astronaut – Techdirt (original) (raw)
Stories filed under: "astronaut"
DailyDirt: Putting People In Space Again
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
The goal of launching people into space is difficult to really justify. Robots can do just about all of the same tasks a human astronaut can, and if robots can’t, maybe we should work on building better robots. Still, manned missions to explore space are a really long term project that could lead to lunar space stations — or small colonies on the moon or Mars. And if we ever want to expand beyond the Earth, we’ll have to figure out how to travel in space for more than a few days at a time without the Earth’s protection.
- NASA could get a significant funding boost for 2016 — $19.3 billion to accelerate its efforts to get astronauts into space, along all the other things NASA does. NASA will still need to rely on Soyuz missions to get astronauts to the ISS for a few more years, but with a bigger budget, NASA could keep its Orion crew capsule on schedule for 2021. [url]
- Do you have the “right stuff” to be an astronaut for NASA? The government is accepting applications now, but if you’re not a test pilot of some kind, you’re going to need to have some serious science skills (and not be too tall/short or unfit). [url]
- Space suits are getting re-designed to walk in space and on Mars. The prototype suits are still bulky and protective, but they’re probably a bit more comfortable on the inside for longer excursions. [url]
- In the 1960s, being an astronaut had a bit more propaganda surrounding the job. The sheen has worn off over the years, but it’s still a noble profession. People are literally risking their lives to learn a bit more about space and how to live in it, and hopefully, we won’t be watching dramatic reality shows featuring astronauts any time soon. [url]
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Filed Under: astronaut, international space station, iss, manned missions, orion capsule, space, space exploration, space suit
Companies: nasa
DailyDirt: Not Living Off The Land Anymore
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
It’s not always easy to nurture plants so they grow and thrive, but it’s especially difficult without land — and gravity. Farming in space isn’t exactly a common activity, but if any significant number of people are going to live in space for longer than a few months (without re-supply cargo ships or huge stores of packaged food), astronauts are going to need to figure out how to grow their meals. Space station residents have only just started to eat plants they’ve grown in space, so it’ll be awhile before anyone is growing potatoes on Mars.
- Not too long ago, astronauts on the International Space Station ate vegetables grown in space for the first time. A greenhouse for growing plants has existed on the ISS since 2002, but no one on board ate the experiments before. It’s far from a sustainable habitat up there, obviously, but we haven’t exactly perfected sustainable farming techniques on the ground, either. [url]
- The very first space-grown vegetables were aboard the Mir space station in 1990, producing fresh radishes and Chinese cabbage. The first time plants were grown from seeds that were produced by parent plants that were also grown in space happened in 1997. A complete lifecycle (seed to seed) for growing plants in space isn’t as easy as just adding water and setting up some lights. Microgravity and a variety of environmental conditions make it difficult for some plants to propagate. [url]
- The ‘Seeds in Space’ program allowed thousands of students to witness the differences of growing plants in space versus growing them on Earth. The kids observed how plants (rocket lettuce) grew in all directions both in micro-gravity and without a light source. [url]
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Filed Under: astronaut, farming, food, iss, mars, micro-gravity, mir, seeds in space, space, space exploration, space station
Companies: nasa
DailyDirt: Sriracha In Everything
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
The hot sauce that has gotten insanely popular over the past few years is getting into everything. Several fast food chains — Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Taco Bell, Subway, Jack In The Box, Panda Express, Wendy’s — have added Sriracha to their menu in some way. There’s no trademark on Sriracha, so there’s no legal friction to using the name/product. Maybe some products aren’t using the real sauce, but it’s still free advertising for the authentic Sriracha. (And do you really want to risk alienating the rabid fans of Sriracha just to save a few bucks using a knock-off hot sauce?)
- Rogue Sriracha Hot Stout Beer has a little bit of rooster sauce in it. Spicy beer isn’t the only way to get drunk on Sriracha — there’s also Sriracha vodka (but that vodka doesn’t actually use real Sriracha sauce). [url]
- Sriracha-flavored popcorn made with authentic rooster sauce is available. “Every kernel is infused with the most amazing condiment on the planet.” [url]
- Sriracha has been in space — consumed by astronauts on the International Space Station. Sure, Tabasco is also available in space, but a liquid sphere of Tabasco is probably a bit messier than Sriracha in microgravity. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: astronaut, beer, fad, flavor, food, popcorn, rooster sauce, spicy, sriracha, tabasco, trademark, vodka
DailyDirt: Space Food
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Most people’s idea of astronaut food is freeze-dried ice cream — which astronauts don’t actually eat anymore. But with all the commercial space ventures that are trying to create a space tourism industry, maybe there should be more culinary options for zero gravity meals. Here are just a few examples of space food that might be better than a packet of salted peanuts.
- Making bread in space isn’t too easy, especially if you want it to have the same consistency as normal Earth-bound bread. A teenager has proposed a bread recipe for astronauts that involves low pressure aeration of flour dough and low temperature cooking. [url]
- NASA created specially-prepared food for Apollo astronauts in the 1960s. An example meal is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, and it looks just as unappetizing as it did several decades ago. [url]
- University of Colorado Boulder students are working on a robotic farming system for growing food for astronauts in space. This project is meant to support long-term missions such as a journey to Mars, and the automated system will attempt to seed plants, monitor plant growth, harvest and process crop residues. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.
Filed Under: apollo, astronaut, bread, food, freeze-dried meals, mars, robotic farming, space
NASA Sues Astronaut, Claiming He Stole Space Camera… 40 Years Ago
from the laches,-anyone? dept
With the Space Shuttle program ending, it appears that NASA has some spare time on its hands… and it’s using it to sue a former astronaut for trying to auction off a lunar movie camera that he claims he was given after becoming the sixth man to walk on the moon in 1971. Yes, he has had the camera for forty years, and it’s just now that he was seeking to auction it off that NASA suddenly remembered it existed and is claiming that it owns it. Is there really no statute of limitations here? Or possibly a laches claim? Frankly, the whole thing just seems petty.