Blogs

Since our last post, our team has moved an hour south to the small village of Weyakwin, where the Philion fire burned last year. There is a lot of logging Weyakwin, and we are very interested in the interactions between fires and logging. We are comparing burned forests that grew back after people cut trees, […]

Marrow Breath and Ambient Air Sample Collection: Upon waking this morning, the crew took breath and ambient air samples for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Marrow experiment which investigates the effect of microgravity on human bone marrow. It is believed that microgravity, like long-duration bed rest on Earth, has a negative effect on bone marrow …

Expedition 47 is preparing the Orbital ATK Cygnus space freighter for its June 14 departure from the International Space Station. The Canadarm2 robotic arm will maneuver towards Cygnus and grapple the cargo craft before unberthing it from the Unity module and releasing it next Tuesday. The crew is reviewing gear that will be installed in …

Cognition Test Battery Operations: The crew completed pre-test questions and a battery of cognitive tests with performance feedback. Individualized Real-Time Neurocognitive Assessment Toolkit for Space Flight Fatigue (Cognition) is a battery of tests that measure how spaceflight-related physical changes, such as microgravity and lack of sleep, can affect cognitive performance. Cognition includes ten brief computerized …

A heavy load transport truck from Tillett Heavy Hauling in Titusville, Florida, arrives at the north entrance gate at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the first half of the D-level work platforms, D south, for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The platform will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) …

BEAM’s hatches have been closed completing crew operations for the month. Meanwhile, a pair of spaceships is also being packed for departure this month. After three days of operations inside BEAM, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module has been outfitted with sensors and other hardware. The next crew entry into the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module is …

Sometimes, science can be amazing. Sometimes, scientists can be amazing. When these two elements come together, anticipate great things. The North Atlantic Aerosol and Marine Ecosystems (NAAMES) study is an interdisciplinary investigation of planktonic ecosystems, the processes that over the course of each year recreate the largest phytoplankton bloom on Earth, and the link between […]

Hangashore Day As of the writing of this BLog it is the day before landfall. Spirits are high and writing a blog is not my first activity choice and by the time this BLog will be posted I plan to be in recovery stage from the Cruise Apres Party. That being said I am happy […]

I have the uncanny privilege of penning this blog on the very day that we return to terra firma. In other words, we’re finally back on land and you expect me to write about the cruise?!?  It is true that most everyone’s thoughts are bent toward home and whatever awaits them there (kids, family, […]

Waking to a dry morning, I sluggishly dawdled to the water dispenser where my housemate was staring at a strong column of ants. “They’re back in force. We should do something about them.” It was a predictable biological event pattern – one that happens whenever there is a long spell of dry heat. I thought […]