NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  

Hello! Thank you for your interest in subscribing to my e-news. The Director News will cover timely topics in and around the Johnson Space Center. I hope you find it informative and entertaining.

Dr. Ellen Ochoa,
JSC Director

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Greetings:

I’m happy to report that in May NASA transferred ownership of one of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to Space Center Houston, Johnson Space Center’s visitor center, for permanent display. NASA 905, one of two modified Boeing 747 aircraft used for approach and landing tests early in the Space Shuttle Program and later to ferry operational orbiters, will carry on a special educational mission and provide an exciting, unique attraction for the Houston area.

International Space Station (ISS): I want to remind everyone of the medical advances possible because of the physical conditions space (and our orbiting laboratory) provides scientists. Microgravity has been shown to have many effects on cell growth and function, including gene expression, cell signaling and cytoskeletal organization. In April’s Nature Reviews Cancer journal, a review paper describes 40 years of cell biology in space. Research approaches derived from space-based investigations have advanced our knowledge of tumor biology and informed new anticancer technologies and therapeutic strategies.  

Orion: In May, the Orion Program began testing the structural integrity of the crew module that will launch into space next year for the Exploration Flight Test-1 mission. The tests, which took place at Kennedy Space Center, use hydraulic cylinders to slowly apply pressure to various areas of the vehicle to simulate the loads it will be exposed to at different phases of the mission. Testing included different phases simulating launch, ascent, launch abort, launch-abort system separation, re-entry and landing.

Human Research Program: NASA’s Human Research Program and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute of Houston will fund 23 proposals to help investigate questions about astronaut health and performance on future deep space exploration missions. Two proposals originate from JSC, including one on the delivery of probiotics in the Space Food System.

New ISS Command and Crew: Expedition 35 crew members Chris Hadfield, Tom Marshburn and Roman Romanenko returned safely home May 13.  Before leaving, Hadfield turned over command to Expedition 36 Commander Pavel Vinogradov.  He, along with Alexander Misurkin and NASA’s Chris Cassidy, welcomed new crew members on May 29: Karen Nyberg from NASA, cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikin, and Luca Parmitano from the European Space Agency.  Karen, a Ph.D. mechanical engineer, will be tweeting under the handle @AstroKarenN, and she has a Pinterest site where she creates boards such as “Hair and Space,” and “Simple Joys of Earth.”  Mother to a preschooler, Karen loves to quilt and sew and plans to find some time to do both during her six-month stay on station.

Final Thoughts: Find it difficult to stay informed of the latest milestones going on within the agency? You can start by following a few specialized NASA social media sites. For instance, the ISS Program has Twitter accounts for research (@ISS_Research) and space station astronauts (@NASA_Astronauts). In the months to come, I’ll be sharing more ways you can stay connected to NASA, our world and the solar system we’re navigating.