Category Archives: Space Station

The tomato seeds spent almost two years in outer space before making their way to Nandita Bajajs Grade 9 science class.

And after an experiment that began at the start of this school year comparing the percentage of space seeds that germinated compared to those with earthly beginnings Bajaj did the big reveal on Friday, giving the excited teens the results.

In the past weve done different experiments to teach the scientific method, but the unit after this is astronomy, so the Tomatosphere project worked well on two fronts, said Bajaj, who has a degree in aerospace engineering as well as teaching.

The best thing about the experiment is the awareness of how real science is conducted, she said, and it gives students a chance to experience something that is part of a real-world experiment on the effects of space on food growth.

Some 18,000 students across North America will take part in the Tomatosphere program this year, and about three million have since it began 13 years ago.

Bajajs class received certificates from the Canadian Space Agency, handed out on Friday, for taking part in the mass experiment.

Tomatosphere is in part sponsored by Lets Talk Science, the Canadian Space Agency and the University of Guelph.

The seeds for Bajajs class at Northview Heights Secondary School some travelled more than 450 million kilometres were brought back to Earth last year from the International Space Station by famed Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

The class received space and non-space tomato seeds, which they were asked to germinate, without knowing which was which, and to then compare success rates for each set.

Ten days ago, their work was sent to the Canadian Space Agency. Their results were close to the overall average about 65 per cent of their 113 earthly seeds germinated, while 57 per cent of the 113 space ones did.

Read more:
Toronto students' space tomatoes out of this world

Provided by Sky News

The 10-year programme being led by researchers in Norway will see foods such as cherry tomatoes, lettuce and soybeans grown on the International Space Station (ISS).

Called Time Scale, the project is being run alongside the EU and the European Space Agency (ESA) to investigate how food plants grow in space and how the plants can help supply space travellers with food and air in the future.

Ann-Iren Kittang Jost, research manager at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Space (CIRIS) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, is leading the project.

"I do envision that what we can form the basis for food cultivation on the Moon and Mars sometime in the future," she told Science Nordic.

"These are just a few preliminary steps. I don't want to venture a guess regarding how long it will take before they can be used on a large scale.

"We haven't decided which food plant to cultivate yet. We've discussed cherry tomatoes, lettuce or soybeans."

Astronauts need around 30kg of water, food and air each day and despite some recycling of water on the ISS, supplies must be delivered from earth at huge cost.

Plant experiments on the ISS have been run from the CIRIS control room in Trondheim since 2006, mostly on the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana - the first to have its genome sequenced.

But Ms Kittang Jost said the cultivation of more complex organisms in space conditions required far more research.

Continue reading here:
Bean Me Up: Scientists To Grow Crops In Space

Russia to Deploy Its Own Space Station In 2017
http://www.undergroundworldnews.com Russia will deploy its own orbital space station in 2017, using parts of modules originally destined for the International Space Station (ISS), according...

By: DAHBOO77

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Russia to Deploy Its Own Space Station In 2017 - Video

Minecraft Cube Evolution Episode 31: Space Station
In today #39;s episode of the Cube Evolution, we work on our space station and open some lucky blocks. Cube Evolution is a private, whitelisted server hosted by Mineplex.com. We are currently...

By: Graser10

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Minecraft Cube Evolution Episode 31: Space Station - Video

From outer space, a call to protect the rights of every child: Alexander Gerst | UNICEF
As the world celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, International Space Station astronaut Alexander Gerst calls for each one of us to take responsibil...

By: UNICEF

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From outer space, a call to protect the rights of every child: Alexander Gerst | UNICEF - Video

Futura mission: Launch preparation 2
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen #39;s second video diary from Baikonur, in Kazakhstan, where he is currently joining the Expedition 42/43 crew in quarantine ahead of their launch to the International...

By: European Space Agency, ESA

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Futura mission: Launch preparation 2 - Video

3D Printer Installed On International Space Station
The International Space Station #39;s latest technological addition is a new three dimensional printer that is the first of its kind to be installed in space. The International Space Station #39;s...

By: GeoBeats News

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3D Printer Installed On International Space Station - Video

New Crew Has Big Plans Aboard the Space Station | Video
More space news and info at: http://www.coconutsciencelab.com - the Space Station #39;s new crew members will be: NASA astronaut Terry Virts, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti,.

By: CoconutScienceLab

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New Crew Has Big Plans Aboard the Space Station | Video - Video

Expedition 42 fit check
The next Expedition 42 trio waiting to join the International Space Station crew conducted final Sokol launch and entry suit fit checks at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut...

By: Justin Ray

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Expedition 42 fit check - Video

The International Space Station (ISS) is to receive a coffee machine designed for zero gravity. Photograph: NASA/Getty Images

Ristretto or lungo? Not a question astronauts on the International Space Station normally have to contemplate, but that is about to change thanks to a new zero-gravity coffee machine being delivered this weekend.

The ISSpresso machine is set to boldly go to the orbital station this weekend, carried there by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

Astronauts on the station will finally be able to enjoy a decent brew thanks to the 20-kilogramme machine designed by famed Italian coffee makers Lavazza and engineering firm Argotec, which specialises in making space food.

Cristoforetti, 37, who is also a captain in the Italian airforce, will be not only the first female astronaut from Italy to go into space, but also the very first astronaut in the history of the conquest of space to savour an authentic Italian espresso in orbit, the two companies said in a statement.

The designers say it uses extraterrestrial capsules and can operate in microgravity conditions.

ISSpresso is a technological achievement that conforms to the technical requirements and ultra-strict security measures imposed on us by the Italian space agency, said David Avino, Argotecs director general.

Among the challenges for the engineers was figuring out how to get the liquids flowing properly in zero gravity. Its steel components also had to be able to withstand enormous pressure.

Cristoforetti will be travelling with an American, Terry Virts, and Russian Anton Shkaplerov in a Soyuz rocket launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan - and will stay there until May 2015.

They will join American astronaut American Barry Wilmore and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova, who are returning to Earth in March.

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Astronauts to have coffee machine delivered to space station