WHEN WE ARE CALLED TO DO AN EXPERIMENT, SOMETIMES IT'S
A VERY SHORT LEAD TIME
WE GET A 12 HOUR CALL AND UH WE'RE IN
MY ADVISOR AND I WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER
HE'S TALKING TO THE ASTRONAUTS, I'M TALKING
TO THE CADRE AND SO IT’S REALLY DIFFICULT TO TAKE IT ALL IN
VERY NICE.
VERY GOOD
TRY NOT TO BREAK THEM UP, BUT THAT'S A VERY
GOOD DISTURBANCE.
AND NOW BACK AND FORTH, THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION
WHAT'S FUNNY IS I FORGET WHO I'M TALKING TO
SOMETIMES I'LL HAVE CONVERSATIONS WHERE IT'S
LIKE, OH YEAH, YOU KNOW, WE HAD AN EXPERIMENT YESTERDAY
IT WAS ON THE SPACE STATION
WE WERE TALKING TO THE ASTRONAUT, DOUG,
AND IT'S SO CASUAL
IT'S LIKE MOST PEOPLE ARE LIKE, WHAT DO YOU DO?
THROUGHOUT THE SEASON OF NASA EXPLORERS, YOU'VE
SEEN WHAT IT TAKES TO SEND SCIENCE TO SPACE
THROUGH THE EYES OF ONE TEAM OF RESEARCHERS,
BUT THEY AREN'T THE ONLY ONES FOR TWO DECADES.
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION HAS HOSTED
SCIENCE FROM THOUSANDS OF RESEARCHERS
ACROSS THE GLOBE
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ISS TO THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY
IS HUGE FROM THE VERY BASIC PHENOMENON OF TAKING
GRAVITY OUT OF THE EQUATION
IS THAT THE ISS
IS REALLY THE ONLY PLATFORM WE HAVE RIGHT NOW
THAT GIVES YOU ACCESS, LONGTERM ACCESS TO A
MICROGRAVITY ENVIRONMENT YOU CAN DO THE EXPERIMENTS
ON EARTH, BUT THOSE ARE ALMOST A PRECURSOR TO, OKAY,
NOW LET'S REMOVE GRAVITY AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS
DOES IT CHANGE?
IF YOU'RE LIKE ME, YOU'RE A SCIENTIST IS WHO'S
TRYING TO UNRAVEL THE MYSTERIES OF SCIENCE
AND SOMEONE SHOWS YOU A SHINY NEW TOOL, WHICH
IS MICROGRAVITY, WHICH CAN, YOU KNOW, MAKE
SCIENCE DIFFERENT AND DIFFERENT IS WHAT WE
CONSTANTLY SHOOT FOR
AND DIFFERENT CAN TAKE TIME BEFORE NEW SCIENTIFIC
DISCOVERIES COULD BE MADE
WE HAD TO TRANSFORM AN ORBITAL OUTPOST INTO
AN ORBITING LABORATORY
IN THE EARLY DAYS, IT WAS SO FOCUSED ON BUILDING
CONSTRUCTING STATION AND MAKING THINGS SAFE
AND THEN WE STARTED STEPPING UP THE NUMBER
OF HOURS A WEEK THAT WE CAN USE CREW TIME FOR
EXPERIMENTS AND RESEARCH
THAT WAS A VERY EXCITING TIME
THE SPACE STATION WOULD HAVE MORE
CAPABILITIES FOR SCIENCE
THEY WOULD HAVE MORE EQUIPMENT UP THERE
THEY WOULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, FREEZERS, GLOVE BOXES,
MICROSCOPES, ET CETERA, THINGS THAT WE COULD USE
TO EXTEND THE SCOPE OF OUR SCIENCE SPACE STATION
BECAME A LABORATORY
IT LENDS ITSELF VERY WELL TO THIS CONCEPT
OF FLYING EXPERIMENT
YOU GET THE RESULTS BACK, JUST LIKE YOU WOULD BE IN
YOUR OWN LABORATORY AT HOME, YOU GET MORE QUESTIONS
AS WELL AS ANSWERS
AND DURING THAT TIME, A LOT WAS LEARNED
A LOT OF SURPRISING THINGS WERE LEARNED
AND WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE, NOW WE'RE DEVELOPING EXPERIMENTS
THAT ARE MUCH MORE ADVANCED IN TERMS OF THEIR
ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS
IT'S BEEN AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY TO WATCH OVER
THE PAST 20 ODD YEARS, HOW THIS HAS ALL KIND
OF COME TOGETHER AND BECOME, I WOULDN'T SAY
ROUTINE BUT ACCESSIBLE
AND THAT'S A REALLY POWERFUL THING
THE SAME THING THAT GIVES US NEW INSIGHTS ALSO
CREATES UNIQUE CHALLENGES
MICROGRAVITY CHANGES THE WAY EVERYTHING
WORKS INCLUDING SCIENCE
WORKING IN SPACE, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, HAS
A LOT OF CHALLENGES
EVERYTHING HAS TO BE COMPACT
IF YOU'RE GOING TO SEND SOMETHING INTO SPACE,
IT HAS TO BE SMALL
AND LIKE, HOW CAN YOU FIT LIKE AN ENTIRE LAB
BENCH WORTH OF SCIENCE INTO SOMETHING, YOU KNOW,
THE SIZE OR YOUR HAND
AND YET WE STILL GET GREAT INFORMATION
WE STILL ARE DISCOVERING THINGS,
YOU KNOW, ALL THE TIME
AND I THINK IT'S INCREDIBLE
YOU KNOW, UP UNTIL THE NASA TWIN STUDY, I WAS AN
EARTH INVESTIGATOR THE BIGGEST ADAPTATION I HAD
TO MAKE WAS WELL ON EARTH
THERE IS AN AMPLE SUPPLY OF ALL OF IT TISSUE,
WHETHER YOU NEED BLOOD OR YOU NEED URINE
SO WE HAD TO WORK TOGETHER AND FIGURE OUT
A PLAN ON HOW TO USE
ONE VIAL OF BLOOD INSTEAD OF 10 VIALS OF BLOOD,
THE STRESS OF THESE PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS, THESE ARE THE
MOST PRECIOUS SAMPLES I'VE EVER WORKED WITH,
WAS KIND OF NOVEL
THERE WERE DIFFERENT STUDENTS THAT ALL GOT TOGETHER
TO CREATE THIS PROJECT
UH, IT WAS REALLY STRESSING ON EVERY REVIEW
CAUSE OF COURSE, YOU'RE LIKE, THEY'RE GOING TO
SAY EVERYTHING'S WRONG AND THEY'RE GONNA BLAME
IT ON ME OR WHATEVER
WE KNEW THAT IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT, BUT EVERYBODY
THAT JUMPED INTO THE PROJECT, UM, PULLED THROUGH
AND AT THE END, WE ACHIEVED A SUCCESSFUL MISSION
SO I THINK THAT'S AWESOME
WHAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM MORE THAN 3000 SPACE STATION
EXPERIMENTS IS HELPING US BACK HERE ON EARTH AND
ON OUR QUEST FARTHER INTO SPACE TO THE MOON AND MARS
THESE EXPERIMENTS ARE AIDING DRUG DEVELOPMENT
TO FIGHT DISEASES LIKE ALZHEIMER'S AND PARKINSON'S.
WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT COMBATING BONE AND
MUSCLE LOSS, WHICH COULD ASSIST PEOPLE SUFFERING
FROM OSTEOPOROSIS.
WE'VE TESTED HOW TO GROW PLANTS IN MICROGRAVITY,
A CRITICAL COMPONENT FOR FEEDING FUTURE SPACE
EXPLORERS, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE
WITHOUT THE ASTRONAUTS, THE HUMANS LIVING AND
WORKING ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
HAVING THE ASTRONAUTS THERE TO HELP US WAS A
CRITICAL PART OF BEING ABLE TO DO MORE COMPLICATED
SCIENCE TO GET HIGHER SCIENCE YIELD OUT OF THE
SCIENCE THAT WE’RE DOING
THEY WERE INCREDIBLE
AS PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE TO TROUBLESHOOT YOUR
EXPERIMENTS, SHOULD YOU NEED ANYTHING
YOU CAN NEVER REPLACE A SET OF HUMAN HANDS
I DON'T CARE IF IT'S ON STATION ON THE MOON ON MARS
THERE'S JUST SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CAN
ADAPTIVELY DO THAT
YOU'LL NEVER GET A MACHINE TO DO
YOU CAN COLLECT A LOT OF DATA WITH ROBOTICS SENSORS,
BUT THERE IS STILL A VERY BIG ROLE FOR HUMANS TO
PLAY IN BEING ABLE TO MAKE ON THE FLY DECISIONS
AND THAT HAS A LITTLE BIT OF A BUBBLE ON THE END
YOU WANT ME TO FORCE THAT OUT?
IF IT'S POSSIBLE, IF YOU THINK YOU CAN
DO IT WITH THE TIP
YEAH, WE WOULD APPRECIATE THAT AT THIS POINT FORWARD,
THIS IS OUR DNA TO SEQUENCE
SO THE MOST WE CAN RETAIN THE BETTER
IT WAS REWARDING TO BE ABLE TO PUT MY HANDS
ON AND KNOW THAT WE'RE DOING PRODUCTIVE WORK
SOMETIMES WE GET THROWN A CURVE BALL AND
SOMETHING GOES WRONG
STATION HUNTSVILLE ON TWO FOR TJ AND ABRS
SO NOW THEY GO, ALL RIGHT, WE GOT TO GET YOU TO GO
INTO THE GUTS OF THIS THING
GO FIND THESE TWO WIRES
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THOSE SCARY MOVIES WHERE THE BOMB
DIFFUSER SAYS WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T CUT THE RED WIRE
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT IT FEELS LIKE
YOU'VE GOT SOMEBODY WHO'S SPENT THEIR LIFE
DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON.
AND YOU'RE ABOUT TO GO INTO THE GUTS OF HIS EXPERIMENT,
TRUSTING YOU VERY WELL TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND NOT CUT
THE WRONG WIRE, BUT THAT'S THE KIND OF STUFF WE NEED
TO DO WHEN WE START GOING FARTHER AND FARTHER AWAY
WHEN WE STARTED ENCOUNTERING ANOMALIES, WE DIDN'T
THINK WERE LIKELY
AND SO THE CREW HAS TO BE ABLE TO BE ADAPTABLE,
TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT
AND THAT WAS REALLY EXCITING AND FUN TO
BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH
TJ, WE COPY THAT
AND WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT A BLOWN FUSE WOULD MAKE SO
MANY PEOPLE SO HAPPY JEFF HAPPENED TO BE ORBITING
AND LOOKED OUTSIDE OF THE WINDOW AND SAW THIS
ERUPTION JUST HAPPENING
AND THEN HE SAID, HEY, I WONDER IF ANYBODY KNOWS
THIS VOLCANO IS ERUPTING
AND SO HE ACTUALLY CALLED THE USGS AND SAID, HEY,
I SEE A VOLCANO ERUPTING
DO YOU GUYS KNOW ABOUT IT?
FIRST, HE HAD TO CONVINCE THEM THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY
WHO HE WAS AND WAS ACTUALLY CALLING THEM
FROM THE SPACE STATION
BUT ONCE HE GOT PAST THAT, THEY THEN CONFIRMED WITH
OTHER DATA LIKE WELL
YOU'RE RIGHT
IT IS ERUPTING
SO I THINK THOSE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS IN WHICH THE
ASTRONAUTS JUST PLAY AN INCREDIBLY VALUABLE ROLE
WHEN THEY'RE UP THERE HELPING US WITH THE
EXPERIMENTS THAT WE DO
THESE PAST TWO DECADES OF MICROGRAVITY SCIENCE.
THEY'RE JUST THE BEGINNING, THE START OF HUMANITY'S
CONTINUOUS PRESENCE IN SPACE AND THE IMPACT OF
THE RESEARCH AND THIS NOVEL ENVIRONMENT IS ALREADY
BEING FELT AROUND THE WORLD
I THINK MOST PEOPLE WOULD NOT REALIZE HOW IMPACTED
THEIR LIFE IS BY SPACE
THERE'S A FINITE NUMBER OF EXPERIMENTS, BUT
THAT IS FINITE NUMBER OF EXPERIMENTS IN A VERY,
VERY SMART COMMUNITY
THAT'S VERY GOOD AT SHARING THE RESULTS
THERE IS A REAL SENSE OF THE BETTERMENT OF
HUMANITY IN SPACE
YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE PLACE WE CAN ALL REALLY COLLABORATE
AND ALL REALLY GET ALONG
I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT MICROGRAVITY
UM, HAS ALLOWED WRITING SEVERAL NEW TEXTBOOKS
AND THE MORE WE HAVE MORE AND MORE SCIENTISTS WORKING
IN DIFFERENT ARENAS TO HELP INFORM THE SCIENCE
I THINK THE BETTER IT WILL BE FOR THE, FOR THE SAFETY
AND HEALTH OF THE ASTRONAUTS AND THE PEOPLE THAT FOLLOW
WE ARE JUST AT THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG
WE HAVE A LOT MORE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE
GOING TO FIND OUT
A LOT MORE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED
TO FIND OUT IN ORDER TO GET US PREPARED FOR
LONGTERM EXPLORATION
AS, AS WE, HUMANS ARE ALWAYS EXCITED TO DO SPACE STATION
NOW IS ACTING LIKE A TEST BED, THE PROVING GROUND
FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT, NEW SYSTEM HARDWARE, AS WELL AS
HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING RESEARCH AND WHAT KIND OF
RESEARCH WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO IN A NEAR ENVIRONMENT,
YOU KNOW, 240 MILES ABOVE THE SURFACE VERSUS
SERIOUSLY ALONG DISTANCE AWAY WHERE THERE'S TIME
DELAYS UP TO HALF AN HOUR ISH THAT WE NEED
TO BE PRACTICING FOR
AND NOW'S THE TIME TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT
YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY BEFORE I STARTED WORKING
AT THE LAB, IT WAS KIND OF AN ABSTRACT IDEA AND
THERE WAS ALWAYS THE JOKE ABOUT, OH YEAH, HUMANS
WILL GO TO MARS AND IT DIDN'T REALLY FEEL REAL
AND NOW IT FEELS REAL
AND WHAT'S INCREDIBLE IS, YOU KNOW, I
WILL HAVE A SMALL.
A PIECE OF THAT
I LIKE TO THINK THAT SOME OF THE WORK THAT IS BEING
DONE ON THE SPACE STATION LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR
US TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON ANOTHER PLANETARY SURFACE
WILL I EVER GET THERE?
NO, IT'S NOT LIKELY, BUT I DO HOPE THAT SOMEDAY
THAT SOMEBODY THINKS BACK ON , WOW
IT'S REALLY GREAT THAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT X, Y, AND Z
THINGS FROM THE PAUL AND FERL RESEARCH, BECAUSE
WE'D NEVER BE SUCCESSFUL ON MARS WITH THAT
WE'LL LEARN MORE AND MORE, THE FARTHER
AND FARTHER WE GO
THE FIRST STEPPING STONE THOUGH, IS THE PROVING
GROUND THAT WE'RE CALLING THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION