Rodent Research: The Crew set up and configured the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) and installed various tools, supplies, and equipment in preparation for future planned Rodent Research activities. Micro-8: Gerst terminated Micro-8 Group Activation Packs (GAPs) C,D,E,F,G. GAP’s D,E,F,G will be returned to Commercial Generic Biologic Apparatus -5 (CGBA-5) to await packing for SpaceX-4 return. …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 09/29/14
Micro-8: Over the weekend, Gerst terminated Micro-8 Group Activation Packs (GAPs) A & B. GAP B was returned to Commercial Generic Biologic Apparatus -5 (CGBA-5) and GAP A was inserted into the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER) frozen cold stowage. Micro is a fundamental biology experiment that will expand our understanding of …
September Puzzler
UPDATE (October 3, 2014) – The answer to this puzzler was posted here. Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The September 2014 puzzler is above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, what the image […]
ISS Daily Summary Report – 09/27/14
Zebra Fish: With the arrival of 40 Soyuz (40S), Wilmore transferred Zebrafish from the Fish Carrier to Fish fixation Aquariums to start the experiment in the Aquatic Habitat. This experiment investigates if the atrophy of muscles under the condition of microgravity also occurs in zebrafish and why their atrophy occurs in the microgravity. Dosimeter Installation: …
Help Us Make a Satellite Version of the ABCs
As a side project, I have been filing away images to make a satellite version of the ABCs. I have most letters now, but I could still use help tracking down good examples of B, G, F, K, and Z. Since I first posted about the search, there is a new browsing tool available — called […]
Goodbye Groundwater: GPS and Satellites Reveal an Oft-Unseen Aspect of Drought
Drought-induced depletion of groundwater is no longer an issue that’s out of sight, out of mind. Research by scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, published this week in Science, describes a GPS technique used to measure drought-induced uplift of land in the western United States. The uplift measurements were used, in turn, to calculate the deficit […]
ISS Daily Summary Report – 09/25/14
40 Soyuz (40S) Launch and Dock: 40S launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 3:25pm CDT today with Barry Wilmore, Elena Serova, and AlexanderSamokutyaev onboard. After orbital insertion, Mission Control Center Moscow confirmed that the port side solar array had not deployed. However, battery charging was sufficient with only one array (Starboard) deployed and the vehicle …
Second Fireball Occurs Over Northern Michigan
On Tuesday, Sept. 23, a second fireball occurred about 40 minutes after the fireball in Tennessee. The Michigan fireball is close to the edge of the camera because the meteor was at extreme range, over 200 miles away, for the camera. The Michigan fireball was produced by a piece of a comet over 2 feet across, …
Fireball Over Southern Tennessee
At 8:26:38 pm CDT on Tuesday, Sept. 23, a 2 inch piece of an asteroid entered the atmosphere above the town of Lutts in southern Tennessee. Moving almost due west at a speed of 46,300 miles per hour, it traveled some 52 miles before burning up 25 miles above the Tennessee farmland. At its peak, …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 09/24/14
SpaceX-4 Dragon Cargo Operations: The crew began cargo operations today by removing the items located in the vehicle’s center stack. An estimated 55 hours of Crew time is required to complete cargo operations in the coming weeks. MICRO 8: Gerst transferred the Commercial Generic Biologic Apparatus (CGBA), containing Micro-8 Group Activation Packs (GAPs) from Dragon …