Ramblings of a 70-year old: NASA

Showing posts with label NASA. Show all posts

Sunday, November 27, 2022

International Space Station to grow tomatoes, SpaceX will carry the seeds

After the aborted first attempt, SpaceX is carrying a fresh haul of supplies to the International Space Station ISS. The seeds on board the mission include an assortment of dwarf tomato seeds apart from a range of science experiments. There will also be treats for the astronauts on the space station. Some of these are ice cream and Thanksgiving fare like spicy green beans, cranberry apple desserts, pumpkin pie and candy corn. The broad plan is to install the solar arrays outside the floating laboratory during spacewalks. The tentative dates are November 29 and December 3 and they will give the space station a power boost. SpaceX has been working hand in hand with NASA and has undertaken more than two dozen resupply missions to the ISS over the past decade. It was part of a multibillion-dollar deal with NASA. This year happens to be the busiest year to date for SpaceX, with more than 50 operations so far. These include two astronaut missions. SpaceX launches tomato seeds, other supplies to International Space StationThere are a number of health-related items on board. One of these is the Moon Microscope Kit. It is a portable handheld microscope for astronauts to collect and send images of blood samples to flight surgeons on the ground for diagnostics and treatment.

Incidentally, nutrients are a key component for maintaining good health in space. However, the astronauts seldom get fresh items and have to survive with prepackaged meals during their six-month stays in low-Earth orbit. Astronauts have already grown and tasted different types of vegetables like lettuce, radishes and chiles on the International Space Station. Now, they could add some dwarf tomatoes — specifically, Red Robin tomatoes — to their list of space-grown salad ingredients. This experiment is part of an effort to provide continuous fresh food production facilities in space. The tomatoes are expected to be ready for their first taste test in the spring. Half of each tomato harvest will be frozen and returned to Earth for analysis.

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

China launched Mengtian module of its space station from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in Hainan

The unmanned Mengtian is the last of three modules that will comprise the space station of China. Mengtian translates into "Dreaming of the Heavens." This space station would be the second permanently inhabited outpost in low-earth orbit after the NASA-led International Space Station. The launching was from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in the southern island province of Hainan. China began construction of its space station in April 2021 with the launch of the Tianhe module. This was the main living quarters for astronauts. Later, in July this year it launched Wentian. This is a laboratory module for carrying out scientific experiments. The 23-tonne Mengtian is the third portion. It is also a laboratory module and it would dock with an axial port at one end of Tianhe. The T-shape space station will be complete when the individual components occupy their respective positions. 'Dreaming of the Heavens': China launches final module to space station. The design of the Chinese space station is for a lifespan of at least 10 years. It will fulfil the ambition of China of having it in a low-earth orbit because NASA's aging ISS would cease operation by the end of the decade.

The Chinese-built "Celestial Palace", as the space station is known at home, will also be an emblem of China's growing power and self-sufficiency in its space endeavors. It will be a challenger to the United States in the domain, after being isolated from the ISS and other collaboration with NASA. Moreover, the space station will also cap President Xi Jinping's 10 years as leader of China's ruling Communist Party. The plans of China vis-à-vis the station's lifetime is to conduct more than 1,000 scientific experiments. These would cover subjects like how plants adapt in space to how fluids behave in microgravity. Once the ISS retires, the demand would rise for use of the Chinese space station. China has already approved several proposals from countries ranging from Switzerland to India in the first batch of experiments. China would require two more missions this year before its station is ready for operation. Incidentally, China became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket, in October 2003, after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

Sunday, October 16, 2022

SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts of NASA and ESA returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown

It was a memorable moment for NSSA and SpaceX when the Crew-4 astronauts splashed down in the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. They were Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency ESA. They had spent 170 days in orbit aboard the Dragon spacecraft. That way they completed the agency’s fourth commercial crew mission to the International Space Station ISS. The SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and astronauts. All the astronauts will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston while Cristoforetti will board a plane to Europe. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson welcomed them back. This international crew spent nearly six months on the ISS. They conducted science experiments for the benefit of all and their work will help prepare future explorers for subsequent space missions. Bill Nelson went on to add - “Working and living on the space station is the opportunity of a lifetime, but it also requires these explorers to make sacrifices, especially time away from loved ones.” NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts safely splash down in Atlantic after spending 170 days in orbit. The Crew-4 astronauts contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Cristoforetti completed two spacewalks with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev to perform station maintenance and upgrades.

The four astronauts travelled 72,168,935 miles during their mission, spent 170 days aboard the space station, and completed 2,720 orbits around the Earth. Cristoforetti has logged 369 days in space on her two flights. This makes her second on the all-time list for most days in space by a woman. The spacecraft, named Freedom by Crew-4, will now come back to Florida. Once there, it will undergo inspection and processing at SpaceX’s Dragon Lair. Here, specialist teams will examine the data and performance of the spacecraft throughout the flight. The aim of the Commercial Crew Program of NASA is to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and help NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Monday, August 29, 2022

NASA enters second phase of going to the Moon after 50 years

The world is waiting for NASA to enter the second phase of exploring the Moon. Its Space Launch System SLS is set to lift-off to set the foundation for the Artemis project. This is being developed to put humans back on the lunar surface after half a century. The mission will also pave the way for flights to Mars in the 2040s. At present, the rocket will conduct test on a capsule far from Earth. This capsule is called Orion, the program calls for the spacecraft to loop around the Moon on a big arc. It will later return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean in six weeks' time. Orion is unmanned for this demonstration. However, in case everything goes as per plans, astronauts will be on board for missions that are more complex. These could begin in 2024. Artemis: Nasa ready to launch new era of Moon exploration. NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik explains the objective. He says - "Everything we're doing with this Artemis I flight, we're looking at through the lens of what can we prove out and what can we demonstrate that will buy down risk for the Artemis II crewed mission."

The American space agency has multiple opportunities to fly SLS-Orion. However, its intention would be to seize the first available opportunity. Right now, the weather in Florida is very dynamic. There are possibilities of electrical storms passing over the spaceport. In fact, the lightning towers have already been struck recently a number of times. Therefore, NASA has to weigh all the options available and select the most appropriate time slot. Incidentally, the rocket is not supposed to lift off in the rain.