Wide Field M42 Orion - For More Images Of The Cosmos Click Here

meanwhile, in Facebook’s PR department

Happy Valentine’s Day 💝💞💜💜💖💘💕❣️

Another year means another round of funny space themed Valentine’s Day cards! Send them to your boyfriend, girlfriend, friends, mom, dad, and siblings!

Oh and your pets…send them to your pets too. 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

(Ten episodes later…)

Bones clearly made it his mission to have an equally damaging influence on Chekov’s personality

mittens did such a good job

Science Fun Fact.

Do you think it’s possible that Pluto is an escaped moon of Neptune, and if not, why not? The opinions I can find on the matter leave me a bit confused.

Well, first of all I’m not an expert and my explanation may be wrong. I’ve heard of it, but it seems that hypothesis is not very likely. If pluto has orbited Neptune before, it would have to have a phenomenon with an extremely large energy so that Pluto would leave the Neptunian orbit and manage to escape.

Although at some point the orbits of Pluto and Neptune “ get close ”, it is still far enough away that they do not interact, and Pluto has an inclined orbit compared to Neptune. These factors make it even more difficult.

Galaxy NGC 7331

Image credit: NASA/ESA, Hubble

What's your opinion of the Multiverse Theory? Conceptually, it's simultaneously terrifying and glorious in my opinion. On another note, do you watch How the Universe Works?

It is a surprising thing, though I believe we are far from knowing it scientifically. For lack of techniques or technology to prove the existence or not of the multiverse, this creates two sides of the same coin, on the one hand we can sitar science and the other on fantasy, spiritism, or science fiction. For example, string theory says that we would have more dimensions in which we already know. But honestly… as my blog is related to science, I think it best I do not present my opinion here… I just think skepticism can blind you sometimes. And on the second question, yes, I’ve already watched. Sorry if I did not answer your question in the right way.

Exploring an Asteroid Without Leaving Earth

This 45 day mission – which begins Feb. 1, 2018 – will help our researchers learn how isolation and close quarters affect individual and group behavior. This study at our Johnson Space Center prepares us for long duration space missions, like a trip to an asteroid or even to Mars.

The Human Research Exploration Analog (HERA) that the crew members will be living in is one compact, science-making house. But unlike in a normal house, these inhabitants won’t go outside for 45 days. Their communication with the rest of planet Earth will also be very limited, and they won’t have any access to internet. So no checking social media, kids!

The only people they will talk with regularly are mission control and each other.

The HERA XVI crew is made up of 2 men and 2 women, selected from the Johnson Space Center Test Subject Screening (TSS) pool. The crew member selection process is based on a number of criteria, including criteria similar to what is used for astronaut selection. The four would-be astronauts are:

Kent Kalogera

Jennifer Yen

Erin Hayward

Gregory Sachs

What will they be doing?

The crew are going on a simulated journey to an asteroid, a 715-day journey that we compress into 45 days. They will fly their simulated exploration vehicle around the asteroid once they arrive, conducting several site surveys before 2 of the crew members will participate in a series of virtual reality spacewalks.

They will also be participating in a suite of research investigations and will also engage in a wide range of operational and science activities, such as growing and analyzing plants and brine shrimp, maintaining and “operating” an important life support system, exercising on a stationary bicycle or using free weights, and sharpening their skills with a robotic arm simulation. 

During the whole mission, they will consume food produced by the Johnson Space Center Food Lab – the same food that the astronauts enjoy on the International Space Station – which means that it needs to be rehydrated or warmed in a warming oven.

This simulation means that even when communicating with mission control, there will be a delay on all communications ranging from 1 to 5 minutes each way.

A few other details:

The crew follows a timeline that is similar to one used for the space station crew.

They work 16 hours a day, Monday through Friday. This includes time for daily planning, conferences, meals and exercise.

Mission: February 1, 2018 - March 19, 2018

But beware! While we do all we can to avoid crises during missions, crews need to be able to respond in the event of an emergency. The HERA crew will conduct a couple of emergency scenario simulations, including one that will require them to respond to a decrease in cabin pressure, potentially finding and repairing a leak in their spacecraft.

Throughout the mission, researchers will gather information about living in confinement, teamwork, team cohesion, mood, performance and overall well-being. The crew members will be tracked by numerous devices that each capture different types of data.

Learn more about the HERA mission HERE. 

Explore the HERA habitat via 360-degree videos HERE.

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