We have several bits and bobs for Monday morning. First, Official Website Astronaut™, Samantha Cristoforetti, has a lovely new tw**t up (she tw**ts in several languages):
I have to say that the various space programs have mastered social media—a great way to get public support for their endeavors. They even post YouTube videos from the ISS (see below).
And yesterday was AstroSam’s birthday, as this tw**t from astronaut Terry Virts shows (Matthew follows all these people):
Here’s a tw**t with a video that shows Sam’s space experiments (click screenshot to go to the video):
The YouTube notes:
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti running experiments in weightlessness during her Futura mission for scientists from all over the world. The International Space Station offers three state-of-the-art laboratories where research can be done without gravity. The European Columbus laboratory, the Japanese Kibo and the American Destiny module offer facilities for physics, biology, geophysics and medicine.
Samantha’s 40-hour work week is devoted to science and maintaining the weightless research centre. This video gives a fast-track impression of some of the experiments she worked on. In quick succession we see Samantha working on: exercise machine ARED, measuring her body mass, the robotic droids SPHERES, ESA’s microgravity glovebox, muscle-measurement machine MARES, centrifuge-incubator Kubik, Biolab, Materials Science Laboratory and ejecting miniature satellites called Cubesats into space.
If you have half an hour, be sure to see the really great video in which astronaut Suni Williams demonstrates how you sleep, eat, exercise and live on the ISS, including the all-important question, “How do you use the bathroom?” I love the way they can just fly around on the vehicle like Superman.
h/t: Mattew Cobb
Fascinating. Oh, how I’d love to spend time up there. Think of the possibilities! For some reason I think having a cat with you would be amazing. I’m guessing that after a few hours of confusion it would adapt.
Poop…
I mean… a litter tray in low/zero gravity?!
I think pee would be even worse. I can’t think of much worse than cat pee.
Common guys. Ever heard of cat diapers?
Martian flat cats are a better choice for micro-G. They’ll even eat the garbage for you!
That moonrise is spectacular!
Hi res versions of these images, especially the 2nd one, would be very nice.
Fascinating video!! I’m a little confused at how/where they land when they go home?? The capsule she was climbing into looked much smaller than a space shuttle??
I wouldn’t last one minute up there. I was sea sick just watching her float around…
She’s probably boarding a Russian Soyuz for the ride back to earth. It costs NASA $70 million per seat.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/soyuz/landing.html
Thanks, rick. I see thst now. Didn’t the space shuttles use to connect with ISS, or am I imagining thst?
You mean, it’s a nine-to-five job and you get to spend your off-hours in space?
Sign me up!
b&
I love videos from space. And the one with Suni Williams certainly was a good one.
For anyone with similar interests: I have found an video series in three party by ESA where they explain the Soyuz launch, the rendevous with the ISS and the return trip home (I especially like the last ones)
Launch
Docking
Undocking / Reentry
Finally found the re-entry video. Thanks for posting those, though,compuholio.
(think I forgot to sub earlier)
OK, hoped I “snipped” this correctly so as to link to and not embed a video. A thousand apologies if not.
A Mario Lanza song for Astro Sam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zObGg-4FVYc
L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra,
E la mia volutt dal mio desire.
O dolce stelle, l’ora di morire.
Un pi divino amor dal ciel vi sgombra.
Pupille ardenti, O voi senza ritorno
Stelle tristi, spegnetevi incorrotte!
Morir debbo. Veder non voglio il giorno,
Per amor del mio sogno e della notte.
Chiudimi,
O Notte, nel tuo sen materno,
Mentre la terra pallida s’irrora.
Ma che dal sangue mio nasca l’aurora
E dal sogno mio breve il sole eterno!
E dal sogno mio breve il sole eterno!
Translation:
The dawn divides the darkness from light,
And my sensual pleasure from my desire,
O sweet stars, it is the hour of death.
A love more holy clears you from the skies.
Gleaming eyes, O you who’ll ne’er return,
sad stars, snuff out your uncorrupted light!
I must die, I do not want to see the day,
For love of my own dream and of the night.
Envelop me,
O Night, in your maternal breast,
While the pale earth bathes itself in dew;
But let the dawn rise from my blood
And from my brief dream the eternal sun!
Bellissimo, Filippo! Sei italiano?