming an astronaut while he was a student at Blackford High School but always wanted to be a pilot. That led him to study aeronautical engineering at the University of Notre Dame and join the Air Force.

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VIDEO: Notre Dame grad, space station commander anticipates trip home

Canadian actor William Shatner, best known as Star Trek's Captain Kirk, hailed the International Space Station and chatted with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield this morning about the risks faced in space and rumours that Hadfield has volunteered to go to Mars.

Over the casual, 10-minute conversation, Shatner asked Hadfield about the dangers of going into space, especially to a place such as Mars.

Hadfield, whose side of the conversation was broadcast over a video link, responded that people like him are inspired to take such risks by both the astronauts that have come before him and fictional ones such as Star Trek's Captain Kirk.

"The risks are infinitely worthwhile," he added.

Hadfield didn't directly address whether he had volunteered to go to Mars, but said he thinks it is "inevitable" that some astronaut one day will. "It's just a matter of when we figure out how."

Kirk asked Hadfield how he has coped with fear while working as both a test pilot and an astronaut. Hadfield likened the fear to that of an actor not knowing his script, and said he coped by making sure he always "knew my lines."

Shatner pointed out that the consequences of making a mistake are not comparable in the two jobs.

"In my case, your face flushes and you get a sheen of flop sweat," he said. "In your case, you burn up. It's a little different."

Hadfield responded with a laugh, "Well, in both cases, you go down in flames one's figurative and one is not."

Shatner also asked Hadfield about being away from Earth for six months: "That's a long time to be away, is it not?"

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Captain Kirk calls Chris Hadfield at space station