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S P A C E T E A M O N L I N EUPDATE # 68 - February 1, 1999 PART 1: Saluting Black History Month SALUTING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
NASA Quest will celebrate African Americans who are making contributions at NASA during Black History Month, February 1999. The purpose is to spotlight remarkable individuals for the sake of inspiring and challenging young people to achieve their potential. For full schedules, see: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/mlk99/ As you can see from the upcoming events below, February will be a full month for live interactions with Black History Month, Female Frontiers, and several ISS specials. Mark your calendars and join as many as possible. This is probably a good time to remind you: If you register for a chat and fail to show up, there is the possibility that you are unnecessarily preventing another classroom from participation. Please let our QuestChat manager, Oran Cox at ocox@mail.arc.nasa.gov know if you are unable to attend a chat for which you are registered. Please note: The February 3 special university series event has been postponed until further notice. The description will remain online at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/iss/series.html We will notify you in these Updates when the event has been rescheduled. It's that time again! Within the next couple of weeks we will be sending out a survey requesting your inputs regarding the Space Team Online project. I know, I don't like to fill out forms either, but these surveys are very helpful to us in continuing to improve the quality of our projects and provide valuable information to our internal funders. I hope you will consider responding. It should take no more than five minutes to complete the form. An online survey form will also be available. Thanks in advance for your cooperation. On with the program! Linda UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS: ->Tuesday, February 2, 1999: 11:30 a.m. PST (3:30 p.m. EST) Female Frontiers Presents: Aprille Ericsson-Jackson, Ph.D., First (African American) female to receive a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University. See her profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/ericsson.html Register for the chat at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html ->Tuesday, February 9, 1999: 9:30 a.m. PST (12:30 p.m. EST) Janis Davis-Street is a nutritionist and works in the life sciences. She is part of a team that determines the nutritional requirements for space flight. Read her profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/davis.html Register at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/mlk99/ ->Tuesday, February 9, 1999: 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) Dian Hardison, is the first female admitted to the Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit. Read Dian Hardison's profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/hardison.html Register for the chat at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html ->Thursday, February 11, 1999: Noon PST (3 p.m. EST) Tony Bruins, system engineer/integrator Most of Tony's time is spent in the Advanced Projects and Analysis Office developing state-of-the-art technology to support flight controllers in the Mission Control Center (MCC). Read Tony Bruins' profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/bruins.html Register for the chat at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/mlk99/ ->Wednesday, February 17, 1999: 10:00 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST) Welcome to our regularly scheduled video tour of the International Space Station mockup and training facility from Johnson Space Center. You will be able to ask your questions during the tour and have them answered during the event. For more information see: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/tours/ ->Thursday, February 18, 1999: 9:30 a.m. PST (12:30 p.m. EST) Some Assembly Required - Give your students an inside look at what it takes to assemble the people, the parts and the plan for the world's largest orbiting research facility, the International Space Station. Join program 1 at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/iss/program.html Program 2 is listed on the 25th below. ->Tuesday, February 23, 1999: 9:00 a.m. PST (Noon EST) Dawn Riley, First female captain of America's Cup Team See her profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/riley.html Register for the chat at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html -> Wednesday, February 24, 1999: 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST) Ruth Simmons, First female to head major University as president of Smith College - See her profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/ Register for the chat at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html ->Thursday, February 25, 1999: 9 a.m. PST (Noon EST) Oran Cox, NASA Quest, QuestChat Project Manager. Oran is also a graduate student at San Jose State University. See his profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/ocox.html Register for the chat at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/mlk99/ ->February 25, 1999: 10:00 a.m. PST (1:00 p.m. EST) Make It Your Business - Join viewers for a world-wide, interactive forum to discuss the global implications of commercialization of the space industry. A diverse panel of top NASA, university and commercial researchers, international investors, and other experts will take your questions and comments on the air. Join in at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/iss/program.html [Editor's note: Angie works at Johnson Space Center helping the scientists whose experiments have been chosen to fly in space to develop and obtain the things they need.] WATCHING THE LAUNCH OF STS-95 IN PERSON, A BLAST!! http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/lee.html Interviewer: Lori Keith January 21, l999 I wrote in my last journal about my work on the STS-95 mission. Now, the mission is over, and I can breathe a sigh of relief. I was able to go down to Florida for the launch and landing of STS-95, which included Senator John Glenn. This was really cool. I've seen a few launches before, but this was one was really neat. One of the girls I was with had never seen a launch before (not even on television), so watching her reaction was a treat for me. During this particular launch, there happened to be two Shuttles on the pad, as Endeavor was being readied for STS-88 launching in December. It was funny when one of the Florida news teams' cameras focused on the wrong pad during takeoff. Another thing different about this launch was the extent of the press coverage and all the hoopla. It was absolutely insane. John Glenn's press entourage was incredible. During training for this mission, I got really close to this crew. Watching them, watching the launch, I started to cry! It really moved me, it was so emotional! This whole process can be really intense at times. This was my first landing to see at Kennedy, as the other one I watched was at Dryden. The same girl I watched the launch with was there for landing. She was really surprised at how loud the double sonic boom can be during landing -- you can actually feel it in your chest. I was also interviewed (during the launch just as I was crying) by, of all people, a news reporter from KTRK-13 in Houston, my hometown. I thought that was neat and so did my family and friends who watched it on the 10 o'clock news that night. Before the launch, while I was at Kennedy, I saw Marvin Zindler (a famous KTRK-13 news personality) too. Security was very strict. During landing, security was under Threat Condition Bravo (a higher security level than normal). The mission went really well, and all our objectives were met. On another note, I have six experiments assigned to me, to make ready, to fly on the International Space Station (ISS). Right now, I am really concentrating on learning how the ISS is organized in respect to how to feed our information into the ISS systems. We have to figure out how the Shuttle people and ISS people can merge their common and different attitudes and procedures to work together. The experiments I am working on are all concerned with life science. I work with the principle investigator (PI) to take their experiment requirements and fit it with the capabilities of the ISS. On one of the experiments, I am working with Dr. Gilles Clement, a French PI. His project concerns eye movements and motion perception induced by off-vertical axis rotation (OVAR) at small angles of tilt after spaceflight. The astronaut is put in a special chair that spins (artificial acceleration). This test studies the vestibular system -- which is the balance organs in the ear and all the connections they make to the eyes, brain, and muscles. This experiment is scheduled for Increment 3 and is pre- and post-flight baseline data collection (BDC) only. Nothing is done in-flight. Another experiment I am working on, due to go up in Increment 2, is an exercise protocol designed by Dr. Per Tesch to study how muscles change. Dr. Tesch will be studying the effects of resistance training, using flywheel technology (like a funky bike), on unloaded skeletal muscle. This experiment involves taking pre- and post-flight MRI scans of various muscle groups (especially in the upper thighs). Again, nothing is done in-flight for this. The other four experiments are working after Increment 5. They all have pre- and post-flight BDC and in-flight activities, too. They should prove quite interesting. I'll write about them in future journals. I hope you all have a great year -- Happy 1999!! [Editor's note: As the journal explains, Janis works with a team that attempts to determine the nutritional requirements for space flight. Join this popular chat expert on February 9 - details in events schedule above] NUTRITION IN SPACE - PLANS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
by Janis Davis-Street http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/davis.html February 1, l999 As the new millennium approaches, we are planning exciting things in the Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory here at the Johnson Space Center. Our studies on board the Mir Space Station revealed the exciting potential for future studies on the International Space Station. Both Dave Wolf and Andy Thomas monitored their food intake weekly using a computerized food frequency questionnaire (see Field Journal dated 1/20/98). We are also hoping to use these protocols for the International Space Station. We plan to determine crew nutritional status before their missions, providing dietary counseling if deficiencies are noted. Food intake will again be monitored during the mission with real-time feedback from the ground. Body weight (mass) will be measured before flight, while on orbit, and on return to Earth. On mission completion, nutritional status will again be monitored to assess recovery in the post-flight period. Nutritional status assessment is critical for making sure that our crewmembers are healthy before, during and after long missions. A case in point is the assessment of Vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is important for bone and calcium health, on the ground and during space flight. We get most of our vitamin D from dairy products and from sunlight exposure. Because the spacecrafts are heavily shielded to reduce astronauts' exposure to harmful radiation, exposure to the sun is limited on orbit. We have also learned from previous studies, that crewmembers' vitamin D levels are frequently decreased during the winter months in Russia, as compared to studies in sunny Houston. Star City, Russia, is about the latitude of Alaska and receives limited sunlight during winter. This can be significant as astronauts will complete some training in Russia. Knowing the vitamin D status in crewmembers before flight gives us a chance to make sure that they leave Earth with adequate stores. We are always on the lookout for techniques that can help assess crew health 'on the spot'. Such information, taken together with what we know about food intake and body weight, can offer amazing opportunities for telemedicine (long distance medical treatment) as we move into the 21st century. Indeed, it will be interesting to develop and investigate new methods for determining crew health before, during and after the long International Space Station missions, as they will give us added insight into the effects of space flight on the human body. One of the areas that we are particularly interested in is bone health during long missions. Bone loss represents one of the greatest challenges for future space travel. We have completed studies of bone health as part of our nutritional assessment protocols, and as the main focus of life sciences research studies, on board the Mir Space Station. These latter studies have looked at the effects of long missions on indices of bone health in blood and urine samples. In addition, we have looked at the effect of space flight on calcium kinetics, that is, the movement of calcium throughout the body, with special interest in bone. We are planning to continue these studies on board the International Space Station (see http://www.faseb.org/asns/calcium.html). We may also have a chance to look at the early effects of space flight so that we can determine whether or not these effects are gradual or sudden. Our understanding of these factors will help us to determine countermeasures, or ways to prevent or reduce the loss of bone, during long missions. Our planned studies for International Space Station are good examples of the research process in action. First, we developed a research question (e.g., What are the effects of space flight on bone health?) Second, we looked at what has been done in this area (e.g., We reviewed published studies), and did some preliminary studies of our own. Third, we began our current process of collecting data. This is by no means a trivial matter, especially in the space program. Getting enough study participants has its obvious challenges, and then there are the additional challenges of doing science in space. These include special hardware for collecting biological samples (blood, urine and saliva), as well as storage volume and power issues on board the spacecraft. We are in the process of studying additional crewmembers - the studies planned for the International Space Station will be a splendid opportunity for this. Next on our agenda will be data analysis - this will include measuring the amounts of hormones and other chemical components in the biological samples, then organizing all of the data. Finally, we will summarize the data and draw conclusions from which we can perhaps make general statements (i.e., interpret) about our findings. By understanding what goes on with bone and calcium during space flight, we may be able to better understand bone diseases, like osteoporosis, here on Earth. Nutrition is involved in many aspects of health that are affected by space flight, including immune function, bone health, antioxidant status, and body composition. We have much to learn about the role of nutrition during long missions. Full realization of the role of nutrition will be critical to future planetary exploration in the new millennium.
Below, we provide reports on the processing of Shuttle Columbia taken from the detailed daily reports found at the NASA Shuttle Status web site at http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/status.htm. At times these reports will contain jargon and unfamiliar terms; our intent is not to confuse you but to provide a glimpse at all the steps involved. Columbia's forward and aft compartment closeouts continue and potable water servicing is under way. The orbiter's drag chute compartment is undergoing instrumentation work this week. A system of temporary sensors is being installed inside the compartment to help engineers better understand the structural stress associated with vehicle transfers. Shuttle managers are awaiting information from Chandra spacecraft officials to determine Columbia's target launch date and any impacts to future scheduled Shuttle flights.
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