HOUSTON STATION ON SPACE TO GROUND
WELCOME TO SPACE TO GROUND, I AM KAYLA LAFRANCE. THIS WEEK THE CREW IS PREPARING FOR
A HOLIDAY DELIVERY AND DREAMING OF SUGAR PLUMS. CARGO DRAGON IS IN THE FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR ITS
TARGETED LAUNCH AT 5:06 A.M. EASTERN ON DECEMBER 21ST. THIS IS SPACEX’s 24TH CARGO MISSION.
SET TO LAUNCH ON A FALCON 9 FROM LAUNCH COMPLEX 39A AT NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
IN FLORIDA. AFTER REACHING ORBIT, THE CARGO DRAGON WILL THEN DOCK WITH THE STATION THE FOLLOWING DAY
AT 4:30 AM EASTERN.
SPX-24 WILL DELIVER THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF GOODS TO THE STATION, INCLUDING CREW
SUPPLIES AND A VARIETY OF NEW SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS. SUCH AS 4 NEW CUBESATS,
A NEW PROTEIN CRYSTAL GROWTH STUDY AIMED TO IMPROVE THE DELIVERY OF CANCER TREATMENT DRUGS,
A HANDHELD BIOPRINTER THAT WILL TEST TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD ONE DAY BE USED TO PRINT TISSUE
DIRECTLY ON WOUNDS TO ACCELERATE HEALING; AND SEVERAL EXPERIMENTS FROM UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
AS PART OF THE STUDENT PAYLOAD OPPORTUNITY WITH CITIZEN SCIENCE OR (SPOCS) PROGRAM.
BE SURE TO FOLLOW ALONG ON NASA TV, NASA.GOV, OR THE NASA APP AS WE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THIS MISSION
LEADING UP TO OUR FULL LIVE COVERAGE OF LAUNCH AND SUBSEQUENT DOCKING.
MANY OF US DREAM OF WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO LIVE IN SPACE. THOUGH VERY FEW OF US GET TO
ACTUALLY DREAM IN SPACE. WHILE LIVING ON THE SPACE STATION, THE CREW WILL EXPERIENCE SUN RISE AND SUN
SET 16 TIMES A DAY, THIS CAN CAUSE DISRUPTIONS TO THEIR CIRCADIAN RHYTHM AND ABILITY TO SLEEP.
THE DREAMS EXPERIMENT AIMS TO STUDY THIS CHANGE IN THE ASTRONAUTS SLEEP PATTERNS
AND TO EXAM HOW THEIR MINDS AND BODIES ADAPT TO SLEEPING IN MICROGRAVITY.
ESA ASTRONAUT MATTHIAS MAUER, WILL BE THE NEXT CREWMEMBER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DREAM EXPERIMENT.
MAUER WILL BE WEARING A SLEEP HEADBAND FOR SEVERAL NIGHTS THAT FITTED WITH DRY ELECTRODES AND SENSOR.
THE HEADBAND WILL OBSERVE HOW HE ADAPTS AND HOW HIS SLEEP PATTERNS CHANGES WHILE IN SPACE.
THE IMPACT OF MICROGRAVITY ON SLEEP IS A KEY CHALLENGE FACING FUTURE LONG-DURATION MISSIONS TO
THE MOON AND MARS. THE RESULTS OF DREAMS WILL HELP PLAN STRATEGIES TO HELP FUTURE SPACE EXPLORES.
TODAY’S ASKNASA QUESTION COMES FROM GRACE RITTER ON TWITTER
WHO ASKED HOW DO ASTRONAUTS KEEP CLEAN IN SPACE?
THE CREW KEEP CLEAN IN SPACE THE SAME WAY WE DO HERE ON EARTH.
THEY HAVE DAILY HYGIENE ACTIVITIES TO BRUSH THEIR TEETH, COMB THEIR HAIR,
AND WASH THEIR HANDS AND FACE. THEY HAVE WEEKLY TASKS WHERE THEY BATHE AND WASH THEIR HAIR, AND
THEY EVEN GIVE EACH OTHER HAIRCUTS. Thinking about a third career in haircutting.
THE ASTRONAUTS WIPE THEIR BODIES CLEAN BY USING A WET TOWEL, AND WASH THEIR
HAIR BY USING WATERLESS SHAMPOO. AFTER WASHING, THEY’LL USE DRY TOWELS TO DRY THEMSELVES OFF.
THEY ALSO HAVE TO COMPLETE WEEKLY HOUSEKEEPING TASKS ON BOARD THE ISS
WHERE THEY VACUUM ALL AIR VENTS AND FILTERS, AND SMOKE DETECTORS. THEN THEY DISINFECT
AND WIPE DOWN SURFACES THAT ARE FREQUENTLY TOUCHED THROUGHOUT THE DAY BY THE CREW.
AREAS LIKE HANDHOLDS, THE GALLEY AND ITS TABLE.. TYPICALLY, THERE ARE 6 HOURS A
WEEK SPENT ON KEEPING THEIR STATION HOME AND CLEAN AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT.
AND THAT’S SPACE TO GROUND FOR THIS WEEK. THANKS FOR WATCHING. WE’LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!