2015年4月30日 星期四

Across the Sun


A long solar filament stretches across the relatively calm surface of the Sun in this telescopic snap shot from April 27. The negative or inverted narrowband image was made in the light of ionized hydrogen atoms. Seen at the upper left, the magnificent curtain of magnetized plasma towers above surface and actually reaches beyond the Sun's edge. How long is the solar filament? About as long as the distance from Earth to Moon, illustrated by the scale insert at the left. Tracking toward the right across the solar disk a day later the long filament erupted, lifting away from the Sun's surface. Monitored by Sun staring satellites, a coronal mass ejection was also blasted from the site but is expected to swing wide of our fair planet. via NASA http://ift.tt/1zs3mAW

Ellen Ochoa's Warp Drive Gizmo

Is NASA one step closer to warp drive?, CNET "NASA, according to NASASpaceFlight.com, is quietly claiming to have successfully tested a revolutionary new means of space travel that could one day allow for such insane speed, and to have done...

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NASA Chief Statement on House Budget Bill

As I wrote this morning, Republicans on the House Committee for Science, Space, and Technology passed a nakedly partisan budget authorization bill for NASA that drastically and brutally slashes hundreds of millions of dollars from NASA's Earth Science Division, which studies how climate change is affecting our planet.

Charles Bolden, NASA administrator, issued a statement that is brief, to the point, and clearly states his feelings.

The NASA authorization bill making its way through the House of Representatives guts our Earth science program and threatens to set back generations worth of progress in better understanding our changing climate, and our ability to prepare for and respond to earthquakes, droughts, and storm events.   
NASA leads the world in the exploration of and study of planets, and none is more important than the one on which we live.
In addition, the bill underfunds the critical space technologies that the nation will need to lead in space, including on our journey to Mars.

If I were him, I would've laced that with some colorful metaphors, too.



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NASA Administrator Statement on House Authorization Bill

Statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on the House of Representatives’ NASA authorization bill

April 30, 2015
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NASA Invests in Hundreds of U.S. Small Businesses to Enable Future Missions

NASA has selected research and technology proposals from 254 small businesses and 39 research institutions in the United States for grants to develop new technologies that will further NASA's journey to Mars.

April 30, 2015
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NASA Completes MESSENGER Mission with Expected Impact on Mercury's Surface

A NASA planetary exploration mission came to a planned, but nonetheless dramatic, end Thursday when it slammed into Mercury’s surface at about 8,750 mph and created a new crater on the planet’s surface.

April 30, 2015
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SpaceX Targets May 6 for Pad Abort Test of New Crew Spacecraft

SpaceX now is targeting Wednesday, May 6, for a pad abort test of its Crew Dragon, a spacecraft under final development and certification through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The test window will open at 7 a.m. EDT.

April 30, 2015
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Overview of MESSENGER Spacecraft's Impact Region on Mercury


On April 30th, this region of Mercury's surface will have a new crater! Traveling at 3.91 kilometers per second (over 8,700 miles per hour), the MESSENGER spacecraft will collide with Mercury's surface, creating a crater estimated to be 16 meters (52 feet) in diameter. via NASA http://ift.tt/1IrJm3c

NASA Authorization Act Markup

House Science Committee Markup of NASA Authorization Act for 2016 and 2017 "11:00 a.m. Full Committee Markup of: H.R. 2039, the "National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act for 2016 and 2017" Watch live - H.R. 2039, the National Aeronautics...

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The Planetary Society is Both For and Against Earth and Climate Science

Congress, we have a problem, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, The Hill "Just a few months ago we marked up and passed out of the House a bipartisan NASA authorization. That bill was negotiated on a bipartisan basis, voice voted out...

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Farewell, Good MESSENGER

Today, sometime around 19:30 UTC (3:30 p.m. Eastern US Time), the MESSENGER spacecraft will slam into the planet Mercury at nearly kilometers per second.

That will bring to an end an astonishingly successful mission, one that was ridiculously difficult to pull off.

Getting a probe to Mercury is hard. Mercury orbits the Sun far faster than Earth does, but, ironically, dropping the probe straight down from Earth would accelerate it too much to achieve orbit. On its way to the inner solar system, MESSENGER had to pass by Earth once, Venus twice, and Mercury three times to match velocities.

And now, after six and a half years on route, and four years circling the planet (totaling more than 4000 complete orbits), MESSENGER is out of fuel. The gravity of the Sun distorts its orbit, and over time it would crash one way or the other. Scientists and engineers squeezed every last drop of science they could out of the probe, but the time has come. Today it becomes a part of the planet is studied for so long.

And what a mission it had! The MErcury Surface, Space Environment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft achieved so much in its short time around the rocky world. It made the first global map of Mercury, found ice in the poles, sampled its exosphere, discovered why the planet is so dark (it’s painted black by passing comets), found volcanic deposits, and mapped the minerals on the surface.

You can read more in the Related Posts section below, and see what the Principal Investigator thought were its10 greatest highlights. The University of Michigan engineering department put up a nice little list of facts about it, too.

NASA released a fitting tribute video to the mission. Watch:

It should be noted that the European Space Agency is preparing their own Mercury mission, due to launch in early 2017. But MESSENGER was special; it was the first Mercury orbiter.

There have been so many nights I’ve gone out after sunset and spotted Mercury in the west, hanging over the horizon in the twilight glow. It’s not always easy to see, and there’s some satisfaction in spotting it before the sky is dark.

Right now, Mercury is climbing in the sky again after sunset, and tonight will be very close to the Pleiades, low to the west. Look for it with binoculars, but have a care, it’s low. By the time the sky is dark it’ll be gone.

But if you do catch Mercury, a faint spark in the gloam, take a moment and tip your hat to MESSENGER, a human sentinel that watched over the tiny, broiling, spectacular, and now less-unknown world.

Related Posts

Watermelon Planet
Mercury: How Much More Black Could It Be?
Crash Course Astronomy: Mercury
Ice to See You
MESSENGER’s Family Portrait
Spiders on Mercury
Mercury Hides a Monster Impact



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First Developmental Flight of New Shepard

First Developmental Flight of New Shepard "Today (29 April 2015) we flew the first developmental test flight of our New Shepard space vehicle. Our 110,000-lbf thrust liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen BE-3 engine worked flawlessly, powering New Shepard through Mach 3...

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/29/15

59 Progress (59P) Status:  Last night Russian ground controllers resumed 59P troubleshooting during Russian ground passes and were able to establish communications with the vehicle and review telemetry.  Russian controllers configured the refueling system to feed the thrusters and made two unsuccessful attempts to command the thrusters to stabilize the vehicle’s angular rotation. Per Mission Control Center Moscow (MCC-M) request, the crew will take photos of 59P when it was estimated to be approximately 170 km under the ISS. In the meantime, Moscow has officially announced that 59P will not dock to the ISS.  Rodent Research-2 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (RR-2 CASIS): Virts and Kelly performed bone density scans and collected samples from five test subjects.  This research is to monitor the effects of the space environment on the musculoskeletal and neurological systems of mice as model organisms of human health and disease. Living in microgravity results in significant and rapid effects on the physiology of mice that mimic the process of aging and some diseases in humans on Earth, including muscle atrophy and the loss of bone mineral density. This project will help scientists to discover new molecular targets that can facilitate the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of muscle and bone-related diseases. Long-duration exposure to microgravity will also induce changes in gene expression, protein synthesis, metabolism, and eye structure/morphology that will be identifiable as a series of assessable biomarkers for tracking the onset and progression of disease. Gene, Immune and Cellular Responses to Single and Combined Space Flight Conditions – A (Triplelux-A): Cristoforetti continued operations for the first runs of Triplelux-A. She integrated the first Experiment Container (EC) handling Mechanism (HM) interface in the EC and installed the EC on the Biolab rotor, retrieved the Triplelux Reservoir A (three) and installed into the Triplelux-A automatic ambient stowage (AAS) Insert.  Finally, the crew retrieved the first culture tube A (one) from MELFI, thawed in the Biolab glovebox and inserted into the Tripleux EC.  Triplelux-A uses a rat macrophage cell line to investigate and compare the ability of macrophages to kill pathogens under normal gravity and microgravity conditions. The goal is to gain a better understanding of immune suppression in spaceflight. Electromagnetic Levitation (EML):  Cristoforetti changed the mode of the High Speed Camera to change the magnification factor. The EML provides containerless processing of liquid metals in a micro-gravity environment and precise measurement of their thermo-physical properties. EML aims to increase the performance of metallic/alloy structures through an understanding of how solidification can be controlled and develop a data base of properties to allow better process modeling. The experiment investigates solidification and microstructural evolution and evaluates thermo-physical properties of highly reactive molten metals. Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF):  Cristoforetti performed the second of three on board cable reconfigurations on the SCOF to support ground checkouts. This is in preparation for the Soret Facet cell2 experiment planned for May 12. The Soret effect in fluids is a thermodynamic phenomenon in which different particles respond in different ways to varying temperatures. The effect, studied by the Swiss chemist Charles Soret, has been difficult to examine in detail on Earth because of gravity. The Study on Soret effect (thermal diffusion process) for the mixed solution by the in-situ observation technique facilitated at SCOF (Soret-Facet) is the first investigation to verify Soret conditions in steady and changing conditions, and to compare the Soret effect in microgravity with results on the ground, an important measurement for calibrating future investigations. False Fire Indication in Treadmill 2 (T2) Rack: This morning a fire alarm annunciated in the T2 rack. The crew immediately powered down the rack.  Cabin and fire port Compound Specific Analyzer-Combustible Products (CSA-CP) readings were zero with no odor present.  At the time of the alarm, the crew was exercising on T2 and reported that the tread belt stopped moving immediately prior to the alarm.  T2 is currently powered down and the crew is no-go for exercise. Public Affairs Event:  Kelly and Kornienko participated in an One Year Crew interview with the Associated Press and Westwood One Radio Network.   Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Reaction Time Test (morning) IMS Tagup (S-band) JRNL – Journal Entry TPLXA – Hardware Unpack Conference on specifics of ТКГ 426 docking. Consolidation of Personal Hygiene Article for Priority Use TPLXA – Hardware Unstow and Preparation USND2 – Hardware Activation CARDOX – Preparation Steps and Hardware Setup Rodent Research (RR) – Fixative Swap LBNP – Exercise (PRELIMINARY) assistance LBNP Exercise (PRELIMINARY). EML – Camcorder Config CARDOX – Experiment Ops OTKLIK. Hardware Check CARDOX – Scanning (operator) MOTOCARD. Experiment Ops. Cleaning ВД1 and ВД2 Air Ducts in DC1 TPLXA – Triplelux Transfer to the Glovebox TORU OBT [Aborted] MOTOCARD. Assistance with the Experiment CARDOX – Blood Pressure Operations DRAGON Transfers Ops RR-MELFI. Sample Relocation between Different MELFI Sections TPLXA – Hardware Setup Hardware prepack for return and disposal on ТК 715 USND2 – Hardware Deactivation and Stowage PAO Hardware Setup Crew Prep for PAO PAO Event DRAGON Transfers Ops Symbolic Activity DRAGON Transfers Ops TPLXA – Preparation Ops HRF – Hardware Setup Symbolic Activity Dragon -Transfers Tagup Cleaning fan grilles on FGB interior panels (panels 201, 301, 401) Separation of EDV (KOV) ФГБ1ПГО_4_404_1. EDV for separation No.1104 Hardware prepack for return and disposal on ТК 715 SCOF – Cable Reconfiguration MSG – Powerdown TPLXA – Hardware Gather TPLXA – Tube insertion into Glovebox СОЖ Maintenance Crew prep for departure Cleaning fan grilles on FGB interior panels (116, 316, 231, 431) TPLXA – Hardware Setup CONTENT. Experiment Ops IMS Delta File Prep TPLXA – Equipment Stowage Dragon Cargo Operations Conference Closing window shutters 6,8,9,12,13,14 REACTION Experiment Ops Reaction Time Test (evening) Completed Task List Items None Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Rodent Research ops Cardio Ox Ultrasound ops JEM RMS MNVR [On Schedule] Three-Day Look Ahead: Thursday, 04/30: 41S undock pre-pack, Body Measures, Space Aging sample 1, JEMAL table extension for RRM Friday, 05/01: USOS crew half day off, DRAGON […]

April 30, 2015 at 01:03AM
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House GOP Wants to Eviscerate NASA Earth Sciences in New Budget

There’s no other way to put this, so I’ll be succinct: A passel of anti-science global warming denying GOP Representatives have put together a funding authorization bill for NASA which at best cuts over $300 million from the agency’s current Earth Science budget.

At worst? Over $500 million.

The actual amount of the cut depends on whether some caps enacted in 2011 are removed or not. If they are, then Earth Sciences gets $1.45 billion. If not, it gets $1.2 billion. The current FY 2015 budget is $1.773 billion.

Compare that to the White House request for FY ’16 of $1.947 billion for Earth Sciences. The bill will marked up (amended and rewritten) by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee today.

This, for the space agency which has a critical role in understanding climate change and its effects on our planet.

I'll note that I have many more issues with this bill, including the inevitable funding of SLS and Orion, and some things I like, such as planetary exploration being well-funded... though that appears to be getting the money Earth Sciences is losing. You can read more about that at the Planetary Society

But the evisceration of Earth Sciences means this bill is seriously, critically flawed. I have written about this again and again: Republicans in the House and Senate don’t want NASA studying Earth, because they think (or say) that global warming isn’t real, or isn’t a problem, or whatever talking point they’ve been told to use this week. What they say in statements is that NASA should be looking outwards, and other agencies should be studying Earth.

Sounds good, right? But then they pledge to cut that ability from other agencies, too (that particular bill passed, by the way). Pretty transparent.

If you think I’m mad, I am. And so are others; Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Maryland) has pledged to fight the bill, and I hope others Congresspeople in the House do as well. Cutting NASA Earth Sciences funding is, frankly, disgusting. Much like throwing snowballs in Congress.

So yeah, damn right I’m mad. When you vote for people who publicly and loudly spout nonsense about science, and go against the overwhelming 97% consensus among climate scientists, what do you expect?

We sowed this Congress, and this is what we reap. Potentially huge cuts to critical science, care of the GOP. Remember that in November 2016.



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2015年4月29日 星期三

New Horizons sees surface features on Pluto, begins raw image release

Today the New Horizons team released a new animation of images taken on approach to Pluto. The animation clearly shows how Pluto wobbles around the Pluto-Charon barycenter. It also shows something more exciting to the scientists: variations in brightness across the surface of Pluto. They also began releasing raw images to the Internet.

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NASA Awards Research Grants for Minority Serving Institutions

NASA's Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) has selected 10 minority serving universities for cooperative agreement awards valued at almost $47 million.

April 29, 2015
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New Horizons Sees Features on Pluto!

At a press conference on Wednesday astronomers working on the New Horizons space probe revealed new images that show surface features on Pluto for the first time!

The probe was just over 100 million kilometers from Pluto when the images were taken on April 12–18 (the Earth is 150 million km from the Sun, for comparison). Hubble images taken over the years have shown the diminutive world has darker and lighter patches on its surface, and these images match that. 

In fact, these images are now at higher resolution than Hubble can produce! And they'll be getting better every day ...

Pluto looks lumpy in the animation, but that’s certainly an illusion; darker spots near the edge make it look like Pluto has chunks taken out of it. It’s expected that Pluto will be quite round; its gravity should compress it enough for it to be mostly spherical. I wonder if it’ll be oblate (slightly flattened) due to tides from its moon Charon. We’ll know pretty soon.

Charon can be seen in the animation as well, orbiting Pluto once every six days or so. Actually, it’s about ¼ the diameter of Pluto, and massive enough that it pulls on its parent pretty hard, hard enough that it’s more correct to say they both orbit their common barycenter, their center of mass.

I’ll note these images have been deconvolved; that means they’ve been sharpened using techniques that help bring them into better focus. The raw images look like blurs, but by combining them and using these techniques, the surface features can be detected.

The rotation axis of Pluto is labeled in the animation. Pluto’s spin is tilted compared with its orbit, so the probe is coming into the system nearly “face-on”. Interestingly, as NH Principal Investigator Alan Stern points out, there’s a bright spot on Pluto at the lower right, right at the pole. Is that some sort of ice cap? Maybe. It’s too soon to tell, but in a few months we’ll know better once New Horizons can see features better, and analyze their composition.

Pluto is tiny, just 2,370 km across—our own Moon is far larger (3,470 km). That’s why it still appears so small to New Horizons. The probe is closing in on Pluto rapidly, though, moving at about 14 km/sec. Right now, New Horizons is about 90 million kilometers from Pluto, and 4.7 billion km from Earth. It takes the radio signals from the probe nearly 4.5 hours to get here!

Closest approach occurs at noon UTC on July 14. Even in early June Pluto will only be a little over 10 pixels across, and 100 pixels four days before the encounter. Things will happen rapidly starting then. Pluto flies through the system in only a few hours, and it’ll take months to send all the data back to Earth. Bandwidth is limited when you’re that far from home.

I'll note that the raw images off the probe are being posted online, too. I suggest checking in on them every day or two, and watch them get better and better as time goes on, and New Horizons approaches Pluto.

I’m very excited about this mission. If they’re getting detail like this now, imagine what we’ll see in July! 



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NASA’s New Horizons Detects Surface Features, Possible Polar Cap on Pluto

For the first time, images from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft are revealing bright and dark regions on the surface of faraway Pluto – the primary target of the New Horizons close flyby in mid-July.

April 29, 2015
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ISS-bound Cargo Spacecraft Doomed to Atmospheric Reentry

The six crew members aboard the International Space Station will have to go without a scheduled delivery of food, supplies and fuel.

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NASA's NuSTAR Captures Possible 'Screams' from Zombie Stars

Peering into the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has spotted a mysterious glow of high-energy X-rays that, according to scientists, could be the "howls" of dead stars as they feed on stellar companions.

April 29, 2015
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More than 1000 Rosetta NavCam images released!

Today the European Space Agency released a ton of NavCam images, taken as the spacecraft approached and then entered orbit at the comet.

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Good Planetary Support in A Flawed NASA Bill

Casey Dreier gives a brief summary of the House draft bill released the other day that would authorize NASA funding for the years 2016 and 2017.

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April 29, 1990, Shuttle Discovery Lands Following Hubble Deployment Mission


On April 29, 1990, the Space Shuttle Discovery approaches for landing on a concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base to complete a highly successful five-day mission during which the Hubble Space Telescope was released into orbit. via NASA http://ift.tt/1FxFQn9

ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/28/15

59 Progress (59P) Status: 59P launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:09 AM CDT and achieved orbital insertion. Shortly after the third stage separation, the ground experienced partial loss of communication with the vehicle. Mission Control Center (MCC)-Moscow attempts to re-gain communication with the vehicle over subsequent ground passes were unsuccessful. The next troubleshooting opportunity will be during the next ground pass at approximately 8:00 PM CDT.  Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF):  Cristoforetti set up the Ryutai rack for the next Soret Facet experiment by removing a Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) cable and reconfigured a Thermo Module converter cable on the Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF).  This is the first of three on board cable reconfigurations with checkouts performed by the ground this week prior to the Soret Facet cell2 experiment planned for May 12.  The Soret effect in fluids is a thermodynamic phenomenon in which different particles respond in different ways to varying temperatures. The effect, studied by the Swiss chemist Charles Soret, has been difficult to examine in detail on Earth because of gravity. The Study on Soret effect (thermal diffusion process) for the mixed solution by the in-situ observation technique facilitated at SCOF (Soret-Facet) is the first investigation to verify Soret conditions in steady and changing conditions, and to compare the Soret effect in microgravity with results on the ground, an important measurement for calibrating future investigations. TripleLux-A:  Cristoforetti removed the Biolab reference Experiment Containers (EC) from the centrifuge Rotor L and installed the Triplelux EC’s and the Triplelux dummy mass for the EC characterization in preparation for the first Triplelux-A experiment run.  Long-term space missions present a number of risks for astronauts. Some effects of the space environment level appear to act at the cellular level and it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms of these effects. This project uses a rat macrophage cell line to focus on two aspects of cellular function which may have medical importance: i) The synergy between the effects of the space radiation environment and microgravity on cellular function and, ii) The impairment of immune functions under spaceflight conditions. Drain Brain:  Cristoforetti set up the Human Research Facility (HRF) Pulmonary Function System (PFS) and initiated hardware warmup in support of her final (Flight Day 161) Drain Brain Plethysmography measurement.  The crew verifies the Ultrasound 2 and Video Power Converter configuration, sets up a video camera and performs ultrasound scans with guidance from the Drain Brain ground team.  On Earth, blood flows down from a person’s brain back toward the heart thanks in part to gravity, but very little is known about how this flow happens without gravity’s effects.  Many crewmembers report headaches and other neurological symptoms in space which may be related to the absence of gravity acting on blood flowing through the veins. Drain Brain uses a special neck collar to measure blood flow from the brain, to help researchers understand which physical processes in the body can compensate for the lack of gravity to ensure blood flows properly. Robotic refueling Mission-Phase 2 (RRM-2):  Cristoforetti completed a JEM Airlock depress and venting in preparation for Thursday’s planned operations to deploy the RRM-2 task boards using the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS).  The objective of RRM-P2 operations is to demonstrate servicing capabilities. These new technologies, tools and techniques could eventually give satellite owners resources to diagnose problems on orbit, fix anomalies, and keep certain spacecraft instruments performing longer in space. Rodent Research-2 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (RR-2 CASIS): Yesterday during the Bone Densitometer calibration procedure the team received errors. Earlier today Virts, with ground specialist assistance, completed troubleshooting which allowed the Bone Densitometer calibration to be completed successfully.  The second session of Rodents processing is planned for tomorrow. Water Recovery System (WRS) Distillation Assembly (DA) Remove & Replace (R&R):  Earlier this morning Kelly R&Rd the WRS DA. This was required due an increase in compressor temperatures and a decrease in the production rate. The UPA has been repowered and is currently in a process cycle. SpaceX(SpX)-6 Cargo Transfer:  Virts and Kelly were scheduled to continue with SpX-6 cargo operations today.  Today the crew started loading the DRAGON with return items.  At the completion of today’s operations transfer specialist are reporting that the crew is 60% complete with required cargo transfer.  Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. IMMUNO. Saliva Sample (Session 1) IMMUNO. First stress test, questionnaire data entry. IMMUNO. Test-Tube Blood Collection (finger). IMMUNO. Blood Sample Processing. IMMUNO. Equipment Stowage Drain Brain PFS Setup And Power Up Verification of anti-virus scan results on Auxiliary Computer System (ВКС) laptops USND2 – Hardware activation Closing USOS Window Shutters [Aborted] ISS HAM – Radio Power Down [Aborted] SCOF Cable Connection Bone Densitometer Troubleshooting ECON-L. Observation and Photography SCOF – Cable Reconfiguration Closing window shutters 6,8,9,12,13,14 [Aborted] UDOD. Experiment ops using DYKNANIYE-1 and SPRUT-2 sets. Water Recovery System (WRS) Distillation Assembly (DA) Remove & Replace VIRTUAL. Experiment Ops Tagup with specialists TPLXA – Experiment Ops MPEG2 Multicast Test via Ku-band [Aborted] Waste Water Bag Changeout WRS Water Sample Analysis DRAGON cargo transfer Drain Brain (DB) – Measurements behind panel 1 Preparation for Progress 426 Docking to DC1 [Aborted] Drain Brain (DB) – Ultrasound Ops Counter Measure System (CMS) Harmful Contaminant Measurements in SM Progress 416 Docking to DC1 [Aborted] Comm Configuration for Nominal Ops after Docking [Aborted] Activation of MPEG2 Multicast TV Monitoring. [Aborted] ТКГ 426 Docking to DC1 [Aborted] Activation of MPEG2 Multicast Recording Mode on CP SSC [Aborted] ТКГ 426 Docking to DC1 [Aborted] Closing Laptop Applications and Downlink of MPEG2 Multicast via OCA TOCA Data Recording EML – Opening Gas Valves USND2 – Hardware Deactivation Bone Densitometer Troubleshooting DRAGON Cargo Transfer JEMAL – Depressurization Diagnostics of Chibis-M Malfunction.  Hardware prepack for return and disposal via ТК 715 BIOEMULSIYA. Cryogem-03 Thermostat Installation for the Experiment IMS Delta File Prep Replace Pille Flash Card Download Pille Dosimeter Readings WRS – Recycle Tank Fill PRODUTSENT. Setup of TBU-V No. 2 Fluid Shifts CCFP Taping […]

April 29, 2015 at 01:15AM
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A Million H-Bombs Per Second Heat the Sun's Corona

The Sun’s atmosphere—its corona—is far, far hotter than its surface, and this has been a long-standing mystery, baffling astronomers for decades.

This week, astronomers announced they have found the smoking gun. Almost literally.

Here’s the scoop. The Sun is a huge ball of plasma*, gas so hot that electrons are ripped from their parent atoms. It doesn’t really have a surface, instead just sort of fading away with height.

The layer we see is called the photosphere (“sphere of light”), because that’s where the material in the Sun gets thin enough that light can easily fly out. Above this layer is the corona, what you can think of as the Sun’s atmosphere: extremely thin gas.

The thing is, while the photosphere is hot, roughly 5500° C, the corona is freaking hot, two million degrees on average. That’s weird. Inside the Sun, the temperature drops as you move out from the center, but that trend reverses, viciously, at the corona.

Why is the corona so hot?

Astronomers have tried to explain this for years, coming up with lots of mechanisms. But they’re hard to prove or disprove. Observing the corona is difficult; the plasma there is incredibly thin and faint. It’s also so hot it glows at wavelengths of light that don’t penetrate our atmosphere like far ultraviolet and X-rays, so we need space-based observatories to study it (usually; hang on for the important exception).

Also, the scale is a tad mind crushing. The Sun is over 10 times wider than Earth, 1.4 million km across, and the corona even larger. There’s not much on the large scale that seems to show why the corona should be so hot.

But there are hints. The Sun has a complex magnetic field, caused by its internal motion, which can generate huge, towering loops above the photosphere. These store unbelievable amounts of energy and when they twist up and tangle, they can snap, releasing that energy as solar flares. These are storms of ridiculous power; a single flare can explode with as much power as 10 billion one megaton H-bombs.

These aren’t the source of coronal heating—flares don’t happen very often—but what if big ones are only (so to speak) the tip of the iceberg? What if there are little ones, lots of them, too small to see?

These nanoflares, as astronomers dubbed them, could pay the solar coronal heating bill, assuming there were enough of them. But they were maddeningly elusive. Astronomers looked, but never saw any.

…until now. Using a combination of different observatories, these nanoflares have finally been spotted. Using EUNIS (the Extreme Ultraviolet Normal Incidence Spectrograph), the nanoflares have revealed themselves. Here they are:

EUNIS breaks up light into its individual colors, allowing astronomers to determine the Sun’s plasma properties, most notably the plasma temperature. The image on the left (teal) shows a small region of the Sun at 10 million degrees Celsius. The middle (pink) is about 1 million degrees, and the right (yellow) a paltry 100,000°—which is still searingly hot, far hotter than the Sun’s surface.

The teal image shows the hottest part of the corona, and you can see those finger-like tendrils above center: Those are the nanoflares, or actually many of them, all overlapping. They still happen on a scale too small to see individually, but they’re collective nature has finally been seen.

Each nanoflare sounds small, but they’re still incredible: Each explodes with the energy of a 50 megaton nuclear weapon, equivalent to the most powerful device ever detonated on Earth (the Tsar Bomba; read about that if you want to lose sleep tonight), and there may be millions of those going off each and every second on the Sun’s surface.

That’s what heats the corona. Mind you, as powerful as they are they still are dwarfed by the Sun’s normal energy output, which is 100 billion megatons per second. But that heat doesn’t couple with the corona well, which is why the discovery of these nanoflares is so important. And interestingly, the nanoflares are hotter than the corona, too. The physics is complicated, but the astronomers involved in this discovery have models that can help understand this, where the heat transferred to the corona is quickly dissipated. These models, too, are new.

While this is a critical step in understanding the corona’s heat, there’s still a problem: What causes the nanoflares? The idea of smaller scale magnetic loop tangles snapping is a good one, but there are others that may contribute as well. For example, you might expect nanoflares only where magnetic loops are prevalent (where the Sun is active), but observations also show they occur where the Sun is quiet. Clearly, more observations are needed, and more theoretical work to explain them.

This new breakthrough was made using several different observatories, including SOHO and the orbiting NuSTAR X-ray observatory (usually used to look at distant black holes, but which is also sensitive enough to see small-scale eruptions on the Sun). Interestingly, EUNIS was launched on a sounding rocket, a suborbital flight (basically, up-and-down) that lasted only 15 minutes! It’s amazing to think that in that short a time, such a long-standing mystery was finally solved.

… and a new one started. The cause of the flares may take some time to untangle (haha! Get it?) but we have a solid start now. But of course, that’s part of what makes science so much fun. We solve a mystery, and get to enjoy the satisfaction… and then roll up our sleeves and get back to work.

* Some might say it’s a mass of incandescent gas.



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2015年4月28日 星期二

Hollow Promises From Stealthy Inept Space Advocacy Organizations

Keith's note: Two months ago the stealthy, non-transparent Pioneering Space National Summit was held in Washington DC. A few days later an Alliance for Space Development thing was announced. Then the people not involved in these earlier events held...

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So ... What Will Dava Newman Do at NASA?

Dava Newman confirmed as NASA deputy, MIT "According to NASA, the deputy administrator "provides overall leadership, planning, and policy direction." Her duties will include leading NASA governmental affairs; oversight of the agency's offices, communications, and educational programs; and serving as...

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Looking Down On Jupiter's North Pole

Ted Stryk shares the most direct view of a Jovian pole ever captured by a spacecraft.

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NASA to Hold Media Call on Latest Images of Pluto from New Horizons Spacecraft

NASA will host a media teleconference at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 29 to discuss recent images returned from the New Horizons spacecraft as it nears its historic July 14 encounter with Pluto. Officials also will provide an update on the timeline and significance of images the mission team will receive in the coming weeks.

April 28, 2015
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Worden Beams Up

A Space Maverick Quietly Departs NASA, editorial, Space News "Outspoken, with a palpable disdain for management bureaucracy, Mr. Worden was an enthusiastic advocate of small satellites and other innovations like single-stage-to-orbit rocket technology during a 29-year career in the U.S....

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NASA Successfully Tests Shape-Changing Wing for Next Generation Aviation

Researchers, working in concert with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and FlexSys Inc., of Ann Arbor, Michigan, successfully completed initial flight tests of a new morphing wing technology with the potential to save millions of dollars annually in fuel costs, reduce airframe weight and decrease aircraft noise during takeoffs and landings.

April 28, 2015
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Russian Resupply Ship Spins Out Of Control after Reaching Orbit

An International Space Station-bound cargo craft is spinning out of control in Earth orbit following an afternoon launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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Russian Resupply Ship Experiencing Difficulties; International Space Station, Crew are Fine

The six crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) are safe and continuing regular operations with sufficient supplies as Russian flight controllers plan for another attempt to communicate with a cargo resupply spacecraft bound for the station. The next attempt to link with the spacecraft comes at 8:50 p.m. EDT Tuesday.

April 28, 2015
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NASA Technology Day on Capitol Hill to Showcase Critical Journey to Mars Tech

To demonstrate how technology drives exploration, NASA will highlight key space technologies at its annual Technology Day on the Hill event from 3 to 7 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 29 in the Rayburn House Office Building Foyer in Washington.

April 28, 2015
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Breaking: Russian Resupply Mission to the Space Station in Trouble

Note: Information about all this is still coming in, so regard anything here as tentative. I’ll add updates to the bottom of this article as I get more reliable news

Last night, at 07:09 UTC (03:09 Eastern U.S. time), a Soyuz 2-1a rocket lifted off from Kazakhstan, carrying an uncrewed Progress capsule loaded with roughly 3 tons of food and supplies for the astronauts on the International Space Station.

After separation from the third stage, however, ground controllers got data showing the telemetry was sporadic and that only two of the five communication antennas had deployed. Not long after that it became clear the capsule was spinning rapidly, tumbling once every three seconds.

The original plan was to put Progress on a quick trajectory to meet ISS after just four orbits (about six hours). That was then delayed, setting up a Thursday rendezvous. With the spacecraft tumbling, this has now been delayed again, this time indefinitely until the problems are fixed.

And there may be a time crunch: Some reports indicate the Progress is in a bad orbit. Instead of a slightly elliptical orbit taking it from 190 to 240 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, the current orbit may be dropping it as low as 124 km, where air is substantially thicker. This puts drag on the vehicle, dropping it lower, where air is thicker, dragging it more … if the capsule is indeed on an orbit with this low a perigee (closest approach to Earth), it may only have a few days before this decay causes it to burn up in the atmosphere.

Again, note that the Progress capsule is uncrewed, so no lives are in immediate danger. The astronauts on ISS have supplies for several months (SpaceX sent up a Dragon capsule with supplies just two weeks ago) and more resupply missions are scheduled (SpaceX has one planned for June 19 and another Progress launch is set for Aug. 6).

This problem comes on only the second flight of the new Soyuz 2-1a, an upgraded version of the standard workhorse Soyuz rocket (the first was in February). It’s too early at the present time to know what went wrong with the flight.

For more information, I suggest keeping an eye on Sen.com, NASA’s space station blog, and the Twitter streams of the ISS and my friend and space expert Jonathan McDowell



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Astronaut Scott Kelly Speaks at Shuttle Enterprise Dedication Ceremony


NASA astronaut Scott Kelly delivers remarks from onboard the International Space Station during the Space Shuttle Enterprise dedication ceremony Monday, April 27, 2015, at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Enterprise was dedicated to the fallen crews who gave their lives in pursuit of space exploration. via NASA http://ift.tt/1JOwG4D

Russian Progress 59 Experiences Problem

Russian Progress Cargo Space Station Resupply Spacecraft Launches but has Problem "In the early morning hours today a Russian Progress unmanned cargo spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan with supplies for the International Space Station (ISS). The launch appeared to be picture...

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/27/15

59 Progress (59P) Launch/Dock: 59P is scheduled to launch tomorrow from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:09 AM CDT. Docking to the ISS Docking Compartment (DC)-1 is scheduled to occur tomorrow at 8:07 AM CDT. Rodent Research-2 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (RR-2 CASIS): Virts and Kelly configured the Bone Densitometer and Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) in preparation for tomorrow’s RR-2 sample collection, however during the Bone Densitometer calibration procedure the team received several errors.  The team is currently performing troubleshooting steps in an attempt to complete the Bone Densitometer calibration.  Integrated Resistance and Aerobic Training Study (Sprint): Kelly, with Cristoforetti’s assistance, collected data for his Flight Day (FD) 30 ultrasound Sprint Session.  Kelly placed reference marks on his right calf and thigh for ultrasound scans.  Sprint evaluates the use of high intensity, low volume exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, bone, and cardiovascular function in International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers during long-duration missions. Ultrasound scans are on FD 14, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and R-7 for mission duration of six months and are used to evaluate spaceflight-induced changes in the muscle volume. Study of the Impact of Long-Term Space Travel on the Astronauts’ Microbiome (Microbiome): Cristoforetti performed her Return-14 (R-14) Microbiome session.  She collected body swab samples and inserted into MELFI.  Later today, she will collect perspiration samples following her exercise session. The Microbiome experiment investigates the impact of space travel on both the human immune system and an individual’s microbiome. Ocular Health (OH): Kelly continued his FD30 OH activities. With assistance from Virts and Cristoforetti, respectively, he performed ocular ultrasound and a cardiac echo ultrasound.  The ultrasound images will be used to identify changes in globe morphology, including flattening of the posterior globe, and document optic nerve sheath diameter, optic nerve sheath tortuosity, globe axial measurements, and choroidal engorgement.  The purpose of this study is to collect evidence to characterize the risk and define the visual changes, vascular changes, and central nervous system (CNS) changes, including intracranial pressure, observed during long-duration exposure to microgravity, including postflight time course for recovery to baseline. This study gathers information that can be used to assess the risk of Microgravity-Induced Visual Impairment/Intracranial Pressure (VIIP) and guide future research needs. Japanese Experiment Module Air Lock (JEMAL) Slide Table (ST) Troubleshooting: When the JEMAL ST is retracted in auto mode, there is a grinding noise at the end of the motion. Foreign Object Debris (FOD) has been  eliminated as a possible cause. Virts performed troubleshooting steps to ascertain the source of the noise in preparation for Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) activities this Thursday which utilize the ST. Results were that the noise is still audible but is no worse than before, therefore, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is go for RRM operations. Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Pressure Fault: Yesterday, the UPA faulted due to high condensor pressure. Ground controller attempts to restart the UPA were unsuccessful.  Teams are standing down from running UPA pending troubleshooting and forward plans. Russian Chibis Suit Smoke Event: This morning while performing their Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP training in the Chibis suit, the Russian crew reported smelling a burning odor and saw a small puff of smoke when they powered on the suit.  The suit was unpowered and Compound Specific Analyzer-Combustion Products (CSA-CP) readings were taken which showed nominal for ISS atmosphere. Moscow believes the odor and smoke were due to a failed micropump are investigating the issue.  Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. BIOME – Taking Body Samples  Morning Inspection МО-8. Configuration Setup MORZE. r/g 8640 Body Mass Measurement HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion МО-8. Closeout Ops Auxiliary Laptop Anti-Virus Update / r/g 8247 USND2 – Hardware Activation Elektron-VM Liquid Unit Pressurization before Activation HMS. Ultrasound 2 Scan Prep JEM System Laptop Terminal Reboot HMS. Ultrasound 2 Scan (CMO) HMS. Ultrasound 2 Scan (subject) Study Of Cardiac Bioelectric Activity At Rest MORZE. Psychophysiological Evaluation r/g 8640 HMS. Ultrasound 2 Data Export HMS. Ultrasound 2 Post Exam. End exam and remove, clean, stow probe. Periodic fitness evaluation – subject ECON-L. Observation and Photography SPRINT Experiment Ops SPRINT – Assistance with the Experiment LBNP – Exercise (PRELIMINARY) assistance / r/g 8631 [Deferred] Waste and Hygiene Compartment. Pre-Treat Tank and hose Remove & Replace JEM Airlock Slide Table – Troubleshooting grinding noise anomaly during Slide Table Deployment ISS RS Atmosphere Analysis Using АОК ГАНК-4М MOTOCARD. Experiment Ops. / r/g 8633 MOTOCARD. Assistance with the Experiment / r/g 8634 Ocular Health Cardiac Operations Subject Video Footage for Nauka 2.0 TV Channel / r/g 8588 Ocular Health Cardiac Operations Operator Rodent Research (RR) – Hardware Gathering for the Experiment Ops PAO Event TPLXA – Big Picture USND2 – Hardware Deactivation Greasing exposed ARED wires ECON-L. Observation and Photography CALCIUM. Experiment Session 7. / r/g 8632 MORZE. Psychophysiological Evaluation: Strelau Test / r/g 8640 DRAGON. Transfers Ops WRS – Recycle Tank Fill [Aborted] BIOME – Hardware Setup for Sampling MSG – Glovebox activation NAPOR-miniRSA. БЗУ-M Software Upgrade. / r/g 8641 IMMUNO r/g 8635 Dragon Cargo Operations Conference Rodent Research (RR) – Camcorder Node2 Setup Rodent Research (RR) – Dissection procedure review Rodent Research (RR) – Experiment Setup IMS Delta File Prep Rodent Research (RR) – Crew Conference MORZE. Psychophysiological Evaluation: SUPOS Test / r/g 8640 BIOME – Perspiration Sampling MORZE. Psychophysiological Evaluation: Cattell’s Test / r/g 8640 HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion Bone Densitometer (BD) –  Hardware Installation and Calibration BIOME – Collecting Surface Samples Exercise Data Downlink / r/g 6797 MORZE. Closeout Ops / r/g 8640 HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion BIOME – Sample Stowage Completed Task List Items ESA EPO parts 1, 2 [Completed Saturday] ESA PAO [Completed Saturday] P/TV Soyuz imagery [Completed Saturday] WHC EDV-Y R&R [Completed Saturday]  Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Sprint Ultrasound ops Ocular Health cardiac ops Rodents Research CASIS ops  Three-Day Look Ahead: Tuesday, 04/28: 59P launch/docking, RR CASIS, 41S undock pre-pack, SCOF relay connector reconfig 1, Triplelux A prep Wednesday, 04/29: […]

April 28, 2015 at 12:53AM
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Making Sense of Nonsense: a MOOC about Climate Change Denial

The Earth is warming up. The climate is changing. Human activity is responsible.

97% of actual climatologists agree on this.

But the media still give “equal time” to climate change deniers, who flood the public with misinformation. Just this week, the icky Heartland Institute* hosted a “press conference” in advance of the Pope’s expected encyclical about global warming (for the record: I support the Pope), Rep. Lamar Smith (Chair of the House Science Committee!) wrote an embarrassingly misleading OpEd in the Wall Street Journal downplaying climate change, and a Pulitzer-winning newspaper printed an OpEd so full of errors it’s hard to know if the authors were being breathtakingly dishonest or merely grossly incompetent.

What can we do?

A dozen scientists and science communicators think they have an answer: Inoculate the public. The metaphor is apt: The idea is to take the misinformation used by deniers and use it to teach the actual science of climate change, making it work for them… much like the way a vaccination inoculates against diseases by using a weakened form of the disease itself.

To do this, they have created a Massive Open Online Course (or MOOC) through the University of Queensland (Australia), called Making Sense of Climate Science Denial.

I love this idea. First, anyone can enroll. Second, it’s free. Yes, FREE. Third, because it’s online you can take the course at your own pace, watching the pre-recorded videos on your own schedule. The video lectures include interviews with people on the cutting edge of climate change research and public policy, including Michael Mann, Katherine Hayhoe, and Naomi Oreskes. They’ll arm you with the tools needed to understand climate change denial by going over the science and psychology of denial, and the facts you’ll need to understand (and argue for!) the reality of our warming planet.

And, of course, I love this idea because an educated public ensures a strong democracy.

The course is coordinated by John Cook, one of the brains behind the wonderful Skeptical Science website. He’s put together a short video explaining this:

And yes, I did enroll in the course! It starts today, April 28, 2015, so sign up and learn how to face reality. Hopefully, we can turn the politics of this around, and start taking action on a threat that faces us all.

* Yes, the same “think tank” that put up billboards comparing climate scientists to mass murderers, because that’s a great PR move if you want to make yourself look really, really slimy.



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2015年4月27日 星期一

Space Station over Lunar Terminator


What's that in front of the Moon? It's the International Space Station. Using precise timing, the Earth-orbiting space platform was photographed in front of a partially lit Moon last year. The featured image was taken from Madrid, Spain with an exposure time of only 1/1000 of a second. In contrast, the duration of the transit of the ISS across the entire Moon was about half a second. The sun-glinting station can be seen just to the dark side of the day / night line known as the terminator. Numerous circular craters are visible on the distant Moon, as well as comparatively rough, light colored terrain known as highlands, and relatively smooth, dark colored areas known as maria. On-line tools can tell you when the International Space Station will be visible from your area. via NASA http://ift.tt/1KmcckE

Statements on Senate Confirmation of Dava Newman as NASA Deputy Administrator

Statements from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Dr. Dava Newman on Monday’s Senate confirmation of Newman as the new NASA Deputy Administrator.

April 27, 2015
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NASA Brings in Small Business for Further Development of Hypervelocity Vehicles

NASA has awarded the Entry Systems Technology Research and Development (ESTRAD) contract to Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc., a small business in Hampton, Virginia.

April 27, 2015
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NASA Awards Grants for Research, Technology Development

NASA has awarded 26 grants totaling $9.9 million to help bolster the capacity and competitiveness of 28 states and territories (jurisdictions) in the area of technology research and development.

April 27, 2015
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Bill Nye’s Earth Day Visit with the President of the United States

Last week, our CEO Bill Nye joined The President of the United States for an Earth Day visit to The Everglades, one of the country's renowned National Parks and a vital global ecosystem. The Washington Post covered the news, and we at The Planetary Society shared in the excitement.

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SpaceX Launch Today, Second in Less Than Two Weeks

SpaceX is scheduled to launch a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit today, carrying a Turkmenistan communications satellite. The 90-minute launch window opens at 22:14 UTC Monday night (6:14 p.m. Eastern time).

You can watch the launch live on the SpaceX LiveStream channel, NASA TV, and NASA’s Ustream channel. I will live tweet it, too.

Before you ask, there will not be an attempted landing of the first stage booster for this launch. The satellite being launched is going into a geostationary orbit, 40,000 kilometers up, and a lot of fuel is needed to get it there. There won’t be enough left to slow the first stage and land it, so it’ll drop into the Atlantic.

I think the most remarkable thing about this launch is that (if it goes off on time) the most recent Falcon 9 launch was only 13 days previous (on Tuesday, April 14). That’s an incredibly fast turnaround time for a company, and a day faster than its previous record of 14 days set last year.

For more info, I recommend this amazingly detailed America Space article. It answered many of the things I was wondering about for this launch. SpaceX also has a PDF press kit with highlights as well.

If the launch is scrubbed (weather may play a factor today) then it is scheduled for the next attempt Tuesday also at 22:14 UTC.



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NASA, Boeing ecoDemonstrator Jet Comes to Shreveport for Anti-Bug Research

NASA will test non-stick wing coatings designed to minimize insect residue and help reduce aircraft fuel consumption during flights in Shreveport, Louisiana during the next two weeks.

April 27, 2015
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Showdown Over NASA Earth Science Budget Looms

House budget authorization mark-up slashes $500 million from NASA's Earth science programs, Houston Chronicle "The battle lines are being drawn between Congress and the White House in regard to NASA's budget, and this year they're moving closer to home the...

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Unmasking the Secrets of Mercury


To learn more about the minerals and surface processes on Mercury, instruments aboard NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft have been collecting surface measurements since MESSENGER entered Mercury orbit on March 17, 2011. via NASA http://ift.tt/1zeU37k

Bad Astronomy Video: The Bizarre Eructation of V838 Monocerotis

Something like 20,000 light years from Earth lies a bizarre object.

Dubbed V838 Monocerotis — the 838th variable star found in the constellation Monoceros, the unicorn — it’s a luminous red star, well over 20,000 times brighter than the Sun.

That’s not so unusual; lots of stars are far more luminous and redder than the Sun. It’s also centered in a cloud of material, which, again, isn’t all that odd. Lots of stars have material around them, wither left over from their formation, or expelled as they die.

What makes this star so weird is its recent activity. In 2002 it underwent an epic eruption, brightening to a million times the luminosity of the Sun. Astronomers thought it might be a nova, an outburst caused when a tiny white dwarf accumulates matter on its surface, which explodes quite literally like a thermonuclear bomb.

When this happened, in 2002, Hubble was quickly called to service, pointing at the object. What it found was not a nova, but one of the oddest stars in the galaxy. Watch:

There are lots of things that could have happened to cause this event. Red supergiants are known to undergo periodic paroxysms, for example, but such things are generally not this powerful. Plus, whatever caused it must be something rare, or else we’d see more examples of it. That’s why I lean toward the stars merging idea discussed video. It’s rare, but not impossible, and does explain what we’re seeing.

And to reiterate something I said in the video: What we’re seeing here is what’s called a light echo. The dust cloud around the star is old, probably thousands of years old. When the star suddenly brightened, it sent out a flash of light that moved outward, illuminating the pre-existing cloud from the inside out.

In the video it looks like the cloud itself is expanding (you can see motion of individual structures), but that's an illusion. Over just a few years the structure wouldn’t be seen to expand at all; we’re just seeing different structures (or different parts of the same structure, like filaments or compressed regions) as the flash of light moved through the nebula*.

It's pretty odd, but adds to the overall awesomeness of it. And it’s a good reminder, in this 25th anniversary week of the Hubble Space Telescope, that the Universe is vast and strange and beautiful, and best of all, surprising.

We could have 25 Hubbles up there for 25 times 25 years, and still only have scratched the surface of what’s out there to see.

* As opposed to objects like novae and supernovae which have been seen to physically expand over time.

Watch more of Slate’s Bad Astronomy videos with Phil Plait.



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2015年4月26日 星期日

Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula


Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create an ant-shaped nebula that is distinctly not round? Clues might include the high 1000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the light-year long length of the structure, and the magnetism of the star visible above at the nebula's center. One possible answer is that Mz3 is hiding a second, dimmer star that orbits close in to the bright star. A competing hypothesis holds that the central star's own spin and magnetic field are channeling the gas. Since the central star appears to be so similar to our own Sun, astronomers hope that increased understanding of the history of this giant space ant can provide useful insight into the likely future of our own Sun and Earth. via NASA http://ift.tt/1E7nJCe

Rising Rainbow

Aysun Ülger is, like me, someone who loves atmospheric optical phenomena. Halos, glories, aurorae, iridescent clouds … so much so she created a Facebook page where she collects such photos. She just started it, but there are already a few lovely examples there.

And this includes, of course, rainbows. Since I just wrote about that very cool quadruple rainbow in New York, I thought I’d follow up with an example of a fun series of photos Ülger took herself in Izmir, Turkey: a rainbow rising as the Sun set!

Those were all taken on the same day, April 6, 2015, except for the bottom one, which she included in the series to show just how high a rainbow can get. In order (top to bottom), they were taken at 3:41, 3:50, 4:24, 4:50, 5:21, and 6:11 pm. The bottom one was taken at 5:58 pm on March 28. But due to a local time change, it corresponds to 6:58 on the later date.

As I’ve written about many times, rainbows appear in the sky opposite the Sun—to see one, you have to stand with the Sun behind you. That’s because the light from the Sun bends inside the raindrop and is reflected on the drop’s backside, back toward the Sun. But not exactly: The light leaves the drop at an angle of about 138°. Only drops 42° away from the point in the sky directly opposite the Sun send that light toward you (180°–138°).

Also, the colors that make up the Sun’s white light get bent by slightly different amounts, spreading them out across the bow.

Since the arc of the rainbow is centered on the point on the sky directly opposite the Sun, a low Sun means a high rainbow, and a high Sun means a low rainbow. As Ülger waited, the Sun set, so the rainbow got higher. You can even see a double rainbow (called the secondary) and Alexander’s dark band, the darker region between the two bows.

Too bad she couldn’t get a time lapse of this! But she did point me to this one, which shows the increasing (more vertical) angle of the base of a very bright rainbow as the Sun lowers.

We get extremely bright rainbows in Colorado in the spring and summer, once afternoon rain showers clear out. They tend not to last very long, but still, next time I see one I’ll have to try getting a time lapse of it. That’ll be a fun project.



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2015年4月25日 星期六

Cluster and Starforming Region Westerlund 2


Located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina, the young cluster and starforming region Westerlund 2 fills this cosmic scene. Captured with Hubble's cameras in near-infrared and visible light, the stunning image is a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990. The cluster's dense concentration of luminous, massive stars is about 10 light-years across. Strong winds and radiation from those massive young stars have sculpted and shaped the region's gas and dust, into starforming pillars that point back to the central cluster. Red dots surrounding the bright stars are the cluster's faint newborn stars, still within their natal gas and dust cocoons. But brighter blue stars scattered around are likely not in the Westerlund 2 cluster and instead lie in the foreground of the Hubble anniversary field of view. via NASA http://ift.tt/1aZXkM1

Hubble's History and Incredible Achivements

Hubble at 25: The Documentary, Memories and Social "On the occasion of the 25th anniversary take a stroll down memory lane and learn how the Hubble Space Telescope became so instrumental to our knowledge of the universe."...

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A Crash Course in Transgender Sensitivity

On Thursday, April 23, 2015, the 14th episode of Crash Course Astronomy went live. It’s about our sister planet Venus, and I spent quite a bit of time talking about just how infernally inhospitable it is.

Just as I have with every other episode, I had a lot of fun writing and recording it. A little background: Once we finish getting the footage of me talking, it’s edited and sent around to the team for comments. I then scour the ‘net looking for good images we can use, usually from NASA, ESA, and other public organizations (they have excellent high-resolution images which are free to use). Those images (and sometimes video) are placed in the rough cut, and then it goes off to Thought Café, who does our animations.

Eventually it goes live on YouTube, posted around 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time every Thursday. We promote it, and keep an eye on the YouTube comments for anything useful (did we make a factual error, is the audio good, and so on).

For the Venus episode on April 23 I was in Utah giving a talk at Clark Planetarium. When I got back that evening I checked to make sure the video was up, linked to it for a blog post first thing Friday morning, and then went to bed.

I was out of contact for much of Friday, traveling home. When I landed, though, there was a text from my editor that there was a problem.

If you’ve watched Crash Course Astronomy, you know I like to make jokes, and sometimes I’m the butt of them. The team goes along with it, and it’s usually great. This time, though, we made a mistake without even knowing it.

In one part of the episode, I’m talking about how Venus is really pretty when you look at it from Earth, but up close, it’s an awful place. As I spoke about Venus being pretty, we put up a cute animation of Botticelli’s famous “Birth of Venus”. But then, when I say Venus up close is awful (and say, "Yikes!"), we zoom in on the drawing and it turns out Venus has my face on it.

I thought this was pretty funny, a bit of humor poking fun at me. So we okayed it.

Well, it turns out that wasn’t so OK and funny with a lot of viewers. We got some comments that the joke was transphobic, making fun of transgender people.

That’s why my editor had texted me. I called her, and she told me what had happened. As soon as she told me, I had a forehead-slapping moment. Of course this could be seen as transphobic. In retrospect it was obvious. The good news is that the team felt the same way, and had already re-edited the video to remove that part, and had re-uploaded it before I had even called.

Let me be clear: I apologize for myself and on behalf of the team to anyone offended by the joke. None of us would knowingly make a joke at the expense of a group of people, especially one already marginalized and so often mocked in society. That wasn’t at all the intent, and it didn't occur to us it could be seen that way when we put it together. I hope you forgive us, and we’ll try to do better in the future.

Unfortunately, there’s more. In the comments to the (re-uploaded) video, some people are complaining that we are under the thumb of the PC crowd, and the phrase “social justice warrior” is used derisively. Let me address those commenters now:

You’re wrong. First, it’s not up to you to decide what offends or does not offend a group of people you are not a part of. You may feel that this was not an offensive joke, and you are welcome to that opinion; certainly the joke wasn’t intended that way.

But what you don’t get to decide is what offends others, especially in a group you’re not a part of. You may think that offense is undeserved, or that they are overreacting. You have the right to think that, but you cannot dictate it to those others.

Even if there was no harm meant in the joke, people may still take offense at it, and that’s their right. In this case, I can easily see where transgender folks would be put off by it, even angered.

And here’s the important bit: Apologizing and changing it does no harm, and in fact does some good; it helps a group of people see that we can be sensitive to their needs.

There are times when I think people are too sensitive, and times I think others aren’t sensitive enough. I tend to judge these on a case by case basis. But with a group that is historically marginalized and “othered”, well, a little (extra) empathy does a soul good.

And for the other bit, people derisively calling us “social justice warriors”? They may use it as a derogatory term, thinking of SJWs as shrill and overbearing, but to me it’s a term that refers to people willing to go to bat for others who don’t have as big a soapbox. I might prefer the term “ally”, but SJW fits fine, too. This world could use a lot more social justice. I’ll be happy to fight for it when I can.

So to them I say: “Thanks!”



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2015年4月24日 星期五

Blue Tears and the Milky Way


Lapping at rocks along the shore of the Island of Nangan, Taiwan, planet Earth, waves are infused with a subtle blue light in this sea and night skyscape. Composed of a series of long exposures made on April 16 the image captures the faint glow from Noctiluca scintillans. Also known as sea sparkles or blue tears, the marine plankton's bioluminescence is stimulated by wave motion. City lights along the coast of mainland China shine beneath low clouds in the west but stars and the faint Milky Way still fill the night above. Over the horizon the galaxy's central bulge and dark rifts seem to echo the rocks and luminous waves. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ExrgNs

A few gems from the latest Cassini image data release

I checked out the latest public image release from Cassini and found an awesome panorama across Saturn's rings, as well as some pretty views looking over Titan's north pole.

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New Horizons One Earth Message

The One Earth Message Project is going to send a message to the stars, and we invite members of the Planetary Society to join us in this historic endeavor.

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LightSail Readiness Tests Prepare Team for Mission Operations

The LightSail team continues to prepare for the spacecraft's May test flight with a series of readiness simulations that mimic on-orbit operations.

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April 25, 1990, Deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope


In this April 25, 1990, photograph taken by the crew of the STS-31 space shuttle mission, the Hubble Space Telescope is suspended above shuttle Discovery's cargo bay some 332 nautical miles above Earth. via NASA http://ift.tt/1DHC056

ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/23/15

Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM): Last night at 8:00 PM CDT the Flight Control Team was notified of a high concern, late notice conjunction. A PDAM was performed today at 12:35 AM CDT using 58P thrusters. Burn duration was 2 minutes, 20 seconds with a Delta-V of 0.3 meters/second.  Ocular Health: Padalka and Kornienko, with Virts as their Crew Medical Officer (CMO), performed ocular and cardiac echo ultrasound measurements as part of the Ocular Health medical evaluation.  The ultrasound images will be used to identify changes in globe morphology, including flattening of the posterior globe, and document optic nerve sheath diameter, optic nerve sheath tortuosity, globe axial measurements, and choroidal engorgement.  Ocular Health protocol calls for a systematic gathering of physiological data to characterize the risk of microgravity-induced visual impairment/intracranial pressure in ISS crewmembers. Researchers believe that the measurement of visual, vascular and central nervous system changes over the course of this experiment and during the subsequent post-flight recovery will assist in the development of countermeasures, clinical monitoring strategies, and clinical practice guidelines. Rodent Research-2 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (RR-2 CASIS): Kelly cleaned the Animal Access Unit following Tuesday’s sample collections.  Disposable items were removed and bagged and consumable items were replaced with spares. Cold Stowage Operations: Virts completed a nominal maintenance activity of desiccant swap on the Polar-2 cooler located in EXpedite PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack 8.  He then stowed the Ice Bricks brought up by SpX-6 currently in the Double Cold Bags. Robotics Operations: In preparation for next week’s Robotics Refueling Mission (RRM) transfer operations, today Robotics ground controllers translated the Mobile Transporter (MT) from Work Site (WS)-4 to WS7. Dragon Cargo Operations: The USOS crew spent a large portion of their day transferring cargo from the Dragon vehicle. Cargo operations were reported to be approximately 25% complete at the end of yesterday’s crew day. Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. SLEEP Questionnaire MYCO – Morning Sample Collection MYCO – Sample MELFI Insertion USND2 – Hardware Activation OBSTANOVKA.  (start) Maintenance Activation of Spare Atmosphere Purification System Emergency Vacuum Valves [АВК СОА] JEM Remote Sensor Unit Battery R&R Ultrasound2 – Scanning Prep Ultrasound2 – Scanning Ops VIBROLAB. Hardware Modes Check. DRAGON Transfer Ops SEISMOPROGNOZ.(start). COSMOCARD. Closeout Ops Ultrasound2 – Data Export СТТС Configuration for MRM2 Connecting HDV Sony HRV-Z7E Camcorder on MRM2 EV1 window and Running NASA MPEG-2 Viewer Ultrasound2 – Scanning Ops CARDIOVECTOR. Experiment Ops. Pointing camera to High-Gain Antenna boom (ОНА ) for САУП ОНА Drive Test.  Comm reconfig for nominal ops СОЖ Maintenance Ultrasound2 –  Data Export VIBROLAB. Copy and Downlink Data Ultrasound 2 – Scanning Set up video equipment to record ARED exercise OH-CARDIAC – Preparation Rodent Research (RR) – Cleaning Animal Access Unit OBSTANOVKA. (end) HDV Sony HRF-ZTE camcoder power off Ocular Health – Cardiac Ops OCT Exam OH-CARDIAC – Ocular Health Operator Evaluation of Orthostatic Stability with LBNP (assistance) Orthostatic Stability Evaluation with LBNP.  OH-CARDIAC – Closeout Ops ARED Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification OH-CARDIAC – Data Export DRAGON  Transfer Ops ESA Weekly Crew Conference EML – Lens Replacement USND2 – Hardware Deactivation Kazbek Fit Check Completing activities with NASA MPEG-2 Viewer application,  Closeout ops TORU OBT. Removal of ЛКТ (ТА251МБ) No.1417726326 and ROM from ТКГ 424 (DC1) Camcorder Stowage DRAGON Transfer Ops POLAR1 – Desiccant Pack Swap PAO Hardware Setup Double Cold Bag (DCB) Stowage of Ice Bricks Crew Prep for PAO PAO Event DRAGON Transfer Ops IMS Delta File Prep SEISMOPROGNOZ. MATRYOSHKA-R. BUBBLE-dosimeter collection and measurements. DRAGON – Transfers Tagup DRAGON Transfers Conference SPLANH. Preparation for Experiment RELAKSATSIYA. Start Video Camera Battery Charge NMAP – Reading Reminder Completed Task List Items None Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. MT Translate from WS4 to WS7 [In work] Ocular Health operations RR access unit cleaning Three-Day Look Ahead: Friday, 04/24: NeuroMapping Neurocognitive Ops, USOS Crew off duty Saturday, 04/25: Crew off duty, housekeeping Sunday, 04/26: Crew off duty, Fine Motor Skills QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:                               Component Status Elektron Off Vozdukh Manual [СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) Off [СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) On Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab Operate Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 Operate Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab Shutdown Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 Operate Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Standby Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Standby Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab Off Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 Full Up  

April 24, 2015 at 01:25AM
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Crash Course Astronomy: Venus

There but for the grace of physics goes us: Venus, second rock from the Sun, could be said to be Earth’s twin… but it’s the evil one.

Find out why on this week’s episode of Crash Course Astronomy!

I love the fact that you can learn all about Venus in this week’s episode, and then go outside after sunset and see it for yourself, shining brilliantly in the west. It’ll be close and bright for the next few months, actually, so you’ll have plenty of chances to see it. And in July it’ll start to show its crescent phase even in binoculars. That’s really something, and I hope y’all go out and take a look.



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2015年4月23日 星期四

Meteor in the Milky Way


Earth's April showers include the Lyrid Meteor Shower, observed for more than 2,000 years when the planet makes its annual passage through the dust stream of long-period Comet Thatcher. A grain of that comet's dust, moving 48 kilometers per second at an altitude of 100 kilometers or so, is swept up in this night sky view from the early hours of April 21. Flashing toward the southeastern horizon, the meteor's brilliant streak crosses the central region of the rising Milky Way. Its trail points back toward the shower's radiant in the constellation Lyra, high in the northern springtime sky and off the top of the frame. The yellowish hue of giant star Antares shines to the right of the Milky Way's bulge. Higher still is bright planet Saturn, near the right edge. Seen from Istra, Croatia, the Lyrid meteor's greenish glow reflects in the waters of the Adriatic Sea. via NASA http://ift.tt/1HoENaF

Dava Newman Confirmation - Soon?

NASA May Get New Deputy Administrator Next Week, Space Policy Online "Senate Democrats announced today that agreement has been reached for the Senate to consider Dava Newman's nomination to be NASA Deputy Administrator on Monday, April 27. Newman would replace...

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Can nuclear waste help humanity reach for the stars?

With the shortage of plutonium-238 to power space missions, Europe has decided to focus on an accessible alternative material that could power future spacecraft: americium-241.

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/22/15

Ocular Health: Padalka performed his Flight Day (FD) 30 fundoscopy, with assistance from Virts as his CMO and ground remote guiders. The fundoscope is utilized to image the fundus (interior surface of the eye including the retina, optic disc, macula, and fovea). Ocular Health protocol calls for a systematic gathering of physiological data to characterize the risk of microgravity-induced visual impairment/intracranial pressure in ISS crewmembers. Researchers believe that the measurement of visual, vascular and central nervous system changes over the course of this experiment and during the subsequent post-flight recovery will assist in the development of countermeasures, clinical monitoring strategies, and clinical practice guidelines. Rodent Research-2 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (RR-2 CASIS): Kelly completed a fixative swap on the samples collected during yesterday’s RR-2 operations.  Following the swap, the samples in the new fixative were inserted into MELFI. Mycological Evaluation of Crew Exposure to ISS Ambient Air (MYCO) Familiarization: Kelly reviewed the procedure prior to his first MYCO collection scheduled for tomorrow. The MYCO experiment evaluates the risk of microorganisms’ via inhalation and adhesion to the skin to determine which fungi act as allergens on the ISS. Nanoparticles and Osteoporosis and Kubik Closeout: Cristoforetti removed the last 6 of the 8 Nanoparticles and Osteoporosis Experiment Containers (ECs) and stowed them in Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI).  She comleted a data download, stowed the Kubik and packed Kubik-3 for return on SpX-6. Nanoparticles based countermeasures for Treatment of microgravity induced osteoporosis (Nanoparticles and Osteoporosis) studies how microgravity changes the metabolic environment of bone leading to site-specific alterations in bone remodeling. This study uses strontium containing hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAP-Sr) as a countermeasure to prevent osteoporosis induced by microgravity during space flight. The in vitro biological effect of nHAP-Sr will be evaluated on differentiated human osteoblasts and osteoclasts and during their differentiation process, varying incubation time and dose-dependence in simulated microgravity and during space flight. Nematode Muscle: Cristoforetti retrieved the nematode samples from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) and performed sample fixation using the Chemical Fixation Apparatus. The samples were then inserted into MELFI.  The Alterations of C. elegans muscle fibers by microgravity (Nematode Muscles), aims to clarify how and why these changes take place in microgravity. Studying worms exposed to both microgravity, and gravity-like conditions in a centrifuge, could help scientists understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for muscle atrophy and other spaceflight-induced changes.   Advanced Resistance Exercise Device (ARED) Maintenance: Virts performed this regularly scheduled quarterly maintenance. He greased the Vibration Isolation System (VIS) rails, rollers and upper stop catch plates and inspected the X-rotation dashpots. The task was completed nominally and no problems were reported.  Robotics Operations:  Today the Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) and released the Dragon Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture (FRGF). They then walked SSRMS off Node 2 Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) onto the Mobile Base System (MBS) PDGF 1. After completing the walk off, the Robotics Ground Controllers manoeuvred the SSRMS to the Mobile Transported (MT) translation position for tomorrow (GMT113) translation from Worksite #4 to Worksite #7 in preparation of the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) transfer ops next week. MSS performance today was nominal. Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. SLEEP – Complete Questionnaire Biochemical Urine Test URISYS Hardware Stow PHS Evaluation Setup NANO/CSE – Removal of Containers from KUBIK MRM2 comm config to support the P/L Ops KULONOVSKYI KRISTALL. Experiment Ops COSMOCARD. Preparation. Starting 24-hr ECG Recording. NATO/CYTO – Sample Insertion into MELFI EML – Hardware Activation Replacing РТ-50-1М No.9 (А209) device with the new unit No.П3001009. Periodic Health Status Periodic Health Status (PHS) Data Entry and Stowage of All Hardware Used in PHS URAGAN. Observations and Photography MRM2 Comm Reconfig for Nominal Ops KULONOVSKYI KRISTALL. Copy and Downlink Data via РСПИ Demating РТ-50-1М TLM Connectors from БКС BAR. Experiment Ops. Replacement of РТ-50-1М No.9 (А209). VIZIR. Experiment Ops. [Deferred] ABOUT GAGARIN FROM SPACE. HAM Radio Session RGN-REC TK – Transfer and Replacement KULONOVSKYI KRISTALL. Hardware Teardown BAR. Experiment Ops. Dragon Transfer Ops On MCC GO Mating РТ-50-1М TLM Connectors to БКС РТ-50-1М No.9 (А209) R&R – Closeout Ops. Preventive Maintenance of АСП Hatch Sealing Mechanisms (DC1) and Progress 424 Hatch. PAO Hardware Setup Crew Prep for PAO PAO Event Rodent Research (RR) – Water Box and Light Check BCAT – Camera Focus Setup ISS N2 Repress from Progress 424 (DC1) СрПК Section 2 (start) Rodent Research (RR) – Camcorder Setup CMS – ARED Quarterly Maintenance PPS – Closeout Ops ISS N2 Repress from ТКГ424 (DC1) СрПК Section 2 (terminate) [Aborted] Life On The Station Photo and Video Replacement of СД1-7 Lights in DC1 KUB3 – Hardware Packing BCAT –  D2Xs Battery Charge СОЖ Maintenance NEMATODE – Data Gathering Rodent Research (RR) – Sample Relocation to MELFI IMS Delta File Prep VZAIMODEISTVIYE-2. Experiment Ops [Deferred] JRNL – Journal Entry MSG – Powerdown MYCO – Session Review Health Maintenance System (HMS) – Fundoscope Preparation NEMATODE – Container Retrieval from MELFI Fundoscope – Eye Exam SLEEP – Hardware Setup and Activation NEMATODE – Sample Fixation Dragon Cargo Operations Conference NEMATODE – Sample Insertion into MELFI Health Maintenance System (HMS) – Fundoscope Removal and Stowage Completed Task List Items ARED detent adjust Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. 57P Prop Purge Rodent Research operations Ocular Health operations MSS powerup SSRMS walkoff from N2 to MBS1 MSS power down CATS Fiber Distributed Data Interface operations Three-Day Look Ahead: Thursday, 04/23: Ocular Health, Dragon cargo ops, RR unit cleaning Friday, 04/24: NeuroMapping Neurocognitive Ops, USOS Crew off duty Saturday, 04/25: Crew off duty, housekeeping  QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:                               Component Status Elektron Off Vozdukh Manual [СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) On [СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) Off Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab Operate Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 Operate Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab Shutdown Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 Operate Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Process […]

April 23, 2015 at 01:00AM
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Stunning Imagery from Hubble

Celestial Fireworks Celebrate Hubble's 25th Anniversary (With Amazing Video) "This glittering tapestry of young stars exploding into life in a dramatic fireworks display has been released today to celebrate 25 incredible years of the Hubble Space Telescope. The NASA/ESA Hubble...

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Celestial Fireworks


The brilliant tapestry of young stars flaring to life resemble a glittering fireworks display in the 25th anniversary NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, released to commemorate a quarter century of exploring the solar system and beyond since its launch on April 24, 1990. via NASA http://ift.tt/1HqPKbC

NASA Unveils Celestial Fireworks as Official Image for Hubble 25th Anniversary

The brilliant tapestry of young stars flaring to life resemble a glittering fireworks display in the 25th anniversary NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, released to commemorate a quarter century of exploring the solar system and beyond since its launch on April 24, 1990.

April 23, 2015
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Slamming the Door Shut: Vaccines and Autism

Let’s start this off by being very clear: Vaccines don’t cause autism.

They just don’t. Perhaps I should be scientific, careful, technical, and say that no connection between vaccines and autism has ever been found. That’s technically true, because, after all, there is some incredibly small chance that eventually perhaps some connection might possibly be found. But when study after study after study show no such connection whatsoever, at some point it’s probably OK to close the door on this.

Now it’s time to slam it shut. A new study, reported in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at a group of over 95,000 children and found no connection between the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine and incidence of autism.

Specifically, they looked at children who had older siblings, looking at the rate of diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and vaccination. The study is pretty interesting, and I suggest you read it, but the results are pretty clear, as the researchers themselves write: “MMR vaccine receipt was not associated with an increased risk of ASD at any age.”

Emphasis mine, but c’mon. That’s emphatic.

Mind you, younger siblings who have an older sibling diagnosed with ASD are themselves at a higher risk for it (likely due to genetic factors). Despite this, the researchers conclude:

These findings indicate no harmful association between MMR vaccine receipt and ASD even among children already at higher risk for ASD.

In other words, the MMR vaccine is not associated with autism.

Mind you, the entire modern anti-vax movement is based on the idea that the MMR vaccine somehow causes autism; that was the conclusion drawn by Andrew Wakefield in a paper published in the British journal the Lancet… a paper that was retracted, that had several of Wakefield’s team members asking to have their names removed from it, that established a clear conflict of interest for Wakefield who stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars replacing an MMR vaccine with his own alternative, and which prompted the BMJ to call Wakefield’s methods “fraudulent”.

Yeah, that paper.

This new study is getting some press, which is nice, but I’m seeing here and there some folks hoping this will be the last nail in the anti-vax movement. It won’t be. That’s because the anti-vaxxers are not basing their decisions on science, they’re basing them on emotion. We’ve seen this over and again; as I pointed out before, this isn’t the first study showing no link between vaccines and autism.

People simply don’t make decisions based on facts. That’s not how we’re wired. Fear is an incredibly strong motivator, and many of the anti-vax groups use it to their advantage. Look at the truly atrocious Australian Vaccination Skeptic Network, who actually and truly compare vaccination to sexual assault (and seriously, survivors of such assaults may want to have a care clicking that link; the AVSN graphic is abhorrent and brutal).

And look no further than someone like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who believes that vaccines cause autism, and compared this to the Holocaust. Yes, the Holocaust. He backed off that analogy when called out on it, yet few seem to remember this isn’t the first time he’s made this despicable claim. I’ve written about Kennedy before, taking him to task on his unfounded claims, and wrote a follow-up after he doubled down on it.

So yeah. The folks who beat the drums about vaccines and autism will never stop. My hope is that they will eventually be marginalized, like Moon Hoax believers.

The good news is that action is being taken. California is looking at stricter rules for parents who want to opt out of vaccinating their children, for example, and in Australia, the religious exemption is being removed.

And of course the forces of good are still at work, promoting vaccination. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has put out a lovely campaign using art to show how important vaccines are. Called The Art of Saving a Life, it features works of film, literature, music, photography, and more.

As someone who loves classical music, especially Debussy, one video in particular struck me. Called Afternoon of a Faun, it’s a powerful piece about Tanaquil LeClercq, principal dancer at the New York City ballet. Before a European tour in 1956, she declined getting a polio vaccine. She contracted polio in Copenhagen, and became paralyzed. She never danced again. Chinese pianist Lang Lang performs the pas de deux from Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun, with images of LeClercq in the background.

I would like to personally thank Mr. and Mrs. Gates for supporting this project. It is extraordinarily difficult to discuss this topic with people who lean towards being against vaccinations, and it’s all too easy to reinforce their beliefs. I think that by continually putting forth a positive message, together with presenting the facts, we can get vaccination rates in this country up to where they need to be to protect us all.

As a father myself, and with an immunocompromised family member, I know how important this is. When you get vaccinated, the life you save may be your own, and it may also be someone you know and love. But it may very well be someone you don’t know, but who is loved by others.

To those of you who vaccinate: I thank you too.



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2015年4月22日 星期三

Colorful Star Clouds in Cygnus


Stars can form in colorful surroundings. Featured here is a star forming region rich in glowing gas and dark dust toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), near the bright star Sadr. This region, which spans about 50 light years, is part of the Gamma Cygni nebula which lies about 1,800 light years distant. Toward the right of the image is Barnard 344, a dark and twisted dust cloud rich in cool molecular gas. A dramatic wall of dust and red-glowing hydrogen gas forms a line down the picture center. While the glowing red gas is indicative of small emission nebulas, the blue tinted areas are reflection nebulas -- starlight reflecting from usually dark dust grains. The Gamma Cygni nebula will likely not last the next billion years, as most of the bright young stars will explode, most of the dust will be destroyed, and most of the gas will drift away. via NASA http://ift.tt/1GgOTas

Rep. Rogers Hates Everything Russian - Except Russian Rocket Engines

There is a markup session tomorrow at 12:00 pm EDT with the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Markup. It certainly looks like Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) is trying to slip in language that would allow more Russian-built...

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