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Archive for the astronauts

Only five South Africans apply for Mars One colony

By alkaon on April 28, 2013 No Comments

The South Africans, aged between 19 and 32, had to submit a video of why they wanted to go to Mars and why they should be selected.

Mars One is a not-for-profit organisation, founded in the Netherlands, that aims to establish the first human settlement on the planet Mars by 2023.

The project would be on-going to provide primary funding for mankind’s next giant leap, the website said.

The list of criteria for applicants was detailed.

“The astronauts must be intelligent, creative, psychologically stable and physically healthy,” it said.

Mars One would maintain 40 trained astronauts during the full duration of its missions.

The first group of four astronauts would set off to Mars in September 2022. The flight would take between seven and eight months.

They would be responsible for installing the connecting tubes between the individual capsules, configuring and activating the food production units, and assembling the remaining solar photovoltaic panels.

The astronauts would be joined by another four in June 2025.

One important factor was that once on the planet Mars, there would be no coming back.

“Once on Mars, there is no means to return to Earth. Mars is home,” the website said.

Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp said: “Since we started Mars One in March 2011, we received support from scientists, engineers, businessmen and women and aeropace companies from all over the world”.

He said the announcement of their plan in May last year resulted in the engagement of the general public, and support from sponsors and investors.

“To see our mission evolve this way feels like my dream is becoming a reality,” he said on the website.

Fellow co-founder Arno Wielders said working on Mars One was being a living part of the “incredible” undertaking.

“I believe mankind is destined to be a multi-planet species, to move beyond the confines of our home planet.”

Article source: http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/2013/04/27/only-five-south-africans-apply-for-mars-one-colony

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Categories : Mars News
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South Africans bid for stay on Mars

By alkaon on April 27, 2013 No Comments

The South Africans, aged between 19 and 32, had to submit a video of why they wanted to go to Mars and why they should be selected.

Mars One is a not-for-profit organisation, founded in the Netherlands, that aims to establish the first human settlement on the planet Mars by 2023.

The project would be on-going to provide primary funding for mankind’s next giant leap, the website said.

The list of criteria for applicants was detailed.

“The astronauts must be intelligent, creative, psychologically stable and physically healthy,” it said.

No coming back
Mars One would maintain 40 trained astronauts during the full duration of its missions.

The first group of four astronauts would set off to Mars in September 2022. The flight would take between seven and eight months.

They would be responsible for installing the connecting tubes between the individual capsules, configuring and activating the food production units, and assembling the remaining solar photovoltaic panels.

The astronauts would be joined by another four in June 2025.

One important factor was that once on the planet Mars, there would be no coming back.

“Once on Mars, there is no means to return to Earth.
Mars is home,” the website said.

Incredible undertaking
Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp said: “Since we started Mars One in March 2011, we received support from scientists, engineers, businessmen, and women and aerospace companies from all over the world”.

He said the announcement of their plan in May last year resulted in the engagement of the general public, and support from sponsors and investors.

“To see our mission evolve this way feels like my dream is becoming a reality,” he said on the website.

Fellow co-founder Arno Wielders said working on Mars One was being a living part of the “incredible” undertaking.

“I believe mankind is destined to be a multi-planet species, to move beyond the confines of our home planet.”  – Sapa

Article source: http://mg.co.za/article/2013-04-27-south-africans-bid-for-stay-on-mars

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Categories : Mars News
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Millionaire Dennis Tito plans to send woman and man to Mars and back

By alkaon on February 28, 2013 No Comments

Millionaire space tourist Dennis Tito’s plan to send two astronauts on a 501-day flight that zooms past Mars and swings back to Earth would set plenty of precedents on the final frontier — but the most intriguing precedent might have to do with the astronauts that are to be sent: one man and one woman, preferably a married couple beyond childbearing years. We’re talking about sex in space, folks.

And if that’s not intriguing enough, consider this: There are already a couple of candidates for the job.

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Categories : Mars
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Space Station Astronauts Lose NASA Communications Link for 2 Hours

By alkaon on February 20, 2013 No Comments

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ht space station earth jef 111209 wblog Space Station Astronauts Lose NASA Communications Link for 2 Hours

Earth at night from International Space Station. Image: NASA

NASA reported this morning that it lost its main communications link with the International Space Station for two hours. It blamed the problem on a computer glitch.  The six astronauts on the station, it said, were fine, and still able to talk, at least intermittently, with controllers through Russian ground stations before the problem was solved.

A statement posted this morning by NASA:

“This morning, at approximately 9:45 a.m. EST, the International Space Station experienced a loss of communication with the ground. At that time, flight controllers in Houston were updating the software onboard the station’s flight computers when one of the station’s data relay systems malfunctioned. The primary computer that controls critical station functions defaulted to a backup computer, but was not allowing the station to communicate with NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.

Two hours later NASA put a quick update on Twitter: “Communications have been restored with the space station effective 11:34AM Central.”

There was a bit of commotion at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where public affairs people pointed out that during the outage, the astronauts are able to talk directly to ground stations as they passed overhead, much the way astronauts did in the early days of the space program.  Since the 1980s, NASA has had a fleet of Tracking and Data Relay satellites — TDRS for short — in much higher orbit, which allow for communication with few interruptions.

The problem came up while new software was being sent to the station’s main computer.  “The computer basically burped, for lack of a better word,” said Josh Byerly of NASA. The astronauts were were able to reconfigure their computers and solve the problem, he said.

Related: Chasing the Russian Meteor

There are six crew members on board — Americans Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn; Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitiskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin and Roman Romanenko; and Canadian Chris Hadfield.

ht nasa international space station thg 130219 wblog Space Station Astronauts Lose NASA Communications Link for 2 Hours

NASA image

Article source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2013/02/space-station-astronauts-lose-nasa-comm-link/

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Categories : Nasa News
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NASA and TopCoder want you to create an iPad app for the International Space …

By alkaon on February 19, 2013 No Comments

NASA and TopCoder want you to create an iPad app for the International Space Station

NASA and TopCoder, a company that hosts programming competitions, is teaming up on a series of contests that’ll develop apps for astronauts. One app challenge targets the iPad and will help astronauts keep track of the food they eat while they are working in space.

The FIT (Food Intake Tracker) Challenge asks developers to design an iPad app that’ll let astronauts enter the food they consume after each meal using voice, barcode scanning and pictures. The emphasis is on speed with the app ideally allowing astronauts to enter one week of meals in no more than 15 cumulative minutes. According to NASA, proper food intake is critical to the health of the astronauts because it lessens the negative effects of spaceflight on the body.

The app challenge opened in February and ends in May. According to the contest timeline, there are few days left to register and submit your app concepts.

[Via IntoMobile]



Source: http://www.topcoder.com/iss/fit/

Article source: http://www.tuaw.com/2013/02/19/nasa-and-topcoder-want-you-to-create-an-ipad-app-for-the-interna/

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NASA and TopCoder want you to create an iPad app for the International Space …

By alkaon on February 19, 2013 No Comments

NASA and TopCoder want you to create an iPad app for the International Space Station

NASA and TopCoder, a company that hosts programming competitions, is teaming up on a series of contests that’ll develop apps for astronauts. One app challenge targets the iPad and will help astronauts keep track of the food they eat while they are working in space.

The FIT (Food Intake Tracker) Challenge asks developers to design an iPad app that’ll let astronauts enter the food they consume after each meal using voice, barcode scanning and pictures. The emphasis is on speed with the app ideally allowing astronauts to enter one week of meals in no more than 15 cumulative minutes. According to NASA, proper food intake is critical to the health of the astronauts because it lessens the negative effects of spaceflight on the body.

The app challenge opened in February and ends in May. According to the contest timeline, there are few days left to register and submit your app concepts.

[Via IntoMobile]



Source: http://www.topcoder.com/iss/fit/

Article source: http://www.tuaw.com/2013/02/19/nasa-and-topcoder-want-you-to-create-an-ipad-app-for-the-interna/

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Categories : Nasa News
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NASA and TopCoder want you to create an iPad app for the International Space …

By alkaon on February 19, 2013 No Comments

NASA and TopCoder want you to create an iPad app for the International Space Station

NASA and TopCoder, a company that hosts programming competitions, is teaming up on a series of contests that’ll develop apps for astronauts. One app challenge targets the iPad and will help astronauts keep track of the food they eat while they are working in space.

The FIT (Food Intake Tracker) Challenge asks developers to design an iPad app that’ll let astronauts enter the food they consume after each meal using voice, barcode scanning and pictures. The emphasis is on speed with the app ideally allowing astronauts to enter one week of meals in no more than 15 cumulative minutes. According to NASA, proper food intake is critical to the health of the astronauts because it lessens the negative effects of spaceflight on the body.

The app challenge opened in February and ends in May. According to the contest timeline, there are few days left to register and submit your app concepts.

[Via IntoMobile]



Source: http://www.topcoder.com/iss/fit/

Article source: http://www.tuaw.com/2013/02/19/nasa-and-topcoder-want-you-to-create-an-ipad-app-for-the-interna/

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Categories : Nasa News
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NASA to Host G+ Hangout With ISS Astronauts

By alkaon on February 9, 2013 No Comments

image

The ISS Astronauts will answer questions posted by YouTube users in a Google+ Hangout.

NASA will host its first Google+ Hangout live with the International Space Station on February 22, from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. EST. The ISS astronauts are going to answer questions about living and working 240 miles above earth. YouTube videos posted with the tag #askAstro before February 12th will be considered, as long as they contain a question and are less than 30 seconds long. Submitters should introduce themselves and mention their location before asking their question, and NASA says that “unique and original questions are more likely to be selected.” If you’re interested, you can also ask questions of the astronauts on the ground, who will answer during the event. Let’s be honest, though, the real draw here is to have someone answer your question from space.

During the event, questions can be asked live using the #askAstro tag on Google+, YouTube, and Twitter. Just before the event, NASA will open a thread on its Facebook page where questions may be asked. The astronauts participating will be Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn of NASA, as well as the Canadian Space Agency’s Chris Hadfield, who famously tweets beautiful pictures from the station.

If you’re not sure what Google+ is, or why it’s actually more popular than you might think, NASA’s G+ page is +NASA.

Source: NASA

Article source: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122031-NASA-to-Host-G-Hangout-With-ISS-Astronauts

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NASA Columbia question offers key lesson

By alkaon on February 1, 2013 No Comments

Washington —

A NASA top official wrestled with what he thought was a hypothetical question: What should you tell the astronauts of a doomed space shuttle Columbia?

When the NASA official raised the question in 2003 just days before the accident that claimed seven astronauts’ lives, managers thought – wrongly – that Columbia’s heat shield was fine. It wasn’t. Columbia, NASA’s oldest shuttle, broke apart over Texas 10 years ago Friday upon returning to Earth after a 16-day mission.

But the story of that question, retold a decade later, illustrates a key lesson from the tragedy, said Wayne Hale, a flight director who later ran the shuttle program for NASA.

That lesson: Never give up. No matter how hopeless.

To illustrate the lesson, Hale in his blog tells for the first time that his late boss seemingly suggested doing just that. The boss, mission operations chief Jon Harpold, asked the now-retired Hale a what-if question after a meeting that determined – wrongly – that Columbia was safe to land despite some damage after takeoff.

“You know there is nothing we can do about damage to the (thermal protection system),” Hale quotes Harpold. “If it has been damaged, it’s probably better not to know. I think the crew would rather not know. Don’t you think it would be better for them to have a happy successful flight and die unexpectedly during entry than to stay on orbit, knowing that there was nothing to be done until the air ran out.”

When Harpold raised the question with Hale in 2003, managers had concluded that Columbia’s heat shield was fine. They told astronauts they weren’t worried about damage from foam insulation coming off the massive shuttle fuel tank during launch, hitting a wing that allowed superheated gases in when the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere. No one was aware of the seriousness of the damage at the time.

Harpold’s what-if type question conveyed a fatalistic attitude about the heat shield system being unfixable, which was “a wrong-headed cultural norm that we had all bought into,” Hale said Thursday.

Had NASA realized the severity of the problem, the agency would not have let the astronauts die without a fight or a word, despite Harpold’s hypothetical question, Hale said.

“We would have pulled out all the stops…. We would have had the entire nation working on it,” Hale said, adding that whatever NASA would have tried probably would have failed.

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/NASA-Columbia-question-offers-key-lesson-4241868.php

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For NASA, a Somber Week of Space Disaster Anniversaries

By alkaon on January 29, 2013 No Comments

NASA will honor the astronauts killed in the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia space disasters.

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NASA Image of the day

First American Woman in Space

 
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space when the space shuttle Challenger launched on mission STS-7. As one of the three mission specialists on the STS-7 mission, she played a vital role in helping the crew deploy communications satellites, conduct experiments and make use of the first Shuttle Pallet Satellite. In this image, Dr. Ride sits in the aft flight deck mission specialist's seat during deorbit preparations. › Read more about Sally Ride's historic flight. Image Credit: NASA
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