Space Team Online Presents:

International Space Awareness Day Forum

Date: May 27, 1999

Featuring: NASA and Space Science Experts

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 1 - 03:30:42 ]
Hello to our early arriving forum participants! Currently, the time here in California, USA is just about 3:30 a.m. PDT. But we're definitely excited about today's special event!

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 2 - 03:30:59 ]
Today's International Space Day Forum will begin at 4:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (11:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time). Be sure you have read each expert's profile, at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/chats/#May24 to prepare your questions.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 3 - 03:31:13 ]
Once the forum begins, the experts will attempt to answer as many of your questions as they can, but PLEASE be patient. Today's forum will be moderated to allow the experts to keep up with our questions. This means only a few questions will be posted to the chat room at a time. DON'T WORRY if your questions do not appear on your screen immediately. They will be posted in the chat room as other questions are answered by the experts.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 4 - 03:31:27 ]
When you sign off from the forum, be sure to take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us. For your convenience, you may use our online feedback forms at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats. Your comments are important to us!

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 5 - 03:31:47 ]
Remember to enter "Your Name" in the box provided. Be sure to include where you are chatting from, such as "Maria/Venezuela." Once you're in the chat room, please say hello! :-)

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 8 - 03:59:50 ]
RE: [EmilyNelson/GRC] Good morning, Oran. Are you awake yet?
Well, my fingers are moving. But my brain . . . ;-)

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 9 - 04:01:30 ]
Hello and welcome to today's International Space Day Forum! For the next several hours, we will have various experts online for approximately one hour to answer your questions. Our first NASA experts are Emily Nelson from NASA Glenn Research Center, and Luis Rodriguez from NASA Johnson Space Center.

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 10 - 04:01:34 ]
OK, I'm ready to go. Good morning, Luis!

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 11 - 04:01:44 ]
And now, here are Emily and Luis to answer your questions.

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 16 - 04:08:44 ]
RE: [ArielWYESRPANAMA] Hi! Good morning captain! My first question: How long is the desk process to place a experiment into the shuttle? How much it cost to the DoD?
To respond to Ariel: It takes a long time, usually several years. The experiment has to be defined, reviewed by a panel of experts, built, tested, and certified for flight on the Shuttle. One of the experiments I'm working on now has been in process for 3 years, and will most likely fly on Space Station in another couple of years.

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 18 - 04:09:06 ]
RE: [Ariel/WYESRPANAMA] Emily. What kind of software do you use to design or simulate the experiments? AutoCAD? How is the software environment? What type of computer do you use? Do you simulate Temperature, light and noise parameters?
And with regard to software, there's a whole range that must be used. Certainly some of it is done with things like AutoCAD to design the experimental facility. There are also other programs that need to be custom written (usually) to do things like data acquisition and processing. For example, you might need to control the temperature or measure it, or you might need to look at high-speed video and track particles.

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 21 - 04:10:59 ]
RE: [WYESR/BarranquillaColombiaBettyHernndez] Good morning Oran! Please say hello to Engineer Luis Rodriguez and Emily Nelson.
Good morning!

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 24 - 04:19:47 ]
RE: [WYESR/BarranquillaColombiaBettyHernndez] Hello,Emily. We saw in your infomation about your research "g-jitter".Please explain it us.
Whew! That's a big question! Well, the basic idea of doing experiments in space is to take advantage of a low-gravity environment. Experiments are affected by gravity in many different ways, but one of the ways is through what is called "buoyancy-driven convection". That's just a fancy term to say that, if you have a fluid that's heavy sitting on top of a fluid that's lighter, the heavy fluid will tend to sink and the light fluid will tend to rise, causing some convection in the fluid. The strength of the convection (how vigorously it's moving) depends on the magnitude of the gravity, and on the direction in which gravity is acting. Fluids can't distinguish between gravity and other accelerations -- it's all the same thing to them. So, in a spacelab, you may not have such big accelerations caused by gravity, but you do have accelerations caused by thruster firings, astronauts bouncing off the walls and so on. This means that the acceleration that the fluid is getting hit with changes in time, both in terms of magnitude and direction. This leads to some interesting phenomena. The trick is to predict how experiments will behave in this multiple-component acceleration.

[ Luis - 38 - 04:30:22 ]
RE: [WYESR/BarranquillaColombiaBettyHernndez] Hola Capitan Luis!!!! Ahora estamos desde la sede de Voz Infantil, dentro de dos horas estaremos desde el Planetario de Barranquilla y la Universidad del Norte. Mi pregunta es: Expliquenos mas acerca de la camara IMAX en el programa espacial y que proyectos hay con ella?
Of course..con mucho gusto. The Imax camera has been flying aboard the Shuttle and documenting all kind of activities in space....I guess you have seen some IMAX movies. Well now we have a camera dedicated for documenting the assembly of the International Space Station. It will be great to see in 3D that spectacular development. Gracias for your interes!

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 41 - 04:32:44 ]
RE: [Oran/NASAChatHost] Emily, I think sharing what you know about upcoming Mars missions would be great!
OK. One of the biggest issues about going to Mars or any other extraterrestrial exploration is that it's very expensive to bring lots of stuff with us from Earth. It adds a whole bunch of mass which has to be accelerated off the face of the planet. This has caused some smart people to think about how we can exploit the resources that are available on Mars, the moon, asteroids -- wherever we're going. What do you need to send people out into space? Some important things are: oxygen to breathe, water to drink, and fuel to burn. As it turns out, the Martian atmosphere has some water vapor in it. Some people are working on ways to efficiently get it out of the atmosphere so that there is water available. Another interesting thing is that the Martian atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide, made up of carbon and oxygen. One thought is to bring some hydrogen from earth, and using a special process, combine it with the Martian atmosphere to create methane -- which is a fuel! Isn't that amazing? There are other things to think about -- Mars has some very fierce winds, and there is lots of dust in the air. So, one of the big issues is how to filter out the dust. These things that I was talking about -- extracting water and creating methane -- we would plan to send up a robotic mission a year or two before people come, and once they get there, voila! They have fuel, water and oxygen waiting for them!

[ Luis - 42 - 04:33:02 ]
RE: [WYESR/BarranquillaColombiaBettyHernndez] Hola Capitan Luis!!!! Ahora estamos desde la sede de Voz Infantil, dentro de dos horas estaremos desde el Planetario de Barranquilla y la Universidad del Norte. Mi pregunta es: Expliquenos mas acerca de la camara IMAX en el programa espacial y que proyectos hay con ella?
Betty en Barranquilla...suerte en sus actividades hoy en el Planetario y la Universidad del Norte. Un saludo muy cordial a todos los participantes. Por favor recuerden que hace 30 años Neil Armstrong dio los primeros pasos en la luna. Hoy al final del siglo XXI ustedes y WYESR estamos tambien dando unos pasos gigantescos en la education espacial....sigamos adelante...TRABAJANDO, TRABAJANDO.

[ Luis - 48 - 04:37:58 ]
RE: [Margarita/WYESRBarranquilla/Colombia] Hello Oran, Luis and Emily!! Emily: wow...did you edited law books? I am a Law student in Colombia. I know this is not your subject, but that experience has influenced in your life or professional work in some way? How can you simulate in a computer some enviroment that you only find on the space?
Hello, Margarita-Colombia. No have not edited law books...but I have edited quite a few documents and technical publications. The more you edit the reacher you get...there is so much to learn..Of course I'd like to get in the law field,,but It must be after I have all the fun I can get from the space career. What I do I can share with you and all student interested in space exploration. We have quite a few sophisticated software programs that simulate any activity in space. Some of the (virtual relaity) are so real..that you could say you were in space. Gracias por su visita.. Suerte

[ Luis - 49 - 04:41:28 ]
RE: [Margarita/WYESRBarranquilla/Colombia] Hola Capitán!! Yo también estoy desde mi casa y muy pronto nos trasladaremos a un gran lugar donde tendremos muchos estudiantes. Mi hermano Roberto Salas pregunta que le corresponde a usted hacer como ingeniero de seguridad? No es un trabajo de mucha responsabilidad?
Hola Roberto.. Seguridad Tecnica demanda mucha responsabilidad. Desde luego la responsabilidad no es tan estresante cuando se esta preparado para confrontar la mayoria de las situaciones que se nos presentas. Lo mas importante es siempre tener en cuenta el proposito de Seguridad ...la seguridad de la vida del astronauta, la nave, y los equipos o instrumentacion..Gracias por su pregunta

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 55 - 04:44:36 ]
RE: [Margarita/WYESRBarranquilla/Colombia] Hello Oran, Luis and Emily!! Emily: wow...did you edited law books? I am a Law student in Colombia. I know this is not your subject, but that experience has influenced in your life or professional work in some way? How can you simulate in a computer some enviroment that you only find on the space?
Hi there, Margarita! You sure did read my bio carefully -- thank you! Getting some familiarity with the law has certainly influenced me. Solid legal thinking is based on logic and precedent. It's like putting together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, while maybe slipping in a piece or two that may or may not fit convincingly. That's a very similar process to basic science. You pose a question, assemble prior knowledge, throw in some logical guesses and try to make sense of the solution. With regard to computer simulation, we start from basic principles: we can never really destroy mass and energy, for example. It may change form -- if you rub your hands together, the energy you expend in rubbing can be converted to frictional energy, which heats them up (hopefully!) -- but if you do the accounting right, these basic principles are true. So we make some informed guesses as to the ways these conserved properties are transported or otherwise change and can arrive at sets of numerical equations that describe the transport. Once you have written things down in a mathematical form that makes sense, you can write a numerical code on a computer that models those equations. The nifty thing is that, once you a code that works, it's easy to change things, like the gravity or acceleration that acts on a fluid. Then you can just sit back and watch the simulation. As you process the results, especially when working with the space environment for which there are still a lot of unknowns, you must always ask yourself the questions: does this make sense? can I be missing something? what assumptions have I made that could skew the results?

[ Luis - 56 - 04:45:34 ]
RE: [Oran/NASAChatHost] Manoel, that's great. We're happy you could join us and hope you are enjoying the forum today!
Welcome Manoel.. Come esta? Gracias por su visita. If you have any question please...send us your questions.

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 57 - 04:46:49 ]
RE: [Margarita/WYESRBarranquilla/Colombia] Emily...has been difficult for you as a woman to work in NASA...people usually think it is hard for us to work in such an enterprise!
I have to admit, it has not been very difficult for me to work here. NASA works very hard to make sure that women and minorities are valued and appreciated as full, contributing members of the team. It might be different in the corporate world.

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 59 - 04:48:36 ]
RE: [WYESR/BarranquillaColombiaAidaHernandez] How long will it take to provide Mars with fuel, water and oxygen? And How much will be necessary for Nasa projects?
That's a very good question, and I don't know if we have exact answers to that right now. The estimates that I have seen indicate that it would take about a year to manufacture enough fuel for allowing astronauts on Mars to jet around on the planet, and, most importantly, come back! But that depends on some guesses about how well we can make the fuel, which is not a settled issue.

[ Luis - 60 - 04:48:53 ]
RE: [WYESR/BarranquillaColombiaAidaHernandez] How long will it take to provide Mars with fuel, water and oxygen? And How much will be necessary for Nasa projects?
No soy experto en la materia relacionada con Marte. i will sayt we are a few years away from reaching that stage. We have to ,first, investigate the compositionof the planet and the posibilitu of subsistance, then we could think about colonization. Some of the materials on the Mars surfece may be used for fuel. Some coul provide O2, H. So stay tuned , it will probably be your turn to do that type of exploration.

[ Luis - 62 - 04:51:07 ]
RE: [Manoel/Brazil] Gracias Luis. Esta e´ nossa primeira participacao. Vamos estar mais observando. This is the firts thime in this chat.
Manoel..gracias..por favor conctact WYESR at elcapi2000@hotmail.com if you want to continue participating on space activities along with other countries around the world .. Bienvenido

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 65 - 04:55:19 ]
As a reminder, be sure to share your thoughts with us at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats.

[ EmilyNelson/GRC - 67 - 04:56:49 ]
Bye, all, and thanks for listening!

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 68 - 04:56:52 ]
We will now be ending our chat with Luis Roriguez and Emily Nelson. We invite you to return to the chat room in one hour as we continue our forum with our NASA experts. Thank you for joining us for our first hour of today's International Space Day Forum. We hope to hear from you later today.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 69 - 05:55:23 ]
Hello to our early arrivals. We will begin the second hour of today's forum in about 5 minutes. Remember, only a few questions will be posted to the chat room at a time. PLEASE choose your questions CAREFULLY, and LIMIT your questions to only a few at a time. This will help our experts keep uo with us. Stay tuned!

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 73 - 06:09:31 ]
Now, we would like to introduce our next panel of experts. They are: Elizabeth Bloomer, NASA Johnson Space Center; Tony Bruins, NASA Johnson Space Center; Roberto Galvez , NASA Johnson Space Center; Diane McMahon, NASA Johnson Space Center, Luis Rodriguez, NASA Johnson Space Center; and Karina Shook, NASA Johnson Space Center.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 74 - 06:10:06 ]
Experts, please say hello to everyone! :-)

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 78 - 06:10:59 ]
RE: [Oran/NASAChatHost] Experts, please say hello to everyone! :-)
Hello!

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 79 - 06:14:29 ]
RE: [juank/wyesrpanama] Hi! my name is juan carlos and I want to know what is your favorite thing about working on NASA?
I love working at NASA. Here at the Johnson Space Center we do things that are not done anywhere else in the world. We train astronauts, work in the mission control center, design new things for space & for improving life on earth.

[ DianeMcMahon/JSC - 85 - 06:17:39 ]
RE: [Melody/WYESRPanama] Hello, I'm Melody. I would like to know if you'll ever experiment reproduction of humans and/or animals in Space.
Hello, Melody - Right now, the focus is on learning more about how different organisms react to being in zero gravity. Reproduction would be included and some studies have already been done on plants, etc. Probably, in the future, reproduction will get greater study as we think about very long stays in space.

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 87 - 06:18:54 ]
RE: [DAFNEHENRY/WYESRPANAMA] what happens when a body is attracted to a black hole? What do you think about building a machine that allows observation of new frequences?
A black hole actually draws things into it. And scientists don't know what would really happen to something if it were drawn in a black hole. All we can do is guess. As far as new machines - we actually have a new x-ray telescope called Chandra which will be launched on STS-93 in July of this year. Using Chandra we should be able to "see" black holes for the first time. Right now using Hubble we can guess where black holes are by the absense of light, but we can't see them.....

[ TonyBruins/JSC - 88 - 06:19:39 ]
RE: [Yany/WYESRPanama] Hello, I´m Yany . I want to know sunlight affectthe sight of astronauts in space. If it does, how they protect themselves?
Astronauts eyes are protected by visors on the helmet. The suit material which is called the Thermal Material Garment protects them from radiation.

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 98 - 06:22:53 ]
RE: [laura/Romania] This is my first participation at the chat and my first question is about magnetical storms.What are these storms and an they din which way can they disturb your activity?
Are you referring to magnetic storms on the sun, or just the fluxuations of the magnetic field around earth?

[ TonyBruins/JSC - 99 - 06:23:25 ]
RE: [SilvijaKocuvanwyesrromania] Hello friends! We are wery ciourious about how you train the non gravity position for your astrounauts on the earth of course?
Astronauts are trained in the Neutral Bouyancy Laboratory which is a huge swimming pool. They simulate weightlessness by during the activities for a spaceflight in the water.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 100 - 06:24:27 ]
RE: [Roger/WYERSPANAMA] HI ORAN, My first question is for Karina Shook, I wanted to know, form your experience, what do you recommend us young people livin in a third-world country, if we are interested on Astronomy and we don't have it in our science courses?
Roger, I think the best thing I can recommend is for you to study hard in your own country, and then go to a University that has the subjects you're interested in. You might find a university in your own country that offers the subjects you want, or you could try a university in another country, maybe even the United States. The most important thing is to do as well as you can wherever you are, and then seek out opportunities for yourself. Good luck!

[ TonyBruins/JSC - 101 - 06:25:39 ]
RE: [LISSY/WYESRPANAMA] Hello to everybody! My question is: how do architects design biodomes and what factors do they take in consideration before doing a sketch of the biodome or other space projects?
The first thing that is taken in consideration when designing anything for astronauts is to design starting with the human. This is called human-centered design.

[ LuisRodriguez/JSC - 102 - 06:26:13 ]
RE: [DAFNEHENRY/WYESRPANAMA] what happens when a body is attracted to a black hole? What do you think about building a machine that allows observation of new frequences?
Dafne. I'm not quite sure how to answer your question. We I could answer your question

[ TonyBruins/JSC - 103 - 06:26:33 ]
RE: [JANICE/WYESRPANAMA] hello to everyone.My first question is what kind of fuel do you use
Liquid oxygen is use as Shuttle fuel.

[ DianeMcMahon/JSC - 106 - 06:27:32 ]
RE: [SilvijaKocuvanwyesrromania] Hello friends! We are wery ciourious about how you train the non gravity position for your astrounauts on the earth of course?
Good morning, Silvija - One of the ways we train astronauts to work in a zero gravity environment is in our big swimming pool here at Johnson Space Center, which we call the Wet Facility. If you've done any swimming underwater, you know how light you feel. This is somewhat like the "lightness" that astronauts feel when they are in space. By working under the water, they gain some experience that is helpful when they're on a mission. Another way astronauts get some training for zero gravity is by flying in an airplane that does what is called "parabolic dives." For brief moments (about a minute each dive), the people inside the plane are weightless. I have done this myself and I think it's lots of fun!

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 107 - 06:28:10 ]
RE: [TonyBruins/JSC] Astronauts eyes are protected by visors on the helmet. The suit material which is called the Thermal Material Garment protects them from radiation.
Something else you might be interested to know is that all the windows in the space shuttle have special Ultraviolet light protection, except for the one in the side hatch. That window is sometimes used for optical experiments that would be ruined by the UV protection in the other windows. The astronauts must not look out that window or they can get a sunburn very easily! The same is true for several of the windows on the Russian space station, Mir.

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 111 - 06:30:39 ]
RE: [Judy/Mississippi] Hi, My son (11 yrs old) would like to know if you think the movie Apollo 13 is historically and scientifically accurate.
Apollo 13 was very accurate. I had the opportunity to ask the real Gene Kranz (the lead flight director) shortly after I saw the movie what discrepancies there were in the movie vs. real life. He mentioned things like "My wife brought me my vest on a hanger instead of in a box like they showed in the movie."

[ TonyBruins/JSC - 112 - 06:30:51 ]
RE: [MichaelGalangNoemiLimos/Philippines] When will there be another human being to land on the outer space.
We first must decide if we ar going to go back to moon and then to Mars. I believe that we are talking about possibly sending a crew to mars by 2014, if the budget provided by Congress and the technology is mature enough.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 113 - 06:30:55 ]
RE: [Melissa/WYESRPANAMA] Had you all tried to carry a plant to the Space? If so what happen?
Yes, many plants have been grown on the space shuttle. The university I studied at created a special way to grow plants in space since there's no gravity to pull water down to the roots of the plants! I don't know many details, but I believe that all the plants did well. There are also studies here at JSC to learn more about how plants could provide oxygen to people on long-duration missions like travelling to Mars. It's pretty interesting stuff!

[ TonyBruins/JSC - 115 - 06:35:08 ]
RE: [Patricia/wyerspanama] hi everyone I'm Patricia, and I want to know what are the lastest technologies NASA is using on their missions to other planets?
We are bginning to investigate using MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) and Nanotechnology to support our future missions. This technology is extremely small and lightweight. Weight is the driving factor relative to a Lunar/Mars mission.

[ LuisRodriguez/JSC - 116 - 06:35:29 ]
RE: [MichaelGalangNoemiLimos/Philippines] When will there be another human being to land on the outer space.
Michael & Noemi Welcome to STO and WYESR Inmediate plans of space exploration includes duilding and space station-The International Space Station which is build build. We already have to modules in space. Today we launched another shuttle mission to bring some supplies to that station,. A few years from now when we obtain more information that give a better understanding of how to support a prolonged precense in space we will continue the exploration.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 117 - 06:35:32 ]
RE: [TonyBruins/JSC] Astronauts are trained in the Neutral Bouyancy Laboratory which is a huge swimming pool. They simulate weightlessness by during the activities for a spaceflight in the water.
Actually, a big part of my job is training the astronauts in the neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). We put the astronauts in a space suit (a real one just like the ones they use in space, but the ones that go in the pool are not used in space anymore). Because of the air inside the space suit, it would normally float on top of the water, so we add weights in various places so that if the astronaut is placed in the middle of the pool where they can't touch anything, they should not sink or rise, or roll over, they just float there where they're placed, like they would in space. It's the best training we can do on Earth. The only way people on Earth can actually experience weightlessness is by flying on our "zero-G plane". This plane flies a series of parabolas in the sky. At the top of the curve, you're weightless for about 30 seconds. At the bottom of the curve, you weigh twice your normal weight for about 30 seconds. I bet you can guess why people nickname this plane "The Vomit Comet"! It is fun though!

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 121 - 06:37:17 ]
RE: [JozeWyesrromania] Zdravo from Joze! I would realy like to now how someone from Slovenia for example me, could in further future an astronaut. What conditions are needed, and what is the procedure?
Joze, To be an astronaut you need to study science or engineering. If you want to be a pilot you need to be a military jet pilot first - and most of them have gone to a test pilot school while they were in the military. This is after they have gotten a degree from a university. To be a mission specialist most people have advanced degrees from a university (master's degree or PhD). We also have doctors and I think we have even had an animal doctor fly as an astronaut.

[ TonyBruins/JSC - 122 - 06:38:05 ]
RE: [VladoWyesrromania] Hello! Do you have any results of using a different fuell than you had till nov (not fossil fuelss or gass)?
Other types of fuels are being researched such electrical and chemical propulsion systems, ion engines,plasma technology, etc.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 123 - 06:38:13 ]
RE: [TonyBruins/JSC] Liquid oxygen is use as Shuttle fuel.
The space shuttle main engines use Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen. The solid rocket boosters use a solid fuel similar to that used in model rockets or fire crackers. The engines the space shuttle uses to move around in space use Nitrogen Tetroxide and Monomethyl Hydrazine. These fuels are very dangerous, and they ignite on contact with each other (this type of fuel is necessary because there's no oxygen in space to burn other fuels).

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 124 - 06:38:26 ]
RE: [Maryorie/WYESRPANAMA] Hi! I would like to know what is the velocity of sound in space compared to that on earth??
There is no sound in space. Sound can not travel through a vacuum.......

[ DianeMcMahon/JSC - 125 - 06:38:38 ]
RE: [Melissa/WYESRPANAMA] Had you all tried to carry a plant to the Space? If so what happen?
Hello, Melissa - I'm not sure how long ago the first plants experiments went up, but I think they have been on several missions in the past 2 or 3 years. For the International Space Station, hardware called the Plant Research Unit is being developed to conduct research which would include the rates of growth and growing new plants from harvested seeds. Plant research is very important for learning how to produce food and recycle resources for long duration missions in the future. Early results have shown that the plant roots can't "decide" which way to grow because they don't have the gravity guiding them to grow downward.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 129 - 06:42:12 ]
RE: [JozeWyesrromania] Zdravo from Joze! I would realy like to now how someone from Slovenia for example me, could in further future an astronaut. What conditions are needed, and what is the procedure?
Actually, with the new International Space Station, your chances are pretty good! NASA has been selecting new astronauts from all over the world - it's really exciting! You need to study hard at a university - any one of a number of technical subjects are accepted. An advanced degree (Master's or PhD) are highly desired as is a pilot's license. NASA has a whole web site that gives the details on exactly what is required to become an astronaut as well as the address to request an application. Try starting with this address: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/more.html

[ LuisRodriguez/JSC - 130 - 06:43:04 ]
RE: [ViannieBal/WYESRPANAMA] Elizabeth Bloomer how do you controlled the movements of the shuttles in the space?
Hi Elizabeth...The shuttle has a sophisticated system of controls for coarse and fine movementt in space. The system is called the RCS (Reaction control System), which is a series of motors that will allow the shuttle to move to the right, left, up or down.

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 134 - 06:43:48 ]
RE: [Jeimmy/WYESRPanama] Elizabeth, of what are the spacecraft made, what they have that prevent them from burning?
The shuttle is protected from the heat of returning to earth by special ceramic tiles and thermal blankets that are made to be able to take very high temperatures. Other spacecraft (ones that generally aren't expected to return to earth) are made with special metals so they can survive extreme heat and cold when they are flying through space.

[ DianeMcMahon/JSC - 137 - 06:45:54 ]
RE: [gAb/WYERSPANAMA] If the Pathfinder is damaged, how many time for a mission to be prepered and created will take to fix the Pathfinder?
The pathfinder is a "one-shot" undertaking. That means that if anything goes wrong with, it would have to be replaced with another one.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 139 - 06:47:04 ]
RE: [laura/Romania] the second question reffers to the differences between astronauts and cosmonauts.
Well Astronauts are US space people, and Cosmonauts are Soviet (or former Soviet) space people. It is more of a political difference.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 140 - 06:47:48 ]
RE: [Jeimmy/WYESRPanama] Elizabeth, of what are the spacecraft made, what they have that prevent them from burning?
Spacecraft are made from many different types of materials - some are fairly normal, like aluminum, and others are more exotic, like carbon-fiber composites. Back when we first started going to space, engineers didn't know how to protect spacecraft from the heat of re-entry, but they found some materials that would burn very slowly. These are called ablative materials. They literally calculated how thick the material would have to be so that the heat would not burn it all off during re-entry, and then put that much of it on the spacecraft, plus some extra just to be safe. The space Shuttle uses special ceramic tiles that release heat so slowly that you can heat one until it's red-hot and you can still hold it by the corners with your bare hands!

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 141 - 06:47:50 ]
RE: [Vicky/wyesrpanama] Hello... Our names are Vicky and Raquel. Greet Roberto and everyone there! How much time d'you pass training to work on the NASA?
To work at NASA you need to have a degree from a university (in the United States it is called a Bachelor's degree), generally in science or engineering. Some people also have advanced degrees (Masters degree or PhD) from university. We have a wide range of jobs available at NASA - business, engineering, training, flight control, doctors, to name just a few......

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 145 - 06:51:46 ]
RE: [laura/Romania] the second question reffers to the differences between astronauts and cosmonauts.
Actually Laura, the only difference is that in the 1960's when the United States and the Soviet Union were both trying to put people in space, the Americans chose the word "Astronaut", and the Soviet Union chose the word "Cosmonaut". Both words were made up to describe a person who travels in space, and they mean about the same thing: Astronaut means Voyager of the stars, Cosmonaut means Voyager of the Cosmos. The only difference is in distinguishing between someone trained in USSR/Russia, or someone trained by NASA.

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 146 - 06:52:02 ]
RE: [laura/Romania] the second question reffers to the differences between astronauts and cosmonauts.
Laura, Astronauts are men and women who train for spaceflight from the United States, and Cosmonauts are men and women who train for spaceflight from Russia.

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 147 - 06:52:24 ]
RE: [MichaelGalangNoemiLimos/Philippines] Hello again everyone, we would like to ask what degree should we take after Electronics & Communications Engineering to work with all of you and does NASA provide any kind of program for such.
I'm not familiar with your "Electronics and Communications Engineering" program you are referring to. IF it is equivalent to the United State's 4 yr university engineering program, then you are already qualified to work at NASA. But, if you want to continue your education, any advanced engineering or science degrees are good. There are a lot of mechanical, aeronautical, and electrical engineers here.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 148 - 06:52:51 ]
RE: [Gendo/WYERSPANAMA] What are the current projects that you knows that will replace the current space shuttle, their contractors , their development cost and the possibility of sucess of each one
We'll they are designing a new type of Space shuttle. Lockheed is designing a type of Space plane. It would launch and land like a normal plane. The new shuttle can then be refueled and launched back into space without a month or months of downtime. It would reduce costs of going into space by about a factor of ten. This would make going into space more common, cheaper and hopefully easier.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 150 - 06:54:17 ]
RE: [Gendo/WYERSPANAMA] What are the current projects that you knows that will replace the current space shuttle, their contractors , their development cost and the possibility of sucess of each one
Well, there are several places studying ideas for a vehicle to replace the space shuttle, but the projects aren't really defined well enough yet to answer your question. However, the space shuttle will be flying for at least the next 10 years or so.

[ Elizabeth/JSC - 152 - 06:55:19 ]
RE: [DemiJace/WYSERPanama] This one is for all! How does woriking at NASA affects the relationship with your family and how you do to share your time with your family and NASA.
Working at NASA is like working for any large company. It is a job.....But, in some regards it is fun - because often your family and friends will read something in the paper or see something on TV about NASA, and they will ask questions. But I don't think my relationship with my family and friends is any different than if I were working for any other company.

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 153 - 06:56:40 ]
RE: [DemiJace/WYSERPanama] This one is for all! How does woriking at NASA affects the relationship with your family and how you do to share your time with your family and NASA.
DemiJace, My wife also works for NASA, so we have a lot in common to talk about at the dinner table. We both work in the Mission Control Center, so during shuttle missions, it can be difficult making sure our daughter has someone to take care of her. Grandma usually enjoys the chance to take care of her.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 154 - 06:57:29 ]
RE: [DemiJace/WYSERPanama] This one is for all! How does woriking at NASA affects the relationship with your family and how you do to share your time with your family and NASA.
Well my family is not all that effected. It is still just a job. We still work from 9 to 5 like everyone else. We do get to have neat inside information, like meet the astronauts day or other interesting info. So it doesn't effect my family in a bad way.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 155 - 06:58:57 ]
As we continue with our forum today, we would like to introduce our next panel of experts. They are: Kurt Bush, NASA Johnson Space Center; Janis Davis-Street, NASA Johnson Space Center; Bill Foster , NASA Johnson Space Center; Mike Hembree, NASA Johnson Space Center, Ed Muniz, NASA Johnson Space Center; Andrew Petro, NASA Johnson Space Center; and Steve Sokol, NASA Johnson Space Center.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 156 - 06:59:21 ]
RE: [DemiJace/WYSERPanama] This one is for all! How does woriking at NASA affects the relationship with your family and how you do to share your time with your family and NASA.
Well, sometimes it can be hard! I am still single, so it's not so bad for me, but right before a flight we get VERY busy if you have a family you have to be careful about how you schedule your time. Hopefully your family is understanding too, and they know that after the flight is over you won't have to work quite so much! Each family deals with it differently.

[ SteveSokol/JSC - 162 - 07:01:29 ]
RE: [DemiJace/WYSERPanama] This one is for all! How does woriking at NASA affects the relationship with your family and how you do to share your time with your family and NASA.
Nothing special. I do my thing and they do theirs. Involved with kids through sports activities. I do give some great tours to my wife and my relatives.

[ DianeMcMahon/JSC - 163 - 07:01:34 ]
RE: [MichaelGalangNoemiLimos/Philippines] Hello again everyone, we would like to ask what degree should we take after Electronics & Communications Engineering to work with all of you and does NASA provide any kind of program for such.
There is no one path to assure joining NASA. The more education you get, the better your chances. NASA includes people with many backgrounds, but math, science (including computer science), and engineering are educations that are in higher demand. I don't know the specifics, but there are programs where students work at NASA as interns or cooperative students while they are earning their degrees. Good luck to you!

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 164 - 07:02:27 ]
RE: [KarinaShook/JSC] Well, sometimes it can be hard! I am still single, so it's not so bad for me, but right before a flight we get VERY busy if you have a family you have to be careful about how you schedule your time. Hopefully your family is understanding too, and they know that after the flight is over you won't have to work quite so much! Each family deals with it differently.
My kids are excited about their Mom being in close proximity to the shuttle. The work is hard, but very rewarding. My family is very supportive - so that helps a lot

[ DianeMcMahon/JSC - 165 - 07:02:30 ]
I have to sign off, now. It has been a pleasure reading and responding to the excellent questions everyone has.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 166 - 07:02:33 ]
RE: [DianeMcMahon/JSC] The pathfinder is a "one-shot" undertaking. That means that if anything goes wrong with, it would have to be replaced with another one.
Actually, the Pathfinder completed its mission successfully - here's a website where you can find out a little more. http://tommy.jsc.nasa.gov/~woodfill/SPACEED/SEHHTML/pathrove.html If it had been damaged, I don't know if they would have made another one or not, but since they already had done all the work they would only have had to figure out what went wrong (if they could and fix that part. That would still have probably taken over a year.

[ Edmuniz/JSC - 169 - 07:02:47 ]
Good morning. I'm ready to start participating in this interesting project.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 170 - 07:04:42 ]
RE: [MaydeLore/WYESRPANAMA] Hi !!! Oran we r from panama!!! we would like to ask the nutritionist, Janis Davis , At what time of his life did Neil Armstrong go to space to make experiments about the human body reaction in space at that age , and what advantages you got from this ???
There were alot of medical experiments done on every space missions - from Alan Shepherd to Discover's crew orbiting the Earth today. Neil Armstrong was probably in his 30s when he flew in the Apollo missions

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 171 - 07:05:48 ]
RE: [MelodyLigia/WYESRPanama] How can we students can get to work in the future in NASA? For example, as a Doctor or Nutritionist.
My advice would be to study hard - especially math, biology and chemistry

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 172 - 07:06:31 ]
RE: [Marjanwyesrromania] I am from Slovenia, I am interested if you found any living creatures from other planet.
Marjanwyesrromania, At this time we have found no living creatures outside of the Earth. There have been what is thought to be small proteins found in a meteorite found in the Arctic that came from Mars.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 173 - 07:07:50 ]
RE: [Marjanwyesrromania] I am from Slovenia, I am interested if you found any living creatures from other planet.
Well we have not found any living creatures from anouther planet but we highly believe that we found evidence of life on Mars. There was this rock that got blasted from mars when it got hit from an asteroid. this rock from mars landed in the Antarctic where it was found. The rock had inside it very tiny microscopic fosils of single cell life. And they found in the rock some waste products of bacteria. So it is believed that there once was some form of life on Mars a long time ago when Mars had more water.

[ Edmuniz/JSC - 174 - 07:08:51 ]
RE: [ViannieBal/WYESRPANAMA] Hello my name is Viannie, I would like to know how much time can a person be in outer space?
Hi Viannie ..welcome to the program.. I don't think we have a specific amount of time a person can remain in space. Today , we have cosmonauts and astronauts that have been in space from 6 months to a year. Of course in the future a person may have to travel over a year to reach other planets. All these depending on our complete understanding about zero-g effects on the human body.

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 180 - 07:10:31 ]
RE: [janice/wyerspanama] if it is a damage on the SRB's,. how much time pass to detect the damage.
Janice, As long as the damage is not critical, we will not find the problem until the SRB's are recovered and inspected after the launch. We have a special console at Mission Control that monitors the SRB's data that comes to the ground and we would know very quickly if there was a problem.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 182 - 07:12:13 ]
RE: [Jenny/WYESRPanama] What can you do to encourage youngsters to work in NASA? Because I wanna work there in the future!
As we enter the 21st century - this is an exciting time to be working at NASA. The International Space Station is taking form as we speak, and we are beginning to think about travel to other planets - like Mars.

[ AndrewPetro/JSC - 189 - 07:14:04 ]
RE: [Joshua/WyesrPanama] How do you simulate the microgravity here before the launch and how many times you make it?
We simulate microgravity using an airplane which flys up and then dives down - each time the people and equipment onboard experience microgravity for about 30 seconds. On each flight they do about 40 of these maneuvers.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 190 - 07:14:23 ]
RE: [Joshua/WyesrPanama] How do you simulate the microgravity here before the launch and how many times you make it?
Microgravity can be simulated in an airplane called a KC-135. This plane flies in parobolas (a series of U-shaped formations, much like hills on a roller-coaster). As you go over the top of the hill and begin to 'fall' - there are 25-30 seconds of weightlessness.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 191 - 07:15:08 ]
RE: [JANICE/WYESRPANAMA] hello to everyone.What do you use when you are going to work outside of the spaceship?
EVA (Extravehicular activity) Suits are used for work outside the Shuttle

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 192 - 07:15:25 ]
RE: [Joshua/WyesrPanama] How do you simulate the microgravity here before the launch and how many times you make it?
Joshua, Great question. We use a converted military plane called a KC-135 to simulate "weightlessness" here on earth. The astronauts usually get 1 flight on the plane (affectionately known as the vomit comet because of the sickness it often causes) in their initial training as an astronaut and may get more flights if they are working on an experiment that requires testing here on Earth before being launched.

[ BillFoster/GC - 193 - 07:15:28 ]
RE: [janice/wyerspanama] if it is a damage on the SRB's,. how much time pass to detect the damage.
Janice, If damage were detected pre-launch, we would not launch and take whatever time was necessary to understand and repair the damage. If it is found after launch, there is not much we can do for the first two minutes but wait for the shuttle to off them. During launch of STS-95, a piece of debris was seen bouncing off the main engine cone just before SRB ignition. By the time it was recognized, we were off the pad. A tiger team had been formed within minutes to analyze the debris and determine risks and what can be done to minimize them. This turned out to be the door off the compartment that holds the drag chute for landing. After several days of analysis, it was determined to be a minimal risk for landing.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 194 - 07:16:05 ]
RE: [lucian/Romania] hello everyone.I am glad to be hier with you. First,I want to thank you for what you have done for this chat. My question is :has NASA some programs to defend the Earth in case of the crash with another celestial body,for example with a meteorit?
No - although the movies have a few ideas on this one

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 195 - 07:16:30 ]
Joining us now is Chris Gerty from NASA Johnson Space Center. Chris has been at NASA for 3 years as a co-op, and one year as a full-time employee in the Payload Operations Branch as a Shuttle/Station Flight Controller. He will be certified to work in MCC by July, and his first flight is STS-99, when the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) will be flown.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 196 - 07:16:34 ]
RE: [Joshua/WyesrPanama] How do you simulate the microgravity here before the launch and how many times you make it?
Well there are ways to simulate micro gravity on Earth. One of the ways we do this is to put people in the WETF or as most people think of it, the Big pool. In the WETF they put weights on the inflated suits so they float in the water. The also simulate it by going on the KC135. It is a plane that flys over the Gulf of Mexico. It flys very high and then drops down very fast like a roller coster. During this time the people are floating in the plane. They can only do this for about 30 seconds. Thats how they filmed the movie Apollo 13.

[ AndrewPetro/JSC - 197 - 07:16:52 ]
RE: [Jeimmy/WYESRPanama] What is about the SETI project?
There is some work being done on searching for etra-trerrestial intelligence (SETI) but much of it is done by university or private researchers. This kind of project is not very popular with politicians so NASA does not get much money for it.

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 199 - 07:18:11 ]
RE: [ViannieBal/WYESRPANAMA] Hello my name is Viannie, I would like to know how much time can a person be in outer space?
Well, Viannie, so far we don't know of any reason that people couldn't live in space forever. The problem happens when you try to return to Earth and your heart isn't used to having to work against Gravity. The Russians have the current record for long-duration missions - some of their cosmonauts have been in space for over a year at a time!

[ LuisRodriguez/JSC - 206 - 07:19:28 ]
RE: [JANICE/WYESRPANAMA] hello to everyone.What do you use when you are going to work outside of the spaceship?
hELLO Janice When astronauts have to work outside the shuttle, what we call EVA (Extravehicular Activity) they use special pressurized suits. They are temperature control and provide breathing oxygen to sustain human life. There are several types of suit in existence today. When the astronauts train in the swinming pool at Johnson space center, they use a similar type of suit.

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 207 - 07:20:05 ]
RE: [DanielAlejandro/WyesrPanama] HI mike hembre my question is how did people in nasa found out that there was a geometrical figure in mar...dont you find it spooky to dont know who did those figures in mars
Daniel Alejandro, There have been many photographs that indeed look like geometric figures on Mars.(and some even look like faces) Some of these figures don't look the same when you take the photo from a different angle, and some figures may be caused by weather. Anyway, we would love to go to Mars and explore to see if we can find out how these were made.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 208 - 07:20:17 ]
RE: [Mayde/WYESRPANAMA] Hi Steve, i would like to know where do you think comes from the water-ice clouds in Mars?? could this mean there can be water in mars??????
Yes they believe that there is water on mars. They think it exists at the poles of Mars. They also think there might be a water layer in the soil of the planet. They even planed a soil experiment that they hope will determine if that layer exists without any guessing.

[ BillFoster/GC - 209 - 07:21:05 ]
RE: [Jeimmy/WYESRPanama] What is about the SETI project?
Jeimmy, SETI is a project to search for signs of life beyond the earth. The name stands for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. There is a web site called "SETI at Home" (sorry, I do not know the URL) where you can get more information, and download a screen saver that lets your PC actually process data for SETI. This allows thousands of PCs around the world to help in this ambitious project, greatly increasing their ability to continue the search.

[ SteveSokol/JSC - 210 - 07:21:05 ]
RE: [Mayde/WYESRPANAMA] Hi Steve, i would like to know where do you think comes from the water-ice clouds in Mars?? could this mean there can be water in mars??????
Hi Mayde, I think Kurt is answering this one. I agree with answer. But,frankly, I deal more with forecasting the earthly weather for the shuttle. For example the shuttle can't land if showers and thunderstorms are within 20 to 30 miles of the landing site or if the ceilings and visibilities are too low...or if the crosswinds are too high.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 211 - 07:21:11 ]
RE: [Jenny/WYESRPanama] Do you have more plans for outer planets explorations?
Right now, we are starting to assess the requirements for missions to other planets. As nutritionists, there are lots of implications for such missions, which would take several years.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 212 - 07:22:55 ]
RE: [DemiJace/WYSERPanama] Janis Davis: What are the branches of medicine that have a greater probability for working at NASA?
All branches of medicine and the life sciences have a role at NASA. For example, we have internists, emergency room physicians, biochemists, nutritionists, pharmacologists and microbiologists here at JSC

[ Edmuniz/JSC - 213 - 07:23:15 ]
RE: [Jenny/WYESRPanama] What can you do to encourage youngsters to work in NASA? Because I wanna work there in the future!
Hello Jenny..The best way to prepare for a job at NASA is to obtain a good education. It would help to have a technical degree such as engineering or one of the sciences; however, there are jobs available in just about any profession. NASA uses lawyers, doctors, accountants, nutritionists, etc. The important thing is to be good at what you do. There are also jobs available that do not require college degrees. If a job working directly for NASA is not available when you are ready, you may apply for work with one of the many companies that support NASA.

[ AndrewPetro/JSC - 218 - 07:24:55 ]
RE: [Gendo/WYERSPANAMA] What are the current projects that you knows that will replace the current space shuttle, their contractors , their development cost and the possibility of sucess of each one
The Lockheed Martin company and NASA are working on the X-33 which is a test-version of a new kind of shuttle which will be completely reusable. If the testing is successful they may build more of these around 2005 or so. There are also several other private vnetures to create new launch vehicles: the Rotary Rocket which lands using helicopter blades, The Kistler rocket which uses parachutes to return the rocket stages, Kelly Aerospace has a launch vehcile that they will tow into the air with an airplane, and several other new expendable launch vehicles. Its hard to say which of these will be successful but it is likely that some will and we will see new commercial launch systems in less than 10 years.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 222 - 07:25:40 ]
RE: [Torsten] I'm from Germany. I'm asking a spacecraft design engineer: I'd like to know about the computers in a space shuttle, and also in the future ISS. Is there a central processing unit for the entire ship/station or are there rather small computers, each for one system? What I'm trying to say is: How big is the difference between HAL from Arthur C. Clarkes Novel "2001" and today's spacecrafts control systems?
Well the computers on the current shuttle are very outdated for todays standards. They computers were put in during the 70's and are just now being upgraded. The shuttle itself does not need complex computers to run. The experiments and the crew have the more complex computers. They are in the form of "space ready" computer laptops. You can even see these computers straped to the dash of the shuttle in some of the photos that are on-line.

[ BillFoster/GC - 223 - 07:26:49 ]
RE: [Jenny/WYESRPanama] What can you do to encourage youngsters to work in NASA? Because I wanna work there in the future!
Jenny, I like to get involved with events like this to help encourage students to get interested in science and technology careers. Whether it is at NASA, another government research agency, or private industry, it is a fascinating career that can help advance life on Earth. I personally think being involved in human spaceflight is the most exciting place to be. I was on console this morning in the Mission Control room for the launch of STS-96. Being involved with the people of the MCC and the flight crew is extremely rewarding. There are very many people here and at other NASA centers that were involved in the training, planning or execution of this flight, that the minds of hundreds of people are up there with them.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 224 - 07:27:30 ]
RE: [DemiJace/WYSERPanama] How astronauts do to put on the contact lenses and to go to the bathroom?
I'm not sure about the contacts, but the waste collection system is designed with a vacuum. I know that the astronauts are trained on 'going to the bathroom' in space, here at JSC - it sounds like it could be quite tricky.

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 225 - 07:27:38 ]
RE: [Torsten] I'm from Germany. I'm asking a spacecraft design engineer: I'd like to know about the computers in a space shuttle, and also in the future ISS. Is there a central processing unit for the entire ship/station or are there rather small computers, each for one system? What I'm trying to say is: How big is the difference between HAL from Arthur C. Clarkes Novel "2001" and today's spacecrafts control systems?
Torsten, I think you would be surprised that the computers on the shuttle are reliable but old. There are 4 computers that can be thought as in a network with each other. They are processing the same, exact software at the same time. The astronauts or the Mission Control Center can assign different hardware to be commanded by each computer, but one computer can run everything. The rest are redundant. There is a 5th computer that runs backup (different) software that can take over if needed.

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 226 - 07:28:49 ]
RE: [Mel/WYESRPanama] What is the aproximate cost of a spacecraft?
Mel, In the 1980's, a space shuttle cost about $2 billion.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 227 - 07:28:53 ]
RE: [DanielAlejandro/WyesrPanama] Hi everyone. Including ORAN!!!!!!!!How are you ORAN My question is for anyone who is there. Is there any machine that converts the waste of respiration into oxygen. If so .Could it be use in a shuttle?
daniel, I'm doing just fine, although I'm a little bleary-eyed, since I've been online since 3:30 a.m. for today's forum. But I'm happy to have you and others online chatting with us today!

[ AndrewPetro/JSC - 228 - 07:29:29 ]
RE: [Gendo/WYERSPANAMA] Currently what is the cost per weight to launch something to space to the nearest orbit?
On most of the launch vehicles we have it costs somewhere between $1000 and $5000 US dollars to put a kilogram on low Earth orbit. We hope that cost will go down in the future.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 229 - 07:29:49 ]
RE: [DanielAlejandro/WyesrPanama] Hi everyone. Including ORAN!!!!!!!!How are you ORAN My question is for anyone who is there. Is there any machine that converts the waste of respiration into oxygen. If so .Could it be use in a shuttle?
Plants do that on Earth. NASA is testing systems using plant growth chambers to produce oxygen on planetary surfaces. Such systems are not used on the shuttle

[ KarinaShook/JSC - 230 - 07:30:05 ]
Well everybody, I have to sign off now - thanks for the GREAT questions! It's really exciting to be talking to all of you all over the world, and to hear that there's so much interest in space travel out there!

[ BillFoster/GC - 236 - 07:31:34 ]
RE: [Roger/WYESRPANAMA] this question is for bill foster: I would like to know what mechanical carriers can be studied for working in Nasa
Roger, There are many areas for people with an interest in Mechanical Engineering. The console behind mine is the Mechanical and Maintenance Console, known as "MMACS". They are responsible for anything mechanical on the shuttle, including the payload bay doors, hydraulic systems, landing gear, drag chute and many other things. Designing anything for the shuttle requires mechanical inputs, such as how a payload would fit in the bay, or what kind of enclosure to package an experiment in for maximum efficiency.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 237 - 07:31:49 ]
RE: [KarinaShook/JSC] Well everybody, I have to sign off now - thanks for the GREAT questions! It's really exciting to be talking to all of you all over the world, and to hear that there's so much interest in space travel out there!
Karina, we're so glad you were able to participate in today's forum. Have a great day!

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 238 - 07:32:26 ]
RE: [Ligia/WYESRPanama] How do you avoid a meteorites from crushing with space shuttles?
Ligia, The shuttle usually doesn't have a problem with larger meteorites. Sometimes when inspecting the orbiter after a mission, the technicians find small marks made by space dust the size of a grain of sand. The shuttle can withstand this size particle.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 239 - 07:32:35 ]
RE: [Ligia/WYESRPanama] How do you avoid a meteorites from crushing with space shuttles?
Well space is quite empty. There is not a lot of rocks and meteors floating around out there. Most of the shooting stars in space are from meteors about the size of a grain of sand. The shuttle does hit a few of these. The largest that hit the shuttle even cracked the outside layer windshield on a mission. They estimated its size to about a pea. Golf ball sized and larger are extremly rare even to hit the earth and the shuttle is much smaller. So we launch the shuttle and hope for the best. Oh, we do track the known space junk in space and do our best to avoid it too.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 240 - 07:33:30 ]
RE: [DemiJace/WYSERPanama] For all: As a teenager did you wanted to work at NASA? And why?
I grew up in Georgetown, Guyana, and did not have much exposure to the space program growing up. It has been very exciting to be part of the space program.

[ LuisRodriguez/JSC - 242 - 07:35:02 ]
RE: [SARAGOZZELINO/WYESRITALY] Hi everybody & greetings from Italy !!! First of all thank you for the opportunity of having this chat :-) (special thanks to Luis Rodriguez and Alicia Muniz !) I'm a student in engineering so my first question is : what kind of skills do a engineer have to develop to be able to work to a space project ? I suppose that there must be an hard selection to become a Nasa engineer,so what advice do you feel to give to a young future engineer ?
Hi Sara . It's a pleasure to have you join our chat today. I'll relay your message to Alicia. She will be so happy to hear that. In reference to your questions. While going through school, it's a good idea to take all the math and science classes that you can, especially in the areas you are intersted in. You usually really begin to specialize once you begin college. Most of the jobs require at least a four-year degree.

[ SteveSokol/JSC - 243 - 07:35:41 ]
RE: [DemiJace/WYSERPanama] For all: As a teenager did you wanted to work at NASA? And why?
Hi DemiJace, I didn't...but now that I have been here 15 years I think it is a perfect job...with a great mixture of careers, people from many private companies, government agencies, universities and from all over the world...working together for common goals.

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 244 - 07:35:52 ]
RE: [Ryan/WyesrPanama] If Mike is there, great this one is for ya.If not please enyone answer. Have Nasa discovered a new element in space or in other planets?
Ryan, No new elements have been found to my knowledge. There have been materials found on other planets and the moon that are in a different configuration than found on Earth, but the basic elements are the same.

[ ChrisGerty/JSC - 245 - 07:35:56 ]
RE: [SARAGOZZELINO/WYESRITALY] Hi everybody & greetings from Italy !!! First of all thank you for the opportunity of having this chat :-) (special thanks to Luis Rodriguez and Alicia Muniz !) I'm a student in engineering so my first question is : what kind of skills do a engineer have to develop to be able to work to a space project ? I suppose that there must be an hard selection to become a Nasa engineer,so what advice do you feel to give to a young future engineer ?
NASA has become very involved with schools in the past few years. From grade school to college, programs have been initiated to get students more involved with NASA's projects. For the college student, this means there are many opportunities for exciting research and engineering projects which directly work with NASA. As far as the engineering skills needed to work at NASA, I think that it is important to do very well in one specific engineering major, but also have a strong interest in knowing about the other areas of engineering, science, and medicine. These areas are all related to each other when dealing with space travel.

[ Edmuniz/JSC - 246 - 07:36:18 ]
RE: [Mel/WYESRPanama] What is the aproximate cost of a spacecraft?
Good morning Mel...Spacecraft come in many sizes and levels of capability. A spacecraft can cost between $50 million and $1 billion dollars to design, test, build, and deliver to a launch site. Additional costs are related to launching the spacecraft on a rocket or on the space shuttle. These costs can be somewhere between $100 million and $600 million.

[ AndrewPetro/JSC - 247 - 07:36:31 ]
RE: [roger/wyyerspanama] Hi again, my question is for Mr. Petro, I would like to know what is NASA doing to help protect our home planet Earth? or if it is a priority in any of your programs?
We are doing a lot of things to protect our planet and the people on it - all the satellites that observe the weather, the climate, vegitation, the ocean, land use etc. help us take better care of the planet. Communication satellites also help in emergencies. But you may be thinking about asteroid impacts. The project I'm working on is the kind of propulsion system which could be used for getting to asteroids or comets and might be used for pushing them away from the Earth if there is a problem. We actually have discussed this type of mission. That ability is still in the future but we are taking the first small steps in that direction.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 251 - 07:39:35 ]
RE: [Csar/WYESRPANAMA] My question is to Mrs. Janis Davis-Street. How much food and what kind of food would it take for an outer-planet mission? How do you plan the kind of food required everyday for astrounauts in space?
For the shuttle missions, we send about 3000 calories per person per day. We are presently doing research to undestand nutrition needs for long term space exploration missions. We try to make the foods as close to Earth-food as possible.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 254 - 07:42:15 ]
RE: [Melody/WYESRPanama] Hello again! Do you analyze human wastes? Why? What do you do to preserve them until they are back on earth?
We analyze all kinds of human samples - blood, urine, saliva and feces. This allows use to understand how the body is using nutrients (like vitamins and minerals). Ideally, the samples can be frozen, but we have developed preservatives and technoogy to store samples at room temperature. These discoveries will have benefits for the space program, and the general population.

[ BillFoster/GC - 255 - 07:42:34 ]
RE: [ViannieBal/WYESRPANAMA] hi everyone, we wanted to know how can you control machinery from earth to other planets such as camaras on Mars?
ViannieBal - Controlling anything in space from Earth requires the use of telemetry. This is the method used to send information about a spacecraft back to the people monitoring it. Various instruments and sensors on board the spacecraft take continusous measurements and pass the results to a computer that integrates them into a block of data. This is sent back to earth using a radio and antennas and is relayed to the control center. The information is taken from the data blocks and formated into displays that tell the controllers what is happening on board the system. This whole process is known as "Downlink Telemetry" The controllers on the Earth analyze the data and determone actions for the spacecraft to take. They generate "commands" that are formatted into a data block that is sent up to the spacecraft. This is called the "Uplink Data Stream" For manned space craft, voice data is included in both the uplink and downlink.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 257 - 07:43:41 ]
RE: [eduina/WYESRPANAMA] hello, my name is eduina I want to know abuot how you help the astronauts recover their health after they return from their travel to outer space in respect with their heart?
Astronauts are closely monitored after shuttle and the long duration missions (like on the Mir space station), to ensure that they return to normal health as quickly as possible

[ ChrisGerty/JSC - 262 - 07:45:03 ]
RE: [JanisDavisStreet/JSC] I grew up in Georgetown, Guyana, and did not have much exposure to the space program growing up. It has been very exciting to be part of the space program.
As a teenager I was amazed at what humans could achieve through the space program. I wanted to be part of the cutting-edge technology that I saw happening at NASA. I also thought, and still think, that the experience we are gaining in space now will help us tremendously in the future when it becomes cheap enough to launch more space vehicles and create homes on other worlds.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 263 - 07:45:29 ]
RE: [eduina/WYESRPANAMA] hello, my name is eduina I want to know abuot how you help the astronauts recover their health after they return from their travel to outer space in respect with their heart?
Well for short missions, a few weeks or less, almost no recovery time is needed. For the longer missions, months staying on space stations, mussle toning is done. The astronauts are tired and weaker from not using their muscles for a long time. The heart is a hard thing to exercise and not much can really be done. They make the astronauts and cosmonauts take it easy for a few days and thats about it. I know that Shannon Lucid while smiling and talking to the press after her return from the Mir space station was very weak. She did the interviews from her chair and when the cameras were not broad casting you could tell she was tired from that simple chat even though she didn't show it on screen.

[ BillFoster/GC - 264 - 07:45:39 ]
RE: [Edward/WYESRPANAMA] this question is for bill foster: did you participate in the lauchig of the pathfinder in mars
Edward - I did not participate in the Pathfinder mission, other than as a very interested spectator. Unmanned missions are developed and controlled by the Jet Propulsion Lab with the Ames Research Center in California. I did get the chance to meet one of the project managers of Pathfinder while we were both at the Kennedy space Center about 18 months ago. The Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center is only involved in manned space flight.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 265 - 07:46:06 ]
We would like to remind you to share your thoughts with us about today's forum, at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats.

[ AndrewPetro/JSC - 267 - 07:48:10 ]
RE: [WYERSMauriciovasquezBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] You have been thinking about changing the type of propulsion for another more effective, like nuclear propulsion?
We are doing research on several kinds of electric propulsion which would use solar power or a nuclear reactor for electricity. I'm working on a plasma rocket team which is one type of electric propulsion. This would be more than 10 times more efficient than our current rockets and would cut the trip time to Mars from 6 months to 3 months and be even better for more distant planets.

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 268 - 07:48:29 ]
RE: [WYERS/RonaldEscorciaBarranquillaColombia] Hello everybody!! We are in a room with more than 200 students. Our first question is:What is the inclination for the shuttle to reenter to earth?
Ronald, As the shuttle enters the Earth's atmosphere, the nose is at an 40 deg. angle. This allows the shuttles heat shield tiles to take all the heat of re-entry. When the shuttle is about 250,000 ft. it is flying like an airplane.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 269 - 07:49:08 ]
RE: [WYERSMauriciovasquezBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] You have been thinking about changing the type of propulsion for another more effective, like nuclear propulsion?
Well nuclear perpulsion is too risky for a rocket system. If an accident occurs then there would be waste over a huge area. But they are improving the rockets themselves, ramjets and other technologies, using conventional rocket fuel.

[ LuisRodriguez/JSC - 270 - 07:50:15 ]
RE: [Ariel/WYESRCoordinatorPanama] we are on netmeeting at ils1.microsoft.com please let us know your channel name.
I have tried to enter ils1.microsoft.com. No luck yet. Are you in business? Can you go to another channel? It seem that lis1....is too busy.

[ BillFoster/GC - 272 - 07:51:42 ]
RE: [WYERSBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] What are the possibilities to have a base on the moon?
Technically, putting a base on the moon is very achievable. With the recent findings that suggest large deposits of frozen water near the poles of the moon, it would be even easier to maintain a base there. The huge expense of designing, establishing and maintaining the base is the only drawback. Right now, it is not a funded project for NASA, although we continue to study the possibilities and look for compelling reasons to return to the moon. Hopefully soon we will return to Neil Armstrongs first "small step". The 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission is coming up this July, so I'm sure the topic of returning to the moon will get a lot of discussion at the reunion planned for JSC.

[ AndrewPetro/JSC - 277 - 07:53:04 ]
RE: [WYERSBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] What are the possibilities to have a base on the moon?
We know how to build a base on the Moon and we hope to have that chance. I've worked on several design teams for a lunar base in the last few years but people are not ready to spend money on it yet. Now that there is some evidence of water ice at the poles of the moon there may be more interest in building a base there.

[ Edmuniz/JSC - 278 - 07:53:09 ]
RE: [Ligia/WYESRPanama] How do you avoid a meteorites from crushing with space shuttles?
Ligia...That is a problem that really worries NASA. Meteoroids move at very high velocities and are almost impossible to avoid if one is on a collision path. Luckily, most meteoroids are very small, and while they travel very fast, if they hit the structure of the Space Shuttle or the Space Station, they do not cause very much damage. The larger meteoroids that could cause severe damage or endanger astonauts are very rare and the possibility that one could collide with a Shuttle is very, very low. If NASA determins that a lot of these meteoroids are likely to be in the viscinity of Earth at a particular time, they will delay launching until the danger passes. The danger to Space Station, which will be in space for a long time, is greater than for Space Shuttle, which is in space for less than a couple of weeks.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 279 - 07:53:41 ]
RE: [ROBERTNEMECWYESRCZECREPUBLIC] When do you expect first man (or woman) back on the Moon?
There is a lot of discussion now on whether we should return to the Moon or just focus on Mars. Stay tuned...

[ SteveSokol/JSC - 280 - 07:54:06 ]
RE: [Csar/WYESRPANAMA] My question is to Mr. Steve Sokol. Hi, i would like to know what time of the year is ideal for spacecraft launching?
Hi Csar, A very good question. Nasa does consider this for each mission. In fact I give the climatology to the planners of each mission. The nature of the mission and it's payloads determines the launch windows to a large extent. After that we consider the best time of year and day to launch. The weather in Florida is a big consideration. We try to stay away from afternoon thunderstorms and morning fog and low clouds. May through October mid-morning is generally pretty good. We also have to consider emergency landing site weather in Spain and Africa; and the weather for possible landing in California or New Mexico if Florida weather is bad. The main concern at Edwards in California is afternoon winds and sometimes rain. It saves a million dollars by landing in Florida instead of California. Often this decision is made within 90 minutes of landing or less. Generally, the mornings in California are the best for landings...before the winds pick up. If there are weather fronts or low pressure systems the weather can get bad at any site. Our weather office is right next to Mission Control(Houston).

[ KurtBush/JSC - 281 - 07:55:24 ]
RE: [Ryan/WYESRPanama] Mr. Kurt Bush, are you a programmer? What programs you use to make simulations? Is there a chance for a programmer to work at NASA?
Well I am a programmer. I use some programs that we made in the lab to animate our computer models. There are a lot of programmers in NASA and the odds are that you could find a job here if you know a lot about computers. There are always thing that need programming.

[ ChrisGerty/JSC - 282 - 07:57:29 ]
RE: [WYERS/RonaldEscorciaBarranquillaColombia] Hello everybody!! We are in a room with more than 200 students. Our first question is:What is the inclination for the shuttle to reenter to earth?
The shuttle can be launched from Kennedy Space Center at an inclination anywhere from 28.5 degrees to about 60 degrees angle from the equator. The lower limit is constrained by its launch latitude (28.5 degrees at KSC) and safety concerns of launching over land masses (the Eastern coast of the U.S.). The shuttle will remain in this inclination throughout the entire mission, because it costs a LOT of propellant to change the inclination of an orbit. At the end of the mission, the orbiter fires its thrusters in a direction opposite flight (retrograde) to slow its orbit and enter the atmosphere at a very slight angle downward. As it gets closer to the Earth, the atmosphere becomes thicker, and slows down the orbiter more. Then it acts like a gliding airplane and makes a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center.

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 283 - 07:57:39 ]
RE: [Torsten/Germany] Are there any possibilities/plans to remove the old pieces of junk such as geostationary tv satellites? The geostationary orbit is a natural resource and is going to be fed up with satellites one day.
Torsten, With current technology and capability, it is too expensive to retrieve Geo-sync satellites. As a satellite is out of date, it is commanded to move out of the orbit so a new satellite can take its place. But you are right, geo-sync orbits are a premium.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 285 - 07:59:09 ]
Now, we would like to introduce our final panel of experts. They are: Sherri Carlson, NASA Kennedy Space Center; Eric Hammer, NASA Johnson Space Center; Rick Hashimoto , Boeing; and Angie Lee, NASA Johnson Space Center.

[ BillFoster/GC - 286 - 07:59:15 ]
RE: [Torsten/Germany] Are there any possibilities/plans to remove the old pieces of junk such as geostationary tv satellites? The geostationary orbit is a natural resource and is going to be fed up with satellites one day.
Torsten - It is not economically practical at this time to retrieve satellites or other objects from a high earth orbit. Even though we have a lot of satellites up at geosynchronous orbit, it is not as bad as it sounds. At 22,000 miles, the perimeter of the orbit is huge. The biggest problem is getting operational satellites so close together that the interfere electronically with each other. Physically, we are not in any danger of running out of room, and once a satellite is no longer operational, it basically becomes a non factor.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 287 - 08:00:40 ]
RE: [Christian/WYESRITALY] Howdy! We know that we have few minutes to chat with you so we'll try to formulate an intelligent question immediately! So,we Know about a your study about an inflating living habitat module for an eventually week-end on Mars.We wish to know some news on the project.Thanks so much for your answer and have a nice trip!!!
We'll the Transhab module that could be used as a habitat on Mars is still being funded. We are trying to get it on the Space Station officially and all current tests on the main systems passed with flying colors. The design is completely different but it works and has won several awards from an Engineering standpoint. The details of the main design are still being worked out. I should know, I'm helping to get some of the bugs out, but it seems to be a working design.

[ AngieLee/JSC - 289 - 08:01:33 ]
RE: [Oran/NASAChatHost] Now, we would like to introduce our final panel of experts. They are: Sherri Carlson, NASA Kennedy Space Center; Eric Hammer, NASA Johnson Space Center; Rick Hashimoto , Boeing; and Angie Lee, NASA Johnson Space Center.
Hi, Everybody! My name is Angie Lee, and I work in Life Sciences here at the Johnson Space Center. I'm really looking forward to our chat this morning.

[ JanisDavisStreet/JSC - 290 - 08:01:46 ]
Thank you all for your interest in NASA. I am excited about the future of the space program. As work on the International Space Station progresses, there will be many opportunities for us to understand the effect of long term space flight on the human body. Many of these discoveries will be beneficial for us on Earth, like undestaning osteoporosis etc. I thank you for your interesting questions. Best of luck to you all. Janis

[ ChrisGerty/JSC - 291 - 08:03:28 ]
RE: [Torsten/Germany] Are there any possibilities/plans to remove the old pieces of junk such as geostationary tv satellites? The geostationary orbit is a natural resource and is going to be fed up with satellites one day.
The problem of removing orbiting space debris is a very complicated and important one which will become more and more important as we fly into space more. Right now there is no known efficient way to do this. NASA currently has policies about creating space debris, and sometimes even moves the space shuttle when space debris is predicted to cross its path. Perhaps someday engineers will need to create a way to clean up the low-Earth orbit and geostationary space above our Earth. Start brainstorming now, you may be that Engineer!

[ AngieLee/JSC - 302 - 08:07:04 ]
RE: [JANICE/wyerspanama] what kind of food can the astronauts eat on space
Hi, Janice....Astronauts can eat a lot of the same food in space that they eat here on earth, as long as it's prepared properly. Most of the food that they eat is dehydrated, and the astronauts simply add hot water once they get on orbit. They also can eat things like cookies, candies, dried fruits---it's a lot like camping!

[ MikeHembree/JSC - 304 - 08:09:23 ]
I enjoyed the time with everyone. You all have great questions and a great future in space ahead. Work, study hard and reach for your dreams and you will never be disappointed.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 305 - 08:09:29 ]
RE: [gAb/WYERSPANAMA] What would happen to our solar system if our sun collapsed and became a Super Nova?
well our sun is too small a str to do that but I'll pretend it will. First the star will expand engulfing Meurcury and frying Venus. Radiation would flood the rest of the planets and pehaps change their orbit. Some planets would fall into the sun. Others would fly into space and freeze. When the nova takes place a few hundred years later It would blast the remaining planets to charcoal. Not to prety is it.

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 306 - 08:10:19 ]
RE: [Roger/WYESRPANAMA] Hi everyone, My question is for Mr. Muniz, I'm interested in your career I'm planning to go to college in the US, I would like to get a bachelor's degree on engineering and specialize in comunications, but I would like to know what do I have to do to work at NASA? I'm pretty interested on the ISS...
Roger, NASA may be a great place to start a career. You should remember too, that other private companies work along side NASA as well as companies at other locations. I for one work for Boeing located in California while the primary NASA sites we support are in Texas and Florida.

[ ChrisGerty/JSC - 310 - 08:11:38 ]
RE: [Ligia/WYESRPanama] How do you control fussion inside spaceshuttles and prevent them from exploding?
Actually, the space shuttle fleet uses a chemical process which uses Hydrogen and Oxygen to create water for drinking and energy for the shuttle's electrical systems. It is a carefully controlled process and there is a group of flight controllers in Houston on the console called EGIL (pronounced "eagle") who watch this system very carfully and warn the flight director if anything starts going wrong.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 311 - 08:12:27 ]
RE: [MikeHembree/JSC] I enjoyed the time with everyone. You all have great questions and a great future in space ahead. Work, study hard and reach for your dreams and you will never be disappointed.
Mike, thank you so much for sharing your time with us today!

[ AngieLee/JSC - 312 - 08:12:31 ]
RE: [WYERSJohnAltamirandaBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] Have NASA ever thought about sending a pregnant woman to the outer space? What would happen to her or to the baby?Would it change her metabolism a lot?
Hi! No, NASA doesn't PLAN on sending any pregnant women into space, but the effects of zero gravity on a developing baby is something that NASA has recently studied. There have been experiments with baby rats and mice, pregnant frogs, fish, and even snails. Some of the things the scientists have found is that gravity plays an important role in the development of certain behaviors. For example, baby rats that didn't learn how to turn themselves over (when they're put on their backs) before going into space never really learned how to do it properly once they came back to earth. There's something that happens either in their brains or nervous systems as they grow that gravity has an effect on--if there is no gravity present when they go through that stage, then it doesn't develop properly. We've only scratched the surface of these kinds of issues.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 313 - 08:14:39 ]
RE: [gAb/WYERSPANAMA] Could ships like Pathfinder be created to resist the conditions of other planets and be send to those planets?
Well I think not. Pathfinder would melt in a few seconds due to heat on Mercury. Venus would burn it with acid. Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, would crush it like a bug on a freeway due to the powerful pressure on those planets. Pluto's surface is so frozen that it would freeze it to a rock. If they heat Pathfinder to resist it then could literly melt the ground of frozen air it would stand on.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 314 - 08:14:39 ]
RE: [JanisDavisStreet/JSC] Thank you all for your interest in NASA. I am excited about the future of the space program. As work on the International Space Station progresses, there will be many opportunities for us to understand the effect of long term space flight on the human body. Many of these discoveries will be beneficial for us on Earth, like undestaning osteoporosis etc. I thank you for your interesting questions. Best of luck to you all. Janis
Janice, as always, we are thrilled to have you online with us!

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 315 - 08:16:15 ]
RE: [WYERSALVAROSALGADOBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] Which are the main goals for NASA in the 2000 year?
One of the main goals for NASA as well as many other businesses for the Year 2000 is to make all the computers and information systems capable of functioning beyond the year 2000. As such, the U.S. government and NASA have set up special working groups to make sure computers are capable in the year 2000.

[ ChrisGerty/JSC - 316 - 08:16:58 ]
RE: [WYERSSagradoCoraznSchoolBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] What is the objective of the recently launched shuttle Discovery (today, this morning)?
Discovery will dock with the International Space Station, drop off supplies needed for the first crew, connect some hardware of the outside of the station during a spacewalk, and repair some of the systems which have been having trouble over the last few months (the Russian batteries and US communications system). They won't leave anyone on board this time. The first crew to have an extended stay will go up early next year.

[ AngieLee/JSC - 321 - 08:18:50 ]
RE: [gAb/WYERSPANAMA] Could ships like Pathfinder be created to resist the conditions of other planets and be send to those planets?
As long as we know enough about the planet's conditiions, then yes, it would be possible to send vehicles like the Pathfinder. Usually, the study of a planet starts right here on earth, using telescopes (not just visual, but radio, and other kinds, too) to collect data. The next step is usually to send a spacecraft on a "fly-by" mission, like the Voyager missions. Then, we can send a satellite to a specific planet for further study, which we've done for Mars, Venus, and Jupiter. Each one of these steps gives us more and more information on what the planet is like and gives the engineers the data they need to build a landing craft that can withstand the surface conditions of the planet.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 322 - 08:19:19 ]
RE: [LISSY/WYESRPANAMA] Hi! This is my question: how was the Hubble constructed and what are some of its major functions?
The Hubble is a super telescope. It has several lens sizes and can look at space several different ways. Radio waves, visual, heat and a few other spectrums can all be seen. The Hubble was constructed in the 80's and has been upgraded when the shuttle docks with it. Improve the solar pannels, computers and gyros.

[ EricHammer/JSC - 324 - 08:20:18 ]
RE: [WYERSSagradoCoraznSchoolBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] What is the objective of the recently launched shuttle Discovery (today, this morning)?
Space Shutle Discovery was launched as the first servicing mission of the brand new International Space Station (ISS). The initial piece of the ISS was launched on the last Space Shuttle mission, STS-88. STS-96 will be bringing supplies and performing work on the ISS, getting it ready for the next piece that will be brought to it.

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 325 - 08:21:27 ]
RE: [WYERSSagradoCoraznSchoolBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] What is the objective of the recently launched shuttle Discovery (today, this morning)?
STS-96, Discovery, carried 3,600 pounds of space-station logistic supplies in preparation for future missions. The shuttle also carried an American construction crane that EVA astronauts will assemble outside the station, and parts for a Russian crane to be stowed outside the station.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 326 - 08:22:05 ]
RE: [WYERSSergioBernalBarranquillaColombiaOmarQuesada] We know that rockets get rid of several things in the outer space. What happened with those things?
Most of the rocket bits and pieces fall back to earth. Sometimes it burns completely away before it lands. Mostly they plan on it landing in the ocean away from everyone. but does eventually come down.

[ ChrisGerty/JSC - 330 - 08:25:29 ]
RE: [LISSY/WYESRPANAMA] Hi! This is my question: how was the Hubble constructed and what are some of its major functions?
The Hubble Space Telescope was named after Edwin Hubble, who came up with an equation to find out the age of the universe. One of the unknowns in this equation is the "Hubble Constant", which because of the telescope, is now known. The age of the universe is now known to be 12 billion years, and scientists are now using this knowlege to fill in clues for other unknowns of science, such as the fate of the universe, where our solar system came from, and where to look for other world which might hold life. Each clue to these problems answers questions to other problems. It's kind of like a giant scientific crossword puzzle.

[ AngieLee/JSC - 331 - 08:25:32 ]
RE: [Tatiana/WYESRPanama] when you eat something in the spaces (you know where there isn´t gravity) the food continues floating in the stomach?
Hi, Tatiana....Your entire digestive system is lined with muscles that help to push your food through. So, even in space, the astronauts can eat and the food will pass down their throat, into their stomach, and on into their intestines. You might try a simple experiment here on the earth that demonstrates this: Lay down on your bed, and hang your head over the side (if you're really talented, try standing on your head). When you're upside down, try drinking some water out of a glass through a straw, or try eating a cookie or cracker. You will find that even upside down you can swallow.

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 332 - 08:26:22 ]
RE: [Tatiana/WYESRPanama] when you eat something in the spaces (you know where there isn´t gravity) the food continues floating in the stomach?
Tatiana, forturnately our stomach muscles and body is equipped with mechanism that takes food and water properly into the digestive system so that impact of not having gravity is minimal. Ever try eating something when you're up-side-down? It does go down - yes?

KurtBush/JSC - 338 - 08:28:45 ]
RE: [VickyRaquel/wyesrPANAMA] Have you ever been in an emergency in which a spaceship got damaged or something like that? If so, what is like?
Well no one here can aswer that but I did hear about the situation on Mir. When the supply ship hit and punctured a piece on the Station the crew quickly rushed to fix the problem and get ready to leave if it didn't get fixed in time. After they closed up the damaged section they had a chance to react emotionally. They were very profesional about the event.

[ AngieLee/JSC - 339 - 08:29:53 ]
RE: [Ryan/WYESRPanama] HI all!! What effects have you found on plants that were taken to space
Hi, Ryan....Plants can grow in space, and there have been experiments to see how they change in space, how to make them grow really well so they can be used for food, and if seeds germinate any differently. I can remember one experiment on the STS-95 mission that studied a flowering plant by taking detailed photographs of it every day during the mission--so I would be sitting on console and look up at my monitor and see this pretty pink flower on the screen!

[ EricHammer/JSC - 340 - 08:30:28 ]
RE: [VickyRaquel/wyesrPANAMA] Have you ever been in an emergency in which a spaceship got damaged or something like that? If so, what is like?
I was working in Mission Control when there was an accident with the Tethered Satellite System. Although it was a great loss for NASA, the MCC team and flight crew handled the emergency very well. Operating in space is risky business, and while there will be some loses, there will be many successes as well.

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 341 - 08:30:38 ]
RE: [Ryan/WYESRPanama] At what temperature does the spaceship is after entering earth
Some part of the Orbiter reach nearly 3,000 F. The thermal protection system is capable of withstanding temperature from minus 250F to over 3,200 F.

[ EricHammer/JSC - 344 - 08:32:06 ]
RE: [Izraelthebest/WYERSPANAMA] What is the top speed that the spacecrafts can reach?
The Space Shuttle travels about 25,000 feet per second, which is nearly 17,500 miles per hour.

[ ChrisGerty/JSC - 345 - 08:33:02 ]
RE: [Lucho/WYERSBOLIVIA] Hi, How do you test new materials to not been attacked by corrosion processes?. Which are the corrosion processes that the spaceships can suffer attack?
There are many labs here at Johnson Space Center which test materials against high-speed impacts (micrometeorites), vacuum, extreme heat and cold, and something called "atomic oxygen", which is just a single Oxygen molecule (present in low-Earth orbit) that attaches to and corrodes many surfaces which are used in the manufacturing of spaceships.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 346 - 08:33:19 ]
RE: [Juan/WYERSBOLIVIA] Wich is the resolution of the photographs taked by the satellites?
Well the Hubble can see far off galaxies and the stars in them that is so far away that are billions and billions and billions of miles away. Spy satalites claim that they can read the licence plates off cars, but most believe that it is a lot better. They don't admit to much more because it is a secret.

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 348 - 08:34:52 ]
RE: [Melissa/WYESRPanama] Why do astronauts nedd to have a good physical condition, why can normal people (not excersice) go to space?
Melissa, Astronauts these days are not required to be in perfect physical conditions like the early astronauts. However, physical conditioning is a must for being able to cope with emergencies and more importantly for landing. Under weightless conditions, the use of muscles and bones begins to lose its usefulness - unless astornauts exercise, some several hours a day, they may not be able to survive the rigors of landing.

[ AngieLee/JSC - 349 - 08:35:15 ]
RE: [Melissa/WYESRPanama] Why do astronauts nedd to have a good physical condition, why can normal people (not excersice) go to space?
Hi, Melissa....It's very important that the astronauts be in excellent physical condition before going into space. All kinds of things happen to the body when you take away gravity--your bones start to lose calcium and get weaker, your muscles lose protein and get smaller and weaker, your heart beats differently, all kinds of things can happen. After even a just a short time in space, like on the Shuttle, the changes can be so dramatic that the astronauts may need help walking or get dizzy, and it gets even worse after a long time in space, like a stay on Space Station or Mir. The best way to combat these physical changes that we know of so far is for the astronauts to get into the best physical shape that they can before launch, and then do everything they can to maintain it on orbit.

[ EricHammer/JSC - 351 - 08:36:53 ]
RE: [Juan/WYERSBOLIVIA] Wich one are the biological/physicological changes that a person can feel in the outerspace?
There are many changes that the human body goes through when subjected to space. Without gravity, internal fluids tend to shift in the body instead of pooling in certain areas. Also, without pressure on the bones, calcium production is altered. Many astronauts also feel what is called space motion sickness. This is due partly to changes in the inner ear associated with the absence of gravity.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 352 - 08:37:58 ]
RE: [roger/wyerspanama] hi again... I would like to know what is NASA doing to protect our home planet Earth? or if it is a priority in any of your programs?
Well I know about a few programs that are studing the effects of polution and the ozone layer. Even some of the Modules on Mir Space station were dedicated to viewing and testing Earth and it's environment. From that data that NASA collects, Private and corperate programs uses the information to help earth.

[ RogerstudentfromPanama - 353 - 08:38:14 ]
I just would like to thanx evryone for your time, it's been a very good experience, for myself and evrybody here.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 355 - 08:39:09 ]
For those of you leaving us, be sure to share your thoughts about today's forum with us, at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats.

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 356 - 08:39:37 ]
RE: [Juan/WYERSBOLIVIA] Wich one are the biological/physicological changes that a person can feel in the outerspace?
Juan, I'm not an expert here but aside the feeling of weightlessness, one change that astronauts notice is a slowdown in their digestive system, especially at the beginning of the mission. New astronauts also experience space-sickness similar to sea-sickness.

[ SteveSokol/JSC - 357 - 08:40:09 ]
RE: [roger/wyerspanama] hi again... I would like to know what is NASA doing to protect our home planet Earth? or if it is a priority in any of your programs?
Hi Roger, I think someone else provided an answer to this earlier. I'll add a little since I,m a meteorologist in Mission Control. I do know Nasa is involved with "Mission to Planet earth. And the astronauts take pictures of earth and it's atmosphere on every mission. They take pictures of floods, droughts,deforestation,tropical storms,volcanoes,...damage from any of these, etc. They compare new pictures with pictures of older missions to see how the earth and it's environment is changing. A group called "Earth Resources" is involved in this operation. We in Spaceflight Meteorology Group do realtime operational forecasting for the shuttle... but also provide information on tropical storms,etc during missions.

[ ChrisGerty/JSC - 358 - 08:42:10 ]
RE: [Juan/WYERSBOLIVIA] Wich one are the biological/physicological changes that a person can feel in the outerspace?
Weightlessness can sometimes give someone a queasy feeling which is usually overcome in about a day or so. Also, there is a "fluid-shift" from the legs and feet to the head, which will make a person's face seem a little fuller, since the body is used to pumping blood from the feet to the head and letting gravity take care of pumping it from the head to the feet. Psychological effects are a little harder to pinpoint, but can be simulated on the ground with some habitat isolation tests. We have a chamber at JSC in which scientists will stay in for up to 120 days at a time to test ways to reuse our environments, but these tests are also used to see what parts of someone's environment affect how they feel (number of people, free time, view from the windows, etc..).

[ AngieLee/JSC - 362 - 08:42:55 ]
RE: [Juan/WYERSBOLIVIA] Wich one are the biological/physicological changes that a person can feel in the outerspace?
Hi, Juan...The body goes through many changes when exposed to microgravity. Have you ever been laying down on your bed, stood up too quickly, and then felt dizzy or light-headed? Well, that happens because when you suddenly change your body position, gravity will pull the blood from your head and upper body down into your legs. There are mechanisms in your body, including some in the blood vessels in your neck called baroreceptors, that help to regulate the blood levels in your body and to keep gravity from pulling it all down into your legs. Well, when you go into space, suddenly, there is no gravity to pull the blood into your legs--instead, it more evenly distributes itself througout your entire body. That even distribution, though, means more blood than normal ends up in your upper body and your head (have you ever noticed the astronauts with puffy faces on their first few days in flight?), so the baroreceptors in your neck are tricked into thinking that there is too much blood in your body. The then trigger other mechanisms in your body to start getting rid of the excess fluid--and the blood volume in the body drops. This is just one example, and we are constantly studying the astronauts to try and figure out how to help their bodies cope with the changes and to keep them healthy.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 363 - 08:44:17 ]
RE: [Rubber/WYERSBOLIVIA] What generation of computers are you going to use in the ISS? and, How easy will be replace/make manteinance those computers?
Most of the computers on the ISS will be like the ones in the store. The differnces are only in the fact that the computer will be space-worthy so that it keeps working in space. The astronauts are expected to have personal laptops to write journals and take notes in so they will be pentium level probibly. The computers in experiments would be built in the experiment and not replacible in most cases. I don't think they will need to do any major replacing of computers because they can simply transmit the data back to earth and let whatever computer they have crunch on the numbers. The Space station will be where they collect data from space but they don't have to analize the data their.

[ AngelicaHenry/WYESRPANAMA - 365 - 08:44:57 ]
Thank all of you for your time

[ EricHammer/JSC - 366 - 08:45:47 ]
RE: [LigiaEduina/WYESRPanama] what kind of trainings do the astronauts have to do before they arrive a space shuttle?It's really hard or everybody could be an astronaut?
I think the basic qualities of an astronaut are intelligence, great motivation to succeed, and a good spokesperson for the space industry. Many people have these qualities, and thus i think many people could be trained to be good astronauts.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 367 - 08:48:30 ]
RE: [WYERSMarioPrezBarranquillaColombia] I have heard that if there were life in another planet it would be based on silice instead of carbon due to their similar chemical characteristics. What kind of life do you think it would be?
Well it would be rocklike if it could exist since it is silicon based but it is doubtfull that it could. Silicon is a lot like carbon in some ways but does not make large chains like carbon does and it needs to do this to make some type of DNA like code that life requires. Hmmmm, a rock eating life form, Interesting.

[ AngieLee/JSC - 369 - 08:49:23 ]
RE: [WYERSMarioPrezBarranquillaColombia] I have heard that if there were life in another planet it would be based on silice instead of carbon due to their similar chemical characteristics. What kind of life do you think it would be?
That's an interesting question, and one that a lot of scientists have wondered about. Life forms evolved here on earth using carbon, but I think it is entirely possible that life could evolve on other planets using another element like silicon. What those life forms might look like, though, is anybody's guess...who knows, maybe someday we'll find out!

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 371 - 08:51:10 ]
RE: [WYERSAndrsRodrguezBarranquillaColombia] How much fuel does a space shuttle need to be launched?
The main propulsion system for the Shuttle requires the External Tank that contains over 1,300,000 pounds of liquid Oxygen and 200,000 poiunds of liquid hydorgen. The two Solid Rocket Boosters each contain over 1,000,000 pounds of solid rocket fuel.

[ AngieLee/JSC - 372 - 08:52:11 ]
RE: [Melissa/WYESRPanama] I want to be an Psychiatrist, is there any job for me at NASA?
The psychological effects of long-term space flight is starting to get more and more attention here at NASA than it has in the past. There just might be a job for a psychiatrist here in the future.

[ KurtBush/JSC - 373 - 08:53:04 ]
RE: [Rubber/WYERSBOLIVIA] How you protect the mirrors in the HST from micrometeorites
Well when the HST is not in operation the lens have a retractable cover that closes over it. However it is not really needed to much. Micrometeorites are rare and the HST is a small target in a large orbit around Earth. There is not much you can do to protect the mirrors and lenses if it does get hit but it is doubtfull that it will get hit and get hit at an angle to enter the HST.

[ EricHammer/JSC - 374 - 08:53:08 ]
RE: [EricHammer/JSC] I think the basic qualities of an astronaut are intelligence, great motivation to succeed, and a good spokesperson for the space industry. Many people have these qualities, and thus i think many people could be trained to be good astronauts.
The training astronauts go through for a particular mission is somewhat dependent upon what the mission objectives are and on what type of astronaut the person is. The pilot astronauts train primarily on flying tasks and are less involved in the payloads and the experiments that are taking place. The mission specialists on the other hand must know much more about each payload so that they can carry out the mission objectives. A mission specialist may train for as much as 2 years for a particular mission, whereas a pilot astronaut may train for as little as 6 months.

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 375 - 08:54:58 ]
RE: [Melissa/WYESRPanama] I want to be an Psychiatrist, is there any job for me at NASA?
Psychiatry is a great career. I'm sure NASA's need for psychiatry will be greater than ever with crew and personnel involved in extended missions. Being part of the "flight surgeion" team is a possibility.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 376 - 08:55:04 ]
A final reminder to share your thoughts with us at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats.

[ AngieLee/JSC - 377 - 08:55:05 ]
RE: [FranciscoPorrasPANAM] How does microgravity affect a payload?
Hi, Francisco....Microgravity can affect a payload in a lot of different ways. When we build hardware in my group here at JSC, one of the "quick and dirty" tests that we do to test a kit here on earth is to turn it upside down--if nothing falls out, then that's a good indication that nothing will float away in zero g.

[ LuisRodriguez/JSC - 379 - 08:57:48 ]
This is Dennis Stone, Volunteer President of Spaceweek International Association (using Luis' computer). I wanted to thank everyone, both the students and the Space Team Online, for participating today. We hope to repeat and expand this event each year during Spaceweek, the first full week of March each year.

[ EricHammer/JSC - 380 - 08:58:06 ]
RE: [WYERSAndrsRodrguezBarranquillaColombia] How much fuel does a space shuttle need to be launched?
Good question! The shuttle needs a lot of fuel to get to orbit. Several million pounds of liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, and solid propellants are used to get the shuttle into orbit.

[ LuisRodriguez/JSC - 386 - 08:59:54 ]
RE: [WYERSAndrsRodrguezBarranquillaColombia] How much fuel does a space shuttle need to be launched?
I don't have the exact number, but typically about 90% of the mass of a launch vehicle consists of fuel.

[ RickHashimoto/Boeing - 381 - 08:58:06 ]
RE: [Oran/NASAChatHost] EXPERTS, at this time, you may share any final comments you have with our international audience.
The interst shown by our international audience is tremendous. I wish there was more time when I'm able to respond a little better.

[ SteveSokol/JSC - 382 - 08:58:40 ]
RE: [Oran/NASAChatHost] EXPERTS, at this time, you may share any final comments you have with our international audience.
Enjoyed the International Chat.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 383 - 08:58:47 ]
We will now be ending our International Space Day forum with our NASA and space experts. We are especially grateful to all our NASA volunteers for their very thoughtful responses, and for sharing their career experience and expertise with us.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 384 - 08:59:14 ]
On behalf of Luis Rodriguez, coordinator of the WYSER program, and all our NASA and space experts, thank you very much for joining us for this special event. We hope to hear from you online in the future!

[ AngieLee/JSC - 385 - 08:59:45 ]
RE: [Oran/NASAChatHost] We will now be ending our International Space Day forum with our NASA and space experts. We are especially grateful to all our NASA volunteers for their very thoughtful responses, and for sharing their career experience and expertise with us.
This has been fun! I really enjoyed chatting with all of you. Keep up your interest in NASA and the space program!