Category Archives: Space Station

Artist's concept of NASA's "deep space gateway" in lunar orbit. This astronaut-tended outpost would serve as a stepping stone for crewed trips to Mars.

It looks like NASA's stepping-stone to Mars will be a miniature space station in lunar orbit rather than a chunk of captured asteroid.

The agency plans to build an astronaut-tended "deep space gateway" in orbit around the moon during the first few missions of the Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and Orion crew capsule, which are scheduled to fly together for the first time in late 2018, NASA officials said.

"I envision different partners, both international and commercial, contributing to the gateway and using it in a variety of ways with a system that can move to different orbits to enable a variety of missions," William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C, said in a statement. [Red Planet orBust: 5 Crewed MarsMission Ideas]

"The gateway could move to support robotic or partner missions to the surface of the moon, or to a high lunar orbit to support missions departing from the gateway to other destinations in the solar system," Gerstenmaier added.

One of those "other destinations" is Mars. NASA is working to get astronauts to the vicinity of the Red Planet sometime in the 2030s, as directed by former President Barack Obama in 2010. For the last few years, the agency's envisioned "Journey to Mars" campaign has included the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), an effort to pluck a boulder from a near-Earth asteroid and drag the rock to lunar orbit, where it could be visited by astronauts aboard Orion.

But ARM's future looks bleak; President Donald Trump provided no money for the mission in his proposed 2018 federal budget, which the White House released earlier this month.

There's no mention of ARM in NASA's newly unveiled "gateway" plan, which outlines the basic architecture of a small, sometimes-staffed space station in lunar orbit.

"This deep space gateway would have a power bus, a small habitat to extend crew time, docking capability, an airlock, and [would be] serviced by logistics modules to enable research," NASA officials wrote in the same statement. "The propulsion system on the gateway mainly uses high-power electric propulsion for station-keeping and the ability to transfer among a family of orbits in the lunar vicinity."

Construction and initial use of the gateway would constitute phase one of NASA's crewed efforts in the vicinity of the moon, agency officials said. Phase two involves the completion of a reusable "deep-space transport spacecraft."

"This spacecraft would be a reusable vehicle that uses electric and chemical propulsion and would be specifically designed for crewed missions to destinations such as Mars," agency officials said. "The transport would take crew out to their destination [and] return them back to the gateway, where it can be serviced and sent out again."

If everything goes according to (the new) plan, phase two will wrap up at the end of the 2020s with a one-year mission near the moon, which will validate the ability of the gateway-transport system to operate for extended periods in deep space.

As currently envisioned, the first SLS-Orion flight known as Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) will be an uncrewed journey that makes its way to lunar orbit. However, NASA is considering putting astronauts aboard the flight a change that would likely delay the mission by at least a year.

The second mission, EM-2, is currently slated to send astronauts around the moon. It could launch as early as 2021. After EM-2, NASA aims to begin launching SLS-Orion missions once every year, NASA officials said.

The Orion capsule already has one space mission under its belt. In December 2014, the spacecraft launched atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket on an uncrewed test flight to Earth orbit.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter@michaeldwallandGoogle+.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookor Google+. Originally published onSpace.com.

See more here:
NASA Eyeing Mini Space Station in Lunar Orbit as Stepping-Stone to Mars - Space.com

Behind the scenes, NASA and its international partners are putting the finishing touches on humanity's new home in space. This future science station, which will effectively replace the International Space Station when it reaches retirement age in the 2020s, will be a fraction of the size but carry astronauts hundreds of thousands of miles farther into space. In fact, it might travel farther away from our planet than any other human-piloted spacecraft, including the Apollo missions.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

But the most exciting idea behind this new station, destined to make its home orbiting near the moon (aka a cis-lunar orbit), is it will provide a new foothold for future human missions to Earth's closest celestial neighbors, like asteroids, the moon itself, and Mars. Because the station is in an egg-shaped orbit, stretching anywhere from 1,500 km to 70,000 km (930 to 44,000 miles) from the Moon, it would need only a little push to be sent flying to a yet-to-be-chosen destination.

NASA

NASA engineers and their colleagues from four other space agencies have been working on the design of the station for a few years. But without a green light from their political bosses, they had to keep any blueprints a secret. Popular Mechanics spoke with NASA sources and got a small peek at what's coming.

If everything goes as planned, the first mission will launch in 2023 and position a robotic spacecraft called the Power and Propulsion Bus (PPB) in a stretched orbit around the Moon. Then, in the next two years, a pair of barrel-shaped modulesfour-and-a-half meters wide and five meters long, and both weighing under 10 tons eachwill be delivered to the same orbit and bolted to the PPB.

Together, they'll house four astronauts up to 90 days at a time. In addition, a Russian-built airlock module will be added to the station in mid-2020s to make it much easier for the crew to walk outside of its space home.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

On the outside, both modules will be plastered with radiators doubling as micrometeoroid armor, with four docking ports to connect to each other and to receive visiting spacecraft. Fortunately, cis-lunar space is practically pristine compared to all the space junk in Earth orbit, allowing designers to consider thinner walls.

On the inside, everything will be meticulously designed to save mass and maximize room. The dining table will fold after each meal and the sleeping compartments might inflate and deflate as needed. The fridge will have to multitask as a kitchen appliance and scientific sample storage. Huge efforts will be made to recycle and reuse every drop of water, oxygen, and other consumable resources onboard.

The biggest challenge for the engineers designing the cis-lunar station is dealing with trash. Because space is limited and ejecting garbage wastes precious oxygen, engineers will need to compact trash as much as possible. Eventually, accumulated trash will be loaded into the cargo ship after its unloading.

Meanwhile, the means of getting to the space station itself is still up for debate. Each crew shift on the cis-lunar outpost will be accompanied by a dedicated supply ship, but NASA hasn't decided on the mode of transportation or its provider, whether public or private.

International Space Station

Getty

The ultimate goal for this new ambitious project will be a deep-space expedition lasting more than a year, a dress rehearsal of sorts for a future mission to Mars. To make that possible, NASA will need to add a brand-new 20-ton spacecraft with better propulsion and bigger crew quarters in the second half of the 2020s.

In addition, the cis-lunar base might serve as a parking hub for the robotic (and later human) landers returning from the surface of the Moon. Along with NASA's new Orion spacecraft, the Russian next-generation spacecraft that's now in development might drop by for a visit as well. NASA sources also hint that the station will be able to accommodate an extra module, in case a "new partner" decides to come onboard most likely referring to China.

In any case, sometime in the second half of the 2020s the ISS will likely finish its 30-year tenure. A colossal splashdown in the remote part of the ocean will close a chapter in the history of human space flight but free up budgets for new horizons. By then, NASA and its partners hope to have a new outpost in the lunar orbit along with good ideas where to fly it next.

See the original post here:
Here Is NASA's Plan for a Space Station That Orbits the Moon - Popular Mechanics

Spacewalking astronauts lost an important piece of cloth shielding needed for the International Space Station on Thursday when it floated away.

Astronaut Peggy Whitson immediately reported the mishap to Mission Control, which tracked the bundle as it drifted off. NASA said it would be monitored to make sure it doesn't come back and hit the station.

The shielding protects against micrometeorite debris. It was one of four pieces that Whitson and Shane Kimbrough were installing over the spot left by a relocated docking port. NASA spokesman Dan Huot said the three remaining shields were installed to cover the most vulnerable spots.

It was a disappointing turn of events in a record-setting spacewalk for Whitson, the world's oldest and most experienced spacewoman. It was the eighth spacewalk of her career, the most performed by a woman. There was frustration in her voice as she informed Mission Control.

Huot said it was not immediately clear who let the shield go or how it got away; it's supposed to be tethered to the station or spacewalker at all times.

Spacewalkers have lost objects before, but usually the items are small, like bolts. In 2008, an astronaut lost her entire tool kit during a spacewalk.

Each fabric shield weighs 18 pounds. When unfolded, it is about 2 inches thick and measures about 5 feet by 2 feet, according to NASA. The entire 250-mile-high space station is protected, in some fashion, against possible debris strikes.

The docking port was disconnected during a spacewalk last Friday by Kimbrough, the space station's commander and a six-time spacewalker. Then flight controllers in Houston moved it to a new and better location Sunday. It will serve as one of two parking spots for commercial crew capsules under development by SpaceX and Boeing.

The spacewalkers hooked up vital heater cables to the docking port and removed a cover from the top. Then they turned to the shields, and that's when one of the folded coverings got away. Mission Control instructed the astronauts to retrieve the cloth cover just removed from the docking port, and try to fashion it over the gaping hole left by the lost shield.

Midway through Thursday's spacewalk, Whitson was set to surpass the current record for women of 50 hours and 40 minutes of total accumulated spacewalking time, held by former space station resident Sunita Williams. Williams is one of four NASA astronauts who will make the initial test flights of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner capsules. The first flight could occur as early as next year.

A Russian holds the all-time spacewalking record: Anatoly Solovyev with 16.

The 57-year-old Whitson has been in orbit since November. This is her third space station stint. Altogether, she's spent more than 500 days off the planet, also more than any woman.

She's scheduled to return to Earth in June but may stick around an extra three months, until September. NASA is hoping to take advantage of an extra seat in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that's due to launch next month and return in September. A decision is expected soon.

NASA, meanwhile, has indefinitely delayed a spacewalk that had been scheduled for next week. A shipment with replacement parts needed for that spacewalk is on hold because of rocket concerns at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Shipper Orbital ATK is relying on the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V to haul up the goods.

ALSO

Trumps budget plan for NASA focuses on studying space, not climate change

Biology explains why men kill big game like Cecil the lion and how that behavior might be stopped

For at least $675,000, you can own a handwritten page from Charles Darwins manuscript of 'On the Origin of Species'

Read more from the original source:
Spacewalking astronauts lose a piece of shield needed for International Space Station - Los Angeles Times

Astronauts Ricky Arnold (left) and Joe Acaba (right) aboard the space shuttle Discovery in March 2009. Credit: NASA

NASA has announced that veteran astronauts Joe Acaba and Ricky Arnold will launch on nearly six-month expeditions aboard the International Space Station starting in September and in March 2018, filling seats aboard Russian Soyuz spaceships recently acquired in a commercial arrangement with Boeing.

Acaba is set to launch first, riding to the space station inside the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in September with Russian commander Alexander Misurkin and NASA flight engineer Mark Vande Hei. That trio will be part of the stations Expedition 53 and 54 crews, returning to Earth next February.

The mission will be Acabas third spaceflight since his selection as a NASA astronaut in 2004. The California native first flew in space aboard the shuttle Discovery on the STS-119 mission in March 2009, then spent four months in orbit on the International Space Station in 2012. Acaba has logged nearly 138 days in space on his two previous flights.

It will be Vande Heis first space mission, and the second for Misurkin.

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, NASA astronaut Scott Tingle and Japanese flight engineer Norishige Kanai are set to launch on the next Soyuz flight no sooner than late December. Those crew members were already assigned to the mission.

Astronaut Ricky Arnold will join NASAs Drew Feustel and a Russian cosmonaut on a Soyuz launch in March 2018 as part of the stations Expedition 55 and 56 crews. Born in Maryland, Arnold previously flew in space as a crewmate of Acaba on Discoverys STS-119 mission, accumulating nearly 13 days in space.

Feustel, who was already training for his space station expedition, is a veteran of two space shuttle missions the shuttle Atlantis servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009 and the final flight of the shuttle Endeavour in 2011. Next years mission will be the first long-duration spaceflight for Arnold and Feustel.

Acaba and Arnold will fill seats that were planned to be empty. Russia has reduced the size of its crew complement on the space station until a new research lab is launched to the complex next year to cut down on costs, training and staffing requirements.

Using Boeing as an intermediary, the U.S. space agency opted to take advantage of empty Soyuz seats on two flights scheduled for launch from Kazakhstan in September and in March 2018.

Boeing received rights to the Soyuz seats from RSC Energia, prime contractor for Russias human spaceflight program, in a settlement reached last year to end three years of litigation stemming from payments related to the companies former partnership in the Sea Launch program.

NASA said astronaut Shannon Walker, veteran of a five-month stay on the space station in 2010, will train as a dedicated backup for Acaba.

Rookie astronauts Nick Hague and Serena Aun-Chancellor have also been assigned to space station missions, NASA said.

Hague, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and a native of Kansas, will launch in September 2018 on a Soyuz ferry craft with two Russian cosmonauts for about a half-year rotation aboard the outpost. Aun-Chancellor, a flight surgeon from Fort Collins, Colorado, will launch on a Soyuz booster in November 2018 with Canadian flight engineer David Saint-Jacques and a Russian cosmonaut.

Aun-Chancellor is a member of NASAs 2009 astronaut class, and Hague was selected as an astronaut in 2013.

NASA has reserved options to fly three more of its astronauts to the space station on Soyuz spaceships in early 2019 if U.S. commercial crew spacecraft in development by Boeing and SpaceX are not ready in time.

Once the CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon commercial spaceships are declared operational, the space agency plans to fly most of its astronauts on U.S. vehicles, while continuing to launch at least one U.S. crew member on each Soyuz mission. Russia plans to have at least one of its cosmonauts on each CST-100 and Crew Dragon capsule in an in-kind arrangement that does not involve any exchange of funds.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

Read the original:
NASA assigns astronauts to future space station missions - Spaceflight Now

Astronaut Thomas Pesquet brought these wedding rings along for his six-month stay at the International Space Station.

Talk about a best man!

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet brought along some very special cargo for his six-month stay at the International Space Station: a shiny, silver pair of wedding rings.

These rings aren't meant for Pesquet or his love interest. Instead, the rings belong to two of his Earth-bound friends, who will use them to get married after Pesquet returns from space. [See more space photos by astronaut Thomas Pesquet]

"In my 1.5 kg 'hand luggage', I brought the wedding rings of my friends getting married this summer!" Pesquet wrote on Twitterand Flickr. "I'll be back in time to be their witness."

From the engraving inside the larger ring, it looks like his friends will tie the knot on Aug. 14. With Pesquet's return to Earth slated for June, that leaves the astronaut plenty of wiggle room to get the rings back to their rightful owners in time for the big day.

"Wedding rings from space, now that's a grand romantic gesture," Pesquetwrote in a subsequent Twitter post, where he attached the song "Magnificent Romeo" by Basement Jaxx.

Wedding rings from space, now that's a grand romantic gesture! @TheBasementJaxx - Magnificent Romeo #songs4space https://t.co/ppkUzy0idz

Pesquet, a flight engineer and first-time space flyer, arrived at the International Space Station in November, along with NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy.

Though Pesquet isn't married, he does have a girlfriend who works at the United Nations in Rome, France 24 reports.

After caring for his friends' wedding rings in space for six months, we bet he's planning a toast that is truly out of this world!

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

More:
'Best Man' in Space! Astronaut Brings Friends' Wedding Rings to Space Station - Space.com

Should you wish to precisely parse the difference between Life and Gravity, a film with which it has a great deal in common, you can reduce it to a single detail: Remember the scene in which Sandra Bullock's character sheds a deep-space tear and it hovers in her zero gravity craft, a glistening CGI globule? Well, imagine a movie in which things go so much worse that the floating globules are drops of human blood. Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have done exactly that.

The pair's most recent creation was the delectably unhinged Deadpool, so perhaps it's no surprise to find Ryan Reynolds among the six astronauts aboard the International Space Station, on which most of the movie is set. He plays a wisecracking engineer. The balance of the awfully good cast consists of Ariyon Bakare (nave microbiologist), Jake Gyllenhaal (ex-military doctor battling PTSD), Olga Dihovichnaya (the crew's all-business Russian commander), Hiroyuki Sanada (proud papa who watches his baby's birth on an iPad 493), and Rebecca Ferguson (CDC scientist whose expertise is in quarantine protocols).

Turns out, that last specialty is a good thing to have on board. The mission, we learn after a few introductory minutes of scene-setting technical jargon, is to check out Martian soil samples, which are reported to contain a history-making microscopic organism. This is such good news that children on Earth hold a contest to name the unicellular passenger. For the rest of the film, it's referred to as Calvin.

The name grows increasingly incongruous over the course of events that, in the skillful hands of Swedish director Daniel Espinosa (Child 44), accelerate into the most imaginative, terrifying sci-fi thrillride since Alien. You just know Bakare's character is way too trusting when he reaches his protective gloves into the lab and gets all touchy-feely with the innocent-looking thing in the petri dish and it bends to meet his finger. And then extends cute little tentacles to clutch it. Aww. Then, in an instant, wraps itself around his hand like a blood pressure cuff from hell and squeezes it to a bloody pulp. Good thing the scientist didn't leave a surgical knife where Calvin could grab it and slice his way out of those gloves. Oops.

Lots of dumb mistakes are made over the next hour and a half. That's how horror movies work. Characters have to go into the basement. But Espinosa doesn't make any mistakes, and neither does Calvin. The angry amoeba is unstoppable, growing ever larger, faster and smarter. It seems determined to take down its keepers and confiscate their ship. If an Oscar were given for most creative kill, Life would be a lock. The picture is a symphony of breathtaking visuals, courtesy of cinematographer Seamus McGarvey (Nocturnal Animals), and breathless, relentlessly inventive action.

The final act ranks with movie history's most mind-blowing. Don't let anyone ruin it for you. Just make it your mission not to miss this instant creature-feature classic. It's so good, you can only marvel that, in this day and age, a studio green-lit this big-budget movie. And you have to wonder what this cinematic sorcerer will do for his next trick, in which he'll reteam with Gyllenhaal for the true story of an international team fighting an even more threatening foe: ISIS. Given what Espinosa has achieved with science fiction, can you imagine what he'll make out of real life?

Go here to see the original:
'Life' Offers a Sci-Fi Thrillride on the Space Station - Seven Days

Looking for an eclectic evening of entertainment to kick off your week? Look no further than Space Station at Starlandia, where Neurosound Booking presents a varied lineup of comedy, art, and music.

Local comedian Melanie Goldey is your host for the evening; shell welcome fellow comedians Tara Scott, Chris Islame, Jerrod Smith, and Aaron Odom to the stage.

Cincinnati band Lung will bring their intense, cello-driven indie rock to the all-ages venue. A two-piece featuring Daisy Caplan, formerly of Foxy Shazam, on drums, and Kate Wakefield on vocals and electric cello, Lungs one-of-a-kind sound was most recently captured Bottom of the Barrel, released on March 17 and is sure to be a captivating performance.

Savannahs own mathy stoner rockers Joi Ryder join the bill, as well as hip-hop innovator Cunabear. While the comedians crack you up and the bands rock out, check out visual art from Matty Dass, Mat Gross, Jake Schlosser, and Nia Smalls.

Monday, April 3, 7 p.m., $5, all-ages

Continued here:
Neurosound Presents: Monday Night Mix-Up @Space Station at Starlandia - Connect Savannah.com

NASA has always embraced emerging technology for visualization, even if that tech was seemingly developed for frivolous entertainment. We recentlycovered its holographicMars exhibit,andthe many 3D resources that NASA makes availableto developers and educators. Now, the US space agency has partnered with Epic Games Unreal Engine to create a mixed reality International Space Station simulator.

Tobecome a qualified NASA astronaut, candidatesspend up to two years of training learning the ropes through intensive classes and simulations that help them prepare for working while weightless, navigating around different parts of the space shuttle and international space station, and serving as each others emergency medical technicians, among other things.

In the past, astronaut trainingmeant dives in a neutral buoyancy lab, a giant pool thatholds 6.2 million gallons of water, and spending time at NASAs space vehicle mock-up facility, a life-sized model of the space shuttle orbiter and parts of the international space station (ISS). Those physical facilities have limited capacity, though. Adding a mixed realitymock-up, alongside the physical facility, could allow astronauts-in-training a lot more time to hone their skills in a convincing sim.

Unreal Engines main competitor, Unity, has also worked with NASA. For the unfamiliar, both companies make game engines that have been adapted for the creationof enterprise applications, andVR experiences. More game developers use Unity than Unreal Engine by a long shot today. Still, Unreal Engine boastsimpressive customers on the serious games front, including BMW, McLaren, Ikea and Lockheed Martin.

According to a video thatUnreal Engine and NASA released earlier this month, their mixed reality system shows various elements of, and instruments on board the ISS, including different exercise machines and tools that astronauts use for maintenance work there. The simulator is different than the previously-released educational experience,Mission: ISS for Oculus.

Among other things, the mixed reality ISS appsweeps astronauts-in-training off their feet with an active response gravity offload system. It works in conjunction with a robotic crane that makes the trainee feel like he or she would in micro-, lunar- or Martian gravity.Besides using the mixed reality system to train astronauts and engineers for life and work in orbit,NASA willuse it todesign new habitats.

More:
NASA is using a mixed reality space station to train astronauts - TechCrunch

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet is caught on camera by the International Space Station's Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, also known as Dextre, during EVA-40 on March 24, 2017.

Two astronauts wandered outside the confines of theInternational Space Stationtoday (March 24), embarking on the first of three spacewalks scheduled to take place over the next few weeks.

European Space Agency astronaut and flight engineerThomas Pesquetled the way when he emerged from the station's Quest Airlock at 7:22 a.m. EDT (1122 GMT). NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, commander of the station's Expedition 50 crew, popped out of the airlock shortly after, and the two spacewalkers parted ways to carry out separate tasks around the orbiting lab.

While Kimbrough breezed through his to-do list with enough time left for a "get-ahead" task, Pesquet's tasks kept him busy the entire time. "It was a long spacewalk," NASA spokesman Dan Huot said of the session, which took 6 hours and 34 minutes, during live commentary. NASA astronautPeggy Whitsonassisted with the spacewalk, first by helping them suit up and head out the door, and later by operating the station's robotic arm. [Space Station Photos: Expedition 50 Astronauts in Action]

Thomas Pesquet takes a selfie with Shane Kimbrough in the Cupola at the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship can be seen through the window.

The primary goals of this spacewalk and the next one, which is scheduled for March 30, are to prepare the space station for the future docking of commercial spacecraft, such as SpaceX's Crew Dragonand Boeing's CST-100 Starliner.

Kimbrough was tasked with disconnecting the Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 (PMA-3), which allows different kinds spacecraft to use the space station's docking ports. This Sunday (March 26), ground crews will operate the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to move PMA-3 from the Tranquility module to the Harmony module.

During the next spacewalk, on March 30, Pesquet and Whitson will connect PMA-3 to its new home at the Harmony module, where NASA plans to install a new International Docking Adapterfor commercial spacecraft by 2018. "PMA-3 provides the pressurized interface between the station modules and the docking adapter," NASA officials said in a statement.

Kimbrough kicked off his spacewalk by heading to the Starboard-0 (S0) truss to replace an old, external backup computer called Multiplexer-Demultiplexer (MDM). The new computer unit, called the Enhanced Processor and Integrated Communications (EPIC MDM), has upgraded software for the new docking adapter, EVA-40 spacewalk officer Sarah Korona said during a news conference on Wednesday (March 22). Kimbrough will replace a second MDM unit with another EPIC MDM during his next spacewalk, on March 30. After replacing the MDM computers, Kimbrough made a pit stop at the airlock to drop off the old computer before moving on to PMA-3.

Shane Kimbrough replaces one of the space station's external computers during his spacewalk on March 24, 2017.

Meanwhile, Pesquet spent his day doing maintenance unrelated to PMA-3. First, he grabbed a foot restraint from an external stowage platform before making his way over to the P1 truss to investigate a suspected ammonia leak from a radiator valve in the station's cooling system.

"We've been tracking a small rate of leakage from that ammonia system over the last year or so, and our external robotics systems have determined a most likely location where the system may be leaking," NASA Flight Director Emily Nelson said at the news conference. "It's time to get crewmember eyeballs on the area and get a human evaluation to determine whether we have any damage to the system."

Pesquet jostled a set of hoses in the station's radiator heat belt monitor, the suspected source of the leak, in an effort to rattle loose any possible flakes of frozen ammonia. After looking for the leak for about 2 hours, he found no signs ammonia outside the space station. Just to be sure, he carried a high-definition GoPro camera to capture footage for ground crews to investigate the scene more closely. [Astronaut's-Eye View: Stunning Spacewalk Video from Space]

With no ammonia in sight, Pesquet moved on to the space station's Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, also known as Dextre, which is an extension of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. The two-armed, remote-controlled robot was in need of a little routine maintenance, so Pesquet applied lubricant to the latching endeffector (LEE), or the "hand" at the end of the robotic arm. He spent nearly 4 hours using the ballscrew lubrication tool to inject grease into the LEE. Things got a little messy at this point, so Pesquet had to wipe up grease that was oozing from the machine.

As Pesquet worked on the robotic arm, Whitson controlled it from inside the space station. She brought Dextre closer to Pesquet, who could barely reach it even with an extended foot restraint.

Peggy Whitson operated the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, also known as Dextre, so Thomas Pesquet could reach it during his second spacewalk on March 24, 2017.

Because Kimbrough was doing better on time than Pesquet, he did his fellow spacewalker a favor by fetching a bag of tools that Pesquet would need for his work at the robotic arm, saving Pesquet an extra trip back to the airlock in between tasks. Then, Kimbrough went to the Japanese Kibo module for his "get-ahead" task, in which he replaced two cameras that had broken lights. The lights will be replaced inside the space station and can still be used in the future, but replacing them in space isn't very practical.

The two spacewalkers finally made it back to the airlock for good, ending the mission at 1:58 p.m. EDT (1758 GMT). Kimbrough completed his fifth spacewalk today, with a total of 32 hours spent doing EVAs (short for "extravehicular activities"). This was Pesquet's second spacewalk, and he now has a total of 12.5 hours of EVA experience.

Shane Kimbrough replaced cameras outside the Japanese Kibo module for a "get-ahead" task after he completed his objectives during his fifth spacewalk on March 24, 2017.

Despite a few minor hiccups, the spacewalk was a great success, with the astronauts accomplishing every task plus one optional task. "Shane Kimbrough had some sticky connectors, and the foot restraint has been a bit unwieldy at timesfor Thomas Pesquet," Huot said. But nothing happened that prevented them from doing everything they needed to do.

On Thursday (March 30), Kimbrough and Whitson will continue EVA work with PMA-3 while Pesquet assists from inside the station.

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookand Google+. Original article on Space.com.

See the article here:
Spacewalking Astronauts Prep Space Station to Dock with Commercial Spaceships - Space.com

A 17-year-old British student, Miles Solomon, spotted an error in NASAs data while working on a school physics project. Whats more, the teenager figured out that radiation sensors on the International Space Station (ISS) were not working properly. The sensors were actually capturing false data.

Once he found the error, Solomon emailed NASA, which said it appreciated the feedback and even invited him to help fix the problem.

Solomons Tapton Secondary School in Sheffield was taking part in a project from Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) which provided the students with real scientific data from NASAs radiation readings. The measurements were of radiation levels from British astronaut Tim Peaks stint on the ISS in December 2015, taken every 4 seconds. The students were encouraged to look for anomalies and promising patterns.

When he first got the readings, Miles right away had a plan.

'What we got given was a lot of spreadsheets, which is a lot more interesting than it sounds,' he told BBC Radio 4. I went straight to the bottom of the list and I went for the lowest bits of energy there were.

Miles Solomon. Credit: BBC

What he spotted is that on occasions when the sensors didnt detect any radiation, they instead recorded a negative reading of -1. As you cannot have a negative for energy, Solomon and his teacher got in touch with NASA.

"It's pretty cool", said Miles. "You can tell your friends, I just emailed Nasa and they're looking at the graphs that I've made."

It turned out the teen noticed an error that NASA didnt fully see for 15 months. The space scientists said they did actually know of the errors existence but thought it happened once or twice a year rather than many times a day.

The discovery of the error was welcomed by NASA and IRIS, which created the opportunity to get real science in the classroom. They hope this kind of cooperation can inspire students to become scientists.

Miles is very excited, although his friends might be less enthused.

"They obviously think I'm a nerd," shared the self-deprecating student. "It's really a mixture of jealousy and boredom when I tell them all the details."

He also doesnt see the situation as a case of embarrassment for the worlds premiere space program.

"I'm not trying to prove Nasa wrong. I want to work with them and learn from them, Solomon added.

See the rest here:
A British Teenager Finds an Error in NASA's Space Station Data - Big Think