>> GOOD MORNING.
HERE'S LOOK AT THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION FLIGHT CONTROL
ROOM AT NASA'S JOHNSON SPACE
CENTER IN HOUSTON AND THE
MEMBERS OF THE ORBIT TWO TEAM OF
FLIGHT CONTROLLERS WHO ARE
MONITORING THE STATION'S SYSTEMS
AND WORKING WITH THE EXPEDITION
65 CREW MEMBERS IN THE LAST FEW
YEARS OF THEIR WORKDAY.
BUT THE WORKWEEK ISN'T OVER YET.
COMMANDER AKI AND HIS AMERICAN
RUSSIAN AND FRENCH CREWMATES
COMPLETED ONE SPACE WALK OUT OF
THE U.S. SEGMENT OF THE STATION
AND GETTING READY FOR ANOTHER TO
CONTINUE INSTALLING NEW SOLAR
ARRAYS ON THE STATION'S TRESS
STRUCTURE.
>> WELCOME TO SPACE TO GROUND.
IT'S ANOTHER BUSY WEEK ACCORDING
TO SPACE STATION.
A SPACE WALK AND FINDINGS.
ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16TH,
ASTRONAUT AND NASA ASTRONAUT
WENT OUT FOR A 7:15 SPACE WALK.
THE TWO ASTRONAUTS MOVED THE
FIRST OF THE NEW SOLAR ARRAYS
AND INSTALLED IT ON THE
STATION'S TRESS STRUCTURE.
IT CAN PROVIDE POWER TO THE
LABORATORIES AND SPACE WALKERS
WILL NEED TO INSTALL ASK DRIVE
THEM TO ENABLE THEM TO UNFURL ON
A FUTURE SPACE WALK.
FOR UPDATES ON THE NEXT SPACE
WALK FOLLOW US ON THE WEBSITE
AND THE NASA APP.
THE CREW KEPT BUSY INCLUDING THE
DEPLOYMENT OF SEVERAL KEY SETS.
ONE OF THE CUBE SETS WAS
DEVELOPED AND ON A MISSION
FOLLOWING THE 2016 WILD FIRES
AND RECENT WILD FIRES IN
CALIFORNIA.
THIS HAS SMALL CAMERAS TO
CAPTURE PICTURES AND RADIO
COMMUNICATION TO SEND THOSE TO
GROUND CONTROL.
IT BEGAN ON MONDAY WHEN IT
DEPLOYED FROM THE SPACE STATION.
ALSO THE SATELLITE FOR AERO
DYNAMIC RESEARCH.
IT WILL STUDY TECHNOLOGIES TO
ENABLE SATELLITES TO OPERATE IN
VERY LOW EARTH ORBIT.
THEY COULD BE SMALLER AND
LIGHTER AND LESS EXPENSIVE TO
LAUNCH.
AND THAT'S SPACE TO GROUND FOR
THIS WEEK.
THANK YOU FOR WATCHING.
WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.
>> THE NEXT SPACE WALK THAT
KIMBROUGH AND PASCAL DO WILL
BEGIN IN THE SAME WAY ALL OTHER
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
SPACEWALKS DO WITH THE LENGTHY
PROCESS OF GETTING INTO THE
SPACESUITS THAT SUPPORT THE
ASTRONAUTS AS THEY FLOAT IN THE
VACUUM OF SPACE.
WANT TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS
LIKE?
WELL HERE'S AN ACCELERATED VIEW
IN WHICH EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY
ASTRONAUT LUCA PARMITANO HELPS
GET READY FOR A SPACE WALK ON
EXPEDITION 61.
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
IS THE SITE OF SCIENCE IN MANY
DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES FROM
INVESTIGATORS WHO ARE TRYING TO
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WEIGHTLESS
ENVIRONMENT TO GAIN NEW
INSIGHTS.
THE STATION IS HOME TO EQUIPMENT
THAT HELP ANSWER SOME BIG
QUESTIONS IN MODERN PHYSICS.
THE COLD AT TOM LAB FACILITY
PRODUCES CLOUDS OF ATOMS THAT
ARE 10 BILLION TIMES COLDER THAN
DEEP SPACE.
AND THANKS TO THE MICROGRAVITY
ENVIRONMENT ON PRESIDENT SPACE
STATION WE CAN OBSERVE THESE
ATOMS FROM MUCH LONGER THAN WE
CAN ON THE GROUND.
PHYSICS IS ONE KIND OF SCIENCE
BEING DONE THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
BIOLOGY RESEARCH IS ANOTHER.
AND THE MVP, THE MULTIUSE
VARIABLE GRAVITY PLATFORM, IS
DESIGNED FOR RESEARCH INVOLVING
MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF
ORGANISMS AND CELL TYPES.
IT'S ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR
FRUIT FLY RESEARCH AS IT WILL
ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO STUDY
LARGER SAMPLE SIZES THAN BEFORE
AND SUPPORT FLY COLONIES FOR
MULTIPLE GENERATIONS.
>> WE'RE LOOKING TO ANSWER THE
QUESTION, WHAT IS THE EFFECTS OF
SPACE FLIGHT ON THE HOST, THE
HOST HERE BEING THE FRUIT FLY,
AND ALSO ON A PATHOGEN, SO THE
BACTERIA ACTUALLY IS ONE THAT
CAN INFECT THE FLY SIMILARLY IT
WOULD EFFECT A HUMAN OR ANY
OTHER ORGANISM.
THE GENETIC MAKE-UP OF THE FRUIT
FLY IS SIMILAR TO HUMANS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE HIGH MAN
GENOME AND YOU LOOK AT ALL THE
JEANS YOU KNOW ARE IMPORTANT IN
THAT CATEGORY AND THAT LIBRARY
OF GENE THERE IS 75% SIMILARITY
BETWEEN THE HUMAN GENES AND THE
FRUIT FLY GENES.
IN A BOX THIS SIZE THOUSANDS OF
FLIES CAN BE BROUGHT BACK, SO
THAT EVEN IF YOU SEE AN
IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE THAT IS
SMALL, YOU CAN GET STATISTICALLY
SIGNIFICANT DATA BECAUSE YOU GET
3,000 FLIES OR 4,000 FLIES
COMING BACK IN A BOX THAT SIZE.
WE HAVE VERY NICE NEW PIECE OF
HARDWARE THE COMPANY THAT WE'VE
BEEN WORKING WITH FOR LAST TWO
YEARS IN DEVELOPING A VERY
CAPABLE PIECE OF HARDWARE.
>> WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE
MVP IS THAT THERE ARE TWO
INTERNAL CAROUSELS AND EACH ONE
OF THEM CAN PRODUCE 0-2G'S.
IT WILL BE THE ONLY PAYLOAD THAT
CAN DO THIS.
THE SAMPLE MODULES THEMSELVES
TRANSPORT TO AND FROM THE
STATION IN THE CARGO VEHICLES.
BUT THE PAYLOAD ITSELF THE
LOCKER STAYS ON THE STATION.
>> WE ARE INTERESTED IN HUMAN
EXPLORATION.
WE WANT TO GO TO THE MOON AND
MARS AND EXPLORE THE ENVIRONMENT
OUTSIDE OF LOWER EARTH ORBIT.
TO DO THAT WE NEED THE HELP OF
THESE SURROGATE MODEL ORGANISMS.
ONCE WE UNDERSTAND THE GENES AND
PATHWAYS THEN WE KNOW WHAT THE
COUNTER MEASURES ARE THAT WE'RE
WORKING TOWARDS.
>> THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION IS HELPING SCIENTISTS
LEARN MORE ABOUT PLANTS TOO.
THE PLANT GRAVITY PERCEPTION
INVESTIGATION IS GERMINATING
SEEDS IN MICROGRAVITY TO STUDY
THE PLANTS ABILITY TO DETECT AND
GRAVITY AND ADAPT AND GROW WHICH
WILL BE NECESSARY ON FUTURE
MISSIONS TO DEEP SPACE WHEN
CREWS WILL NEED TO GROW THEIR
OWN FOOD.
>> THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE
SHAPE OF EVERY PLANT YOU'VE EVER
SEEN IS THE RESULT OF GRAVITY
SENSING.
EVERY PLANT HAS GRAVITY SENSING
CELLS AND THOSE CELLS CONTAIN
DENSE BODIES AND THEY'RE PACKED
WITH STARCH AND WHEN THAT ORGAN
IS DISPLACED AWAY FROM ITS
STARTING POSITION, THOSE DENSE
STARCH-FILLED PACKETS THEY FALL
TO THE LOWER WALL OF THE CELL.
WHAT HE WE DON'T KNOW AS MUCH
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT.
OUR EXPERIMENT IS AIMED AT WHAT
IS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF GRAVITY A
PLANT CAN DETECT AND CAUSE THAT
KIND OF SEDIMENTATION.
THE WAY WE'RE GETTING AT THAT IS
TO ADD FRACTIONAL GRAVITY TO
PLANTS AND ASK THE PLANT HOW
ABOUT THAT?
CAN YOU FEEL THAT MUCH?
HOW ABOUT, HERE'S LITTLE BIT
MORE.
WE'LL TURN IT UP A LITTLE MORE.
WE'RE GROWING 120 OF THESE AT
ALL DIFFERENT GRAVITY LEVELS ON
THE STATION.
WE HAVE PLANNED A WHOLE SERIES
OF EXPERIMENTS AT FRACTIONAL
GRAVITY LEVELS WHILE VISUALIZING
THE PLANTS AS THEY GROW.
WE HAVE A CELL CULTURE CHAMBER
THAT HAS TWO ROTORS AND THESE
SORT OF STACK AND ALIGN ALONG
THE RADIUS OF THE ROTOR AT
DIFFERENT DISTANCES AND THE
AMOUNT OF GRAVITY EXPERIENCED BY
THE PLANT VARIES DEPENDING ON
HOW FAR IT IS ALONG THAT ROTOR
ARM.
THE LOWEST TREATMENT IS DOWN TO
6/1000TH OF A G ALL THE WAY UP
TO 1G.
PLANT SHAPE IS CRITICAL IN
BREEDING PROGRAMS TO DETERMINE
OPTIMAL GROWTH FOR CROP
PRODUCTIVITY IN ROOTS AND
SHOOTS.
LOTS OF APPLICATIONS BOTH ON THE
EARTH AND OFF THE EARTH.
>> ALONG WITH HANDS ON WORK WITH
SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS AND
SPACEWALKS, INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION CREW MEMBERS USE SOME OF
THEIR TIME FOR EDUCATIONAL
EVENTS IN WHICH THEY TALK ABOUT
SCIENCE WITH STUDENTS ON EARTH,
DISCUSSING THEIR MISSION AND
SHARING THE VALUE OF LEARNING
ABOUT SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY
ENGINEERING AND MATH.
IN THIS DEMONSTRATION, RANDY
DEMONSTRATES NEWTON'S SECOND LAW
OF MOTION.
HELLO EVERYONE.
I'M RANDY.
NOW, ON THE SPACE STATION WE
LIVE IN A MICROGRAVITY
ENVIRONMENT.
YOU LIVE THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
WILL HOLD UP?
COME ON.
LET'S FIND OUT.
DID HE ACCELERATION OF THE
OBJECT DEPENDS ON THE NET FORCE
ACTING ON THE OBJECT AND THE
MASS OF THE OBJECT OR S EQUALS
MA.
WE SEE THAT ONCE THE FORCE IS
GREATER THAN THE WEIGHT OF THE
VEHICLE THE ROCKET BEGINS TO
ACCELERATE.
>> WE'LL START WITH SOMETHING
SMALL.
SOMETHING YOU MIGHT HAVE AT
HOME.
A CHAPSTICK.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND USE OUR FORCE
ON THE BUNGEE CORD HERE. WE'LL
PUT ON OUR BUNGEE AND YOU CAN
SEE HOW FAST IT ACCELERATES
BECAUSE THERE IS VERY LITTLE
MASS.
NEXT WE'LL TRY SPACE SHIFT.
A LITTLE MORE MASSIVE AND YOU
CAN FEEL IT BECAUSE AS YOU MOVE
IT YOU CAN FEEL THE FORCE -- THE
EXTRA FORCE YOU HAVE TO PUSH
WITH YOUR HAND.
A LOT FASTER WITH THAT CHAPSTICK
THERE.
WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS THE SAME
AMOUNT OF FORCE ON A SMALLER
LESS MASSIVE OBJECT MEANS IT
ACCELERATES FASTER.
THIS IS THE BIGGEST MOST MASSIVE
THING WE HAVE.
LET'S SEE HOW ACCELERATION IS
AFFECTED.
WE HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT ON THE
FORCE AND HERE WE GO.
THERE YOU HAVE IT.
NEWTON'S SECOND LAW OF MOTION IN
ACTION.
THANKS EVERYBODY FOR EXPLORING A
LITTLE PHYSICS TODAY AND NOW
WE'LL SEND IT BACK TO EARTH SO
YOU CAN START YOUR EXPERIMENTS.
SEE YOU AGAIN SOON.
>> IN ALL OF THE WORK BEING DONE
OUTSIDE AND INSIDE THE VEHICLE,
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
IS HELPING US KNOW WHAT IT WILL
TAKE TO MAKE SUCCESSFUL JOURNEYS
OUT IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM TO MARS
AND OTHER DESTINATIONS.
HERE ARE A FEW MORE EXAMPLES OF
HOW THE STATION IS BUILDING THE
MISSIONS OF THE FUTURE.
>> SO YOU WANT TO GO TO MARS?
HOW DOES NASA'S INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION HELP US EXTEND
HUMAN PRESENCE INTO DEEP SPACE?
IN THE FUTURE WHEN ASTRONAUTS
LAND ON MARS IT WILL BE THANKS
TO SOME IMPORTANT LESSONS THAT
WE LEARNED ON THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
REWIND.
240 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH, THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IS
WHERE WE CURRENTLY LIVE AND WORK
IN SPACE.
HERE'S WHAT WE LEARNED SO FAR.
FIRST THERE'S TAKING CARE OF
ASTRONAUTS.
WEIGHTLESSNESS CAN LEAD TO
MUSCLE AND BONE LOSS AND VISION
CHALLENGES AND COORDINATION
LOSS.
THANKS TO THE SPACE STATION
COUNTER MEASURES ARE BEING
DEVELOPED TO KEEP ASTRONAUTS
HEALTHY FOR LONG DURATION
MISSIONS.
THEN THERE'S EQUIPMENT, SPACE
CRAFT COMMUNICATION AND WATER
RECYCLING AND AIR AND POWER
PRODUCTION ARE ALL BEING TESTED
ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION.
WHAT WE LEARN ABOUT OPERATING
AND MAINTAINING OUR GEAR IN THE
HARSHNESS OF SPACE WILL PAVE THE
WAY FOR FUTURE MISSIONS INTO OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM.
AND THAT IS HOW THE SPACE
STATION IS HELPING US EXTEND
HUMAN PRESENCE INTO DEEP SPACE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT THIS
NASA WEBSITE.
>> THERE IS ONE THING THAT
EXPLORERS ALL THROUGH TIME HAVE
HAD IN COMMON, THEY'RE ALL AT
THE MERCY OF THE WEATHER.
WHILE THINGS LIKE RAIN, WIND AND
LIGHTNING ALL FACTOR IN, YOU
CAN'T FORGET ABOUT RADIATION.
THE ASTRONAUTS AND THE SYSTEMS
OF THEIR FUTURE SPACE VEHICLES
WILL HAVE TO BE PROTECTED FROM
DEEP SPACE RADIATION.
THAT'S WHY TODAY'S SCIENTISTS
ARE WORKING HARD TO IMPROVE OUR
ABILITY TO ACCURATELY FORECAST
DANGEROUS SPACE WEATHER.
>> THE SPACE WE TRAVEL THROUGH.
PRESENTED BY SCIENCE AT NASA.
>> WHEN SEAFARING NATIONS BEGAN
TO AND EXPLORE NEW REGIONS OF
THE WORLD ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST
CONCERNS IN MAKING IT SAFELY WAS
HOW TO COPE WITH WEATHER.
THEY COULD HARNESS THE WIND FOR
POWER.
THEY COULD RELY ON THE SUN AND
THE STARS FOR NAVIGATION.
THEY COULD BUILD STURDY SHIPS,
BUT IF A STORM ROSE SUDDENLY
THEY WERE AT NATURE'S MERCY.
MORE THAN 5 CENTURIES LATER OUR
NATION IS ON THE CUSP OF
EXPLORING NEW WORLDS AND ONCE
AGAIN ONE OF OUR CONCERNS ABOUT
TRAVELING LONG DISTANCES IS THE
WEATHER.
SPACE WEATHER.
WHILE SPACE IS A VACUUM IT'S NOT
100% EMPTY.
PARTICLES, ENERGY AND MAGNETIC
FIELDS TRAVEL THROUGH THE VOID.
MUCH OF THESE EMANATE FROM THE
SUN'S CORONA AS PART OF A
CONSTANT OUTWARD FLOW KNOWN AS
THE SOLAR WIND WHICH STRETCHES
WELL BEYOND THE ORBIT OF
NEPTUNE.
THERE ARE ALSO HIGH ENERGY
PARTICLES OR COSMIC RAYS IN THE
MIX WHICH TRAVEL VAST DISTANCES
FROM DYING STARS OR SUPER NOVA.
EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD AND
REGULAR ACTIVELY THICK
ATMOSPHERE ACT AS A SHIELD
AGAINST THE MOST ARMFUL FORMS OF
THE RADIATION BUT IN SPACE THERE
IS NO SUCH DETERRENT.
IF WE WANT TO TRAVEL THROUGH
THIS SPACE, WE NEED WAYS TO
PROTECT OUR ASTRONAUTS.
THESE PARTICLES CAN AFFECT OUR
TECHNOLOGY TRIP ONBOARD
ELECTRONS.
A DOCTOR SPACE WEATHER SCIENTIST
AT NASA'S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT
ENCOUNTER NOTES WE ARE WORKING
HARD TO FORECAST WHEN THESE
PARTICLES WILL BE AT THEIR PEAK,
SUCH AS DURING SOLAR FLARES OR
CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS.
ACUTE EXPOSURE IS A SERIOUS
CONCERN FOR ASTRONAUTS AND
INSTRUMENTS.
THEREFORE HAVING A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING OF WHEN TO EXPECT
SOLAR ACTIVITY IS IMPORTANT FOR
SAFELY SENDING OUR ASTRONAUTS
AND SPACE CRAFT THROUGH SPACE.
SUCH SPACE WEATHER ACTIVITY CAN
ACTUALLY PROTECT AGAINST ANOTHER
THREAT TO ASTRONAUTS, THE SUN'S
ACTIVITY CAN BLOCK DANGEROUS
COSMIC RAYS COMING FROM OTHER
STARS WHICH ARE CONSTANTLY
PRESENT, ILLUSTRATING THE
COMPLEXITY OF THE SYSTEM NASA
TRIES TO UNDERSTAND AND MITIGATE
FOR OUR SPACE TRAVELLERS.
OVER TIME, SEA CAPTAINS LEARNED
WHEN TO SAIL THEIR SHIPS AND
WHEN TO STAY IN HARSHER BASED ON
ACCUMULATED KNOWLEDGE OF THE
WEATHER.
IT'S MORE RISKY TO BE WATER IN
THE CARIBBEAN DURING HURRICANE
SEASON AND WANT TO AVOID THE
NORTHEAST PART OF AMERICA DURING
THE HEIGHT OF WINTER.
THE DOCTOR SAYS IT'S SIMILAR TO
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY.
WE'RE CONSTANTLY DEVELOPING AND
TESTING NEW MODELS TO PREDICT
SPACE WEATHER AND WE'RE
CONSTANTLY SEEKING NEW DATA TO
REFINE THOSE MODELS.
A HOST OF HELIOPHYSICS MISSIONS
OBSERVES SPACE NOT UNLIKE
TERRESTRIAL SENSORS WHICH WORK
IN TANDEM TO PAINT A BIG PICTURE
OF SPACE ENVIRONMENT IN
AUGUST 2018, NASA LAUNCHED THE
PARKER SOLAR PROBE TO HELP US
BETTER UNDERSTAND THE SUN'S
ACTIVITY, ESPECIALLY WHAT DRIVES
THE SOLAR WIND AND HOW ENERGETIC
PARTICLES GET ACCELERATED.
THIS DATA COULD BE USED TO
IMPROVE MODELS OF SPACE WEATHER
FORECASTING ULTIMATELY HELPING
US FIND NEW AND BETTER WAYS TO
SHIELD OUR SPACE CRAFT AND
PROTECT OUR ASTRONAUTS.
WHETHER IT WAS THE OCEAN'S
ANCIENT SHIPS TRAVEL THROUGH OR
THE SPACE, WE WILL ONE DAY
TRAVEL THROUGH, WE KNOW THIS,
KEEPING A WATCHFUL EYE ON
ENVIRONMENT AROUND US IS KEY TO
ENSURING SAFE PASSAGE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT
MATTERS IN SPACE, VISIT
SCIENCE.NASA.GOV.
>> NASA'S ARTEMIS PROGRAM WILL
RETURN AMERICANS TO THE MOON IN
A FEW YEARS AND HELP GET US
READY TO GO ON TO MARS.
AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE GEOLOGY OF
BOTH LOCATIONS WILL BE
IMPORTANT.
RECENTLY THE NEXT TO LAST MAN ON
THE MOON, APOLLO ASTRONAUT
HARRISON SCHMIDT AND ASTRONAUT
JESSICA WATT SONS MET UP AT THE
JOHNSON'S SPACE CENTER MOON ROCK
LAB SO THEY CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT
WE LEARNED FROM APOLLO CAN
INFORM OUR EFFORTS IN ARTEMIS.
>> CAN YOU TALK ABOUT KIND OF
WHAT THE -- WHAT WENT INTO YOUR
STRATEGY.
>> THE IDEA IS WE'RE ALL IN A
SPECTRUM OF NEW SAMPLES AND THAT
TURNED OUT PRETTY WELL.
AND IN FACT WE SAMPLED AT LEAST
WHAT WE CALL EJECTIVE FROM THREE
MAJOR SPOTS AND SAMPLED
FRAGMENTS FROM THE DEEP MANTLE
FROM THE MOON THAT WE DIDN'T
KNOW BACK IN TIME.
THAT'S ONLY RECENTLY WE FIGURED
THAT OUT AND WE ALSO THEN ADDED
TO OUR BROAD KNOWLEDGE AND
HISTORY OF THESE VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS THAT OCCURRED ON THE
MOON AT THE TIME.
NOW WHEN YOU GO TO THE MOON ON
THE WAY TO MARS, JESSICA, THAT
EDUCATION I THINK YOU'RE GOING
TO GET ON THE MOON WILL BE VERY
RELEVANT TO MARS.
BUT MARS OF COURSE DOES NOT HAVE
THAT MICROMETEORITE IMPACT AND
HAS A SMALL ATMOSPHERE AND THAT
FITTERS OUT THE SMALL IMPACT.
THE MAIN WEATHERING PROCESS ON
PRESIDENT MOON ARE THESE
MICROMETEORITE IMPACTS OF THE
SURFACE AND SOLAR WINDS MADE OF
HIGH PARTICLES SO THEY ERODE THE
SURFACES OF ROCKS AS WELL AS
CHANGE THE CHARACTER OF THE
LAYER ON THE MOON.
ON MARS THE DOMINANT EROSION
FORCES IS WIND.
IF YOU'RE USED TO STUDYING IT
YOU CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT WHAT
YOU'LL SEE ON MARS.
BUT ALL THAT COMES AFTER
STUDYING THE MOON.
IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MOON WE
WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND AND WE WOULD
SPECULATE WHAT IT MIGHT BE MOST
ANY ASTRONAUT WHO MADE A SPACE
WALK HAS A STORY TO TELL ABOUT
THE MOMENT OF THEIR FIRST
GLIMPSE OF THE EARTH WHILE
OUTSIDE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION.
MANY ASTRONAUTS REPORT FEELINGS
OF AWE AND WONDER WHEN THEY GET
THEIR FIRST LOOK AT THE ENTIRE
PLANET.
HERE MIKE TALKS ABOUT WHAT IT
WAS LIKE TO REALLY DEVOTE SOME
TIME FROM THAT PERCH 250 MILES
UP.
I TAUGHT ASTRONOMY TO BOY SCOUTS
AND I KNOW SOME STARS LIKE THE
BACK OF MY HAND AND I LIVED IN
THE MOJAVE DESERT FOR 8 YEARS
AND I WOULD GO AWAY FROM THE
LIGHTS THERE TO LAY ON TOP OF
CAR AND JUST SWIM IN THE
UNIVERSE.
I'VE ALWAYS LOVED THE NIGHT SKY
AND THE STARS.
ON MY VERY FIRST SHUTTLE FLIGHT,
BOTH OF MINE, WE TOOK SOME TIME.
I CONVINCED MY CREW TO TURN OFF
ALL THE LIGHTS IN THE COCKPIT.
LET OUR EYES DARK ADAPT AND JUST
SIT THERE PERCHED IN THE
WINDOWS.
ALL OF US WERE IN DIFFERENT
WINDOWS AND YOU COULD SEE IN THE
MILKY WAY IT'S JUST STUNNING.
OF COURSE THE LIGHTS DON'T
FLICKER, THEY ARE STEADY,
BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT COMING
THROUGH THE DUST AND ATMOSPHERE.
AS YOU ADJUST YOU START TO SEE
THE SUBTLE COLORS IN THE STARS,
REDDISH AND A LITTLE BIT OF
BLUISH, BLUE-WHITE.
AND THAT WAS REALLY NEAT FOR ME
TO SEE.
SPACE SHUTTLE WAS INCREDIBLY
BUSY.
YOU DON'T GET MUCH TIME TO LOOK
OUT THE WINDOWS.
IT WAS HAVING THE DOWN TIME
THOUGH.
YOU WORK REALLY HARD
MONDAY-FRIDAY.
IT WAS A BLUR.
WORKING LATE.
82 YOU ARE LIVING AT WORK.
THERE'S ALWAYS MORE TO DO.
AND THEN WEEKENDS IT SLOWS DOWN
SOME AND THERE'S SOME WORK AND
YOU WORK OUT AND HAVE A VIDEO
CONFERENCE WITH THE FAMILY.
BUT YOU DO HAVE SOME TIME FOR
SOME PROJECTS AND FOR LOOKING
OUT THE WINDOWS AND I REALLY GOT
INTO LOW LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY IN
PARTICULAR.
CUPOLA WAS FAIRLY NEW.
WE HAD FAIRLY NEW CAMERAS.
IT WAS GOOD AT CAPTURING LOW
LIGHT IMAGERY.
I WAS UP THERE DURING THE LAST
SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION.
I GRABBED A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE
AND SHE WAS ON THAT CREW AND SHE
HAD LIVED ON THE SPACE STATION A
FEW YEARS AGO BUT THE CUPOLA WAS
NEW SINCE SHE WAS THERE ALL THEY
HAD WAS SINGLE WINDOWS THAT
LOOKED STRAIGHT DOWN AND THERE
YOU'RE JUST WATCHING THE EARTH
GO BY 5 MILES A SECOND.
YOU HAVEN'T LOOKED OUT THE
CUPOLA YET.
I GOT SO MUCH DO.
NO, SANDY, YOU GOT TO SEE THIS.
WE WERE FLYING INTO THIS
ASTONISHING AURORA.
THIS RIPPLING PULSING RIVER OF
GREEN AND RED STRETCHING UP TO
OUR ALTITUDE, IT WAS JUST
BREATHTAKING AND I HAD NOT
PRACTICED ANY LOW LIGHT
PHOTOGRAPHY UP TO THAT POINT.
BUT I 92 YOU RIGHT THEN I HAD TO
FIGURE OUT HOW TO CAPTURE THIS
SO I STARTED WORKING ON THAT.
I CALLED THE PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERTS
ON THE GROUND AND SAID, OKAY,
WHAT ARE THE SETTINGS.
I NEED TO GET STARTED WERE THIS
AND PART OF THIS WAS
EXPERIMENTAL.
I HAD TO GET CLOSE AND STARTED
TRYING.
I GOT PICTURES OF ATLANTIS IN
THE NIGHT WITH A LITTLE BIT OF
THE GREEN AURORA OFF TO THE SIDE
AND I GOT A PICTURE OF THE
PLASMA TRAIL AS IT CAME OVER THE
YUCATAN HEADING TOWARD THE
LANDING IN FLORIDA AND IT'S JUST
FASCINATING.
THE MORE YOU LOOK THE MORE YOU
START TO SEE, SEE THE STARS LIKE
YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE.
I WOULD GIVE A LOT TO SEE THAT
VIEW AGAIN.
IF YOU WANT ANOTHER LOOK AT MANY
OF THE STORIES YOU SAW TODAY,
YOU CAN FIND THEM ON YOUTUBE AND
FACEBOOK.
ALONG WITH LOTS OF OTHER GREAT
FEATURES ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS.
BE SURE TO LOOK AROUND.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR GOOD
CONVERSATION CHECK OUT HOUSTON,
WE HAVE A PODCAST.
OUR WEEKLY SHOW TALKING TO FOLKS
INVOLVED IN ALL AREAS OF SPACE
EXPLORATION.
TODAY GARY JORDAN TALKS WITH OUR
COLLEAGUE DAN HEWITT ABOUT THE
EVOLUTION OF OUR COVERAGE OF
HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT MISSIONS AS
THEY OBSERVE EPISODE 200 OF THE
LITTLE PODCAST THAT COULD.
GO TO NASA.GOV/PODCAST FOR THIS
WEEK'S EPISODE AND PREVIOUS.
THE FULL LIBRARY IS THERE AND
ALSO ON APPLE PODCAST AND GOOGLE