Blogs

The CYGNSS constellation was launched on 15 Dec 2016 and the eight spacecraft have been going through engineering commissioning, in which each of their subsystems is tested and adjusted for best performance. One important milestone was reached on 4 Jan 2017 when we made our “first light” science measurements. This happened the first time we […]

Advanced Plant Experiments (APEX)-04: The crew configured the Veggie facility for the next APEX-04 Petri Plate sample for a four-day growing cycle. After the four days of growth, the petri plate will be inserted into the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR) Light Microscopy Module (LMM) facility for detailed imaging. The APEX-04 (Epigenetic change in Arabidopsis thaliana in response to …

In Hawaii, land of palm trees, pineapples, and year-round surfing, a full-blown blizzard hit last week. The early March storm brought more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) to the top of Mauna Kea volcano, leading authorities to shut the road to the peak. The snow was all the more surprising given how little has fallen […]

Fluid Shifts Chibis Measurements, Day 1: The 48S crew member performed the first of two days of operations in the Russian Segment conducting the Return minus 45 day (R-45) Fluid Shifts operations. The subject donned the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP/Chibis) device while the operator, with ground support in Moscow, assisted in the medical monitoring. …

New videos of lightning from the GOES-16 satellite and a blue jet from the International Space Station are spectacular.

On Wednesday, March 8 around 6:30 p.m. EST the SAGE III Instrument Payload was successfully installed on the Nadir Viewing Platform at ELC-4 on the outside of the space station. The mission operations team confirmed that electricity was flowing and the survival heaters were on with good temperature readings. The next step is activation which […]

The crew is harvesting plants today grown on the International Space Station that will be returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon. Also, a variety of student experiments submitted from schools across the United States were activated inside the orbital laboratory. Dragon is due to return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean …

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations:  Overnight, Robotics Ground Controllers unstowed the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) Instrument Panel from the SPDM Enhanced Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) Temporary Platform (EOTP) and installed it on the SAGE Nadir Viewing Platform (NVP).  They then maneuvered the SSRMS to support surveys of the SAGE IP, the EXpedite the …

Your challenge for the March puzzler is to tell us what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, what the image shows, and why the scene is interesting.