♪ MUSIC PLAYING ♪
>> ignition sequence start.
[background ♪ music]
>> good morning, and welcome to
Mission Control Houston.
you are looking at the
International Space Station
flight control room, and the
orbit two team, as they monitor
the space station and work with
the crew of a busy work week.
on top of a routine dose, the
crew members also spend time on
visiting vehicle operations.
that is the departure of dragon
cargo ship, and the arrival of
Soyuz spacecraft with no one on
board.
>> welcome to feet to the
ground, this week there has been
a lot of traffic coming and
going around the International
Space Station.
late Monday, an uncrewed Soyuz,
and S-14 started on its second
descent.
originally rendezvous view with
the station on Saturday.
this was aborted after a problem
was discovered in the rendezvous
was discovered in its original
docking.
for it to successfully dock,
bringing with it, 1,450 pounds
of cargo, and experimental,
4,050 pounds of human rob knot.
after a 33-day mission to the
International Space Station, the
dragon missile was released to
begin a six hour trip back down.
splashing down in the pacific
ocean, the capsule returned
nearly 2700 pounds of hardware.
the third mission to the
station.
on Monday, NASA astronaut
Christina Koch reached the half
way point of her 328 day
mission.
took a ride to the mission --
this -- since arriving, she has
been busy doing science
experiments.
the 164 days left in her mission
will add up to become the
longest duration single flight
for a woman.
Koch celebrated this, and the
female space pioneer
>> I have truly been inspired of
the struggle and triumphs of so
many women, who break all
aspects in society.
I also have the honor for the
first woman to set foot on the
moon during NASA's art mice
program.
not only her, but the women who
go to Mars
>> keep asking questions, we
will see you next week.
>> Koch earned many of the
credentials selected as an
astronaut.
they don't tell the whole story.
her dabbling with lightning and
a foreign trip that changed her
perspective on life.
>> one thing I love is outdoor
activities.
I love rock climbing, surfing,
camping, backpacking, anything
that is a challenge, puts me in
a circumstance that would be
hard to get out of, or enjoy the
outdoors.
so, those are some of my
favorite things.
>>> my favorite vacation ever is
camping trips with my younger
trips, she is about 20 years
younger than me.
we love to go out and we have a
ball.
one thing people are surprised
to hear about me, I have ridden
a motorcycle solo across the
country.
I camped along the way by
myself.
it was a phenomenal trip.
I just enjoyed every minute of
of kind of seeing the country.
>>> when I was in college, I was
majoring in physics, and took it
upon myself to build a lightning
machine.
it produces lightning strikes
that are fairly long.
I remember it was a summer
project for me, and I invited a
bunch of my friends from college
to check it out.
they were baffled how I did it,
or why I chose to do it.
I think thee knew it was near
and dear to my heart.
I am a geek at heart.
I studied in Ghana, and that
trip was one of the most
profound experiences in my life.
it taught me everything not
everything I learned in life,
was not the same world around.
it was just one of many ways.
I learned about an entirely
different culture and came to
love it.
>> Christine Koch and her
teammates serve for researchers
who are looking into a wide
range of scientific topics.
that includes some topics we
have to master.
starting with our return with
American astronauts to the moon
in 2024 as part of the art mice
program.
it will be critical to how to
interact with particles of dust
that interact.
and we are using the Hermes how
particles move in microgravity
over a long period of time.
>> If you look at astroids, and
look at the moon, you will see
the dust that covers the entire
surface.
what is happening, the solar
system is dynamic.
we have astroids -- the surface
is getting bombarded all the
time.
so, why would we want to study
it, and on the space station in
it is -- we have already sent
robotic to study.
every time and there already
diverse astroids.
we need to understand how to
interact with the astroids.
if you are going to anchor, you
need to understand how to
interact with the regulate.
>>> this is actually what you
find on the space station, as
well.
there are four experiments.
each one is a tube.
about the size of a Pringle can.
this is what we are actually
studying.
the main piece of data we are
getting is the movement of the
department.
over the course of about a year,
we will get this basically time
lapse imagery, and so we are
looking at the long-term effect
of microgravity.
>>> also, something we have on
astroids is vacuum, so we want
to expose our to the vacuum of
space.
the idea is Hermes will be open
to other astroids and other
astronauts that will be
available to study.
we think it is a wonderful time
to study.
we are excited what it will
bring researchers in the future.
>> the NASA-led effort to
return astronauts to the moon in
a sustainable fashion is moving
ahead all across the country.
here's an update of the progress
of work being done on the Orion
spacecraft, and the ground
hardware that will support those
missions coming up in just a few
years.
[background ♪ music]
>> one area of research being
conducted on board the
International Space Station is
science that defence us how to
make those future long-duration
missions safe and successful
journeys for the human
explorers, and that comes to
learning how the human body
reacts to prolonged exposure to
the environment.
we are also looking how to
provide the supplies astronauts
will need in space that will
last from years.
supplies such a fresh food.
>> space gardening.
[background ♪ music]
>> presented by science at
NASA.
Statesman said: "If you have a
garden and a library, you have
everything you need."
Humans attempting some day to
make Mars their home, may make
success from the orator from
Rome.
as for the library, books can
now be stored digitally.
but how does your garden grow in
space in to find out, scientists
have been studying plant growth
on the International Space
Station, or ISS.
it could help boost extra
terrestrial -- or gardens.
recently, it has been available
tasting snacks to crew members.
however, scientists are not done
trying to unlock the growing
plants.
>>> so, we are studying how
plants adapt to the space flight
environment.
our findings will also help us
understand how plants might
respond to new and challenging
environment here on earth.
Paul and her colleague, Robert
they are row, have been growing
plants in space since 1999,
where they launched their first
permanent on space shuttle
Colombia.
several experiments followed.
one of their most compelling,
certain root growth strategies
that require gravity really
don't.
they grow away from -- planet.
terrestrial plants use gravity
as a cue, and use touch to
maneuver around obstacles.
in the late 1800s, Charles
Darwin, demonstrated that plants
growing along a a tilted
surface, don't send their plants
away from the feed, but instead,
send them to the right or left.
he high pot sized, that this
growing pattern, was a
combination roots touching their
way across the surface, and
gravity pulling straight down on
them.
>>> in an experiment in 2010,
Paul and fur row discovered
roots in plants growing in
microgravity on the space
station skewed their their
counter parts.
it shows us something we would
have never known otherwise.
grants grow in -- good news.
that's one less impediment
growing plants in space.
they will agree without gravity
as a cue.
the experiment also studied the
patterns of again I can
expression.
space plants change the way they
express their genes in order to
produce specific proteins
helpful in gravity.
Paul explains, when living
organisms are faced with
environmental change, their
response almost always changes.
they switch on certain genes.
plants are pros at this.
Paul says, undergo a kind of
remodeling in space.
the genes associated with the
fell wall are often in the
switch positions than they are
in earth.
the researchers are not yet sure
what purpose this serves, but
intend to find out.
>>> Paul and fur row are not
alone.
many other scientists are
studying plants on the space
station to know how to grow
plants in this environment.
it is for the quest to provide
humans with everything they
need, with everything they may
be.
for more about gardening in
space, visit our website.
for more on the growth of
science, both on and off our
home planet.
visit science.NASA.gov.
>> the laboratories on the
International Space Station
provide a setting that allow
astronauts to do experiments.
that is to say experiments they
cannot do on earth.
for example, there is an
experiment that is studying
quartz and clay, on the
particles that cluster together.
[background ♪ music]
>> the International Space
Station is home to some
equipment that could help answer
some big questions in modern
physics.
but cold atom lab that are 10
times colder than deep space.
thanks to the microgravity on
the space station we can observe
those atoms for much longer than
we can on earth.
[background ♪ music]
>> we have shown you a couple of
experiments taking place on the
International Space Station.
let's take a look at one up
close.
>>> last year, flight engineer,
Serena Aunon-Chancellor turned
on a camera while she was
working with the NGX cancer
therapy experiment.
let us watch as she grew and
examined certain cells.
this is an effort to find if
cells grown in space can test
methods on the ground for
certain cancer medications.
>> good morning, welcome to ISS.
today, I am working on the IGS
cancer trial up here.
I have spent quite a bit of time
working on this.
we are looking at an endothelia
cell.
you find these within every
blood vessel in your body.
scientists believe that cells in
our body grow very similar up
here on ISS.
a lot of times they grow on the
ground but don't live very long.
and they think they grow better
in space.
>>> why is this important?
>>> well the endothelia cell,
the blood supplies get bigger
and bigger.
most of us have experienced
someone with cancer.
can we grow these in orbit to
test new cancer drugs, and if we
can stop that tumor blood supply
from growing, we can beat
cancer.
that's one of of the experiments
we are doing here on the space
station.
>>> when we are done working
with them, we put them in
something called stable 2, which
is up in the ceiling.
it feels all nice, warm and
comfortable, because it is, it
is like the temperature of the
human body.
we have had them for almost two
months now.
we did the nutrients, they are
like, miniature crew members
living with us.
we are going to this new bio
cells.
these bio cells, have been
treated with cancer therapy
drugs that have been tested out
here.
we are looking at the cells of
the researchers.
look at the images I take from
them on the microscope.
the connection between the
endothelia cells.
you can see some of of the
formation here, and some -- so,
a really good representation of
them.
>> the International Space
Station provides a working
laboratory for astronauts in the
microgravity environment.
solar energy is a key element in
keeping those laboratories
running.
astronauts rely on this
renewable energy source, to
power their machines as well as
the ones they need for survival.
in this video, Ricky Arnold
explains how to use the solar
raise as they produce energy for
the ISS as they orbit 250 miles
in --
>> hi, are well company on board
to the International Space
Station.
I am astronaut Ricky Arnold.
you can see subterfusion,
laptops and other things for
experiments.
you can see more laptops,
cameras, and other equipment,
all stuff that uses electrical
power.
our electrical system has about
8 miles or 13 kilometers of
wiring to make it all work.
where does the energy come from?
let's have a look.
>>> from here, from other
windows, you can see the solar
raise soaking in the sunlight.
these are made of solar cells.
together the solar rays contain
6,000 -- and cover about 672
square feet more than half an
area of a football field.
that's huge.
the solar rays provide about 62%
more power than we need in the
daytime.
that extra power goes to
charging our lithium batteries.
they provide the power we need
during the 16 night times we
have per day on the space
station.
the energy our solar rays can
produce, and we can generate
power, and one is like a wind
mill, that attracts the sun
during the day, and the other
one attracts the Sunday's
inclination.
the power system uses direct
current to provide energy, water
recovery system and science
experiments.
thank you for coming on board
today.
now back to earth.
>> if you would like to get at
another look at the story or any
of the ones we have had for you
today, check us out on YouTube
and Facebook.
while you are there, look around
because you will find other cool
stuff about NASA and America's
human space flight program.
while you are there on the
internet, check out, Houston, we
have a podcast.
they are talking about their
work in all aspects of space
exploration.
we post new episodes every
Friday.
we talk to Frank white about the
overview effect.
about astronauts who view our
planet from far away.
go to NASA.com/podcast.
all of our other podcasts are
there, too.
you can listen to a.m. podcast,
and sound cloud.
this is Mission Control,
Houston.