Living in Space

by Joan Marie Galat 

Photo credit: NASA

Astronauts have been living over our heads—in outer space—on a continuous basis since 2000. It takes three astronauts to run the International Space Station (ISS) but up to ten may be on board at one time. The entire structure is as big as a football field but the living area is only about the size of a five-bedroom house. Giant solar panels power the station. Some of the electricity is used to split water into gas to generate oxygen for the astronauts. The ISS orbits the Earth at a speed of 28,500 kilometres per hour. That’s eight kilometres a second—25 times faster than the speed of sound! 

I wanted to know what it’s like to live on the ISS, and made plans to write a book on the topic. As part of my research, I visited NASA facilities and watched a SpaceX Falcon heavy rocket launch. The result is the middle grade novel Mortimer: Rat Race to Space (DCB 2022). Written for ages 9-12, it tells the story of a journal-keeping lab rat who sets out to collect scientific evidence that will prove his species is the one that should colonize Mars. Mortimer records video for his future YouTube channel, but not everything goes as planned. He is forced to face new truths about dreams, friendships, and choosing the right thing to do. You can read an excerpt on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com. 

I collected much more information than I could use, including these facts: 

- Astronauts can’t be too tall or short. If you want to be an astronaut, try to grow taller than 62 inches but stay below 75 inches. 

- American astronauts must have 20/20 vision, even if that means wearing glasses, contacts, or undergoing eye surgery. 

- In the USA, jet pilots with at least 1000 hours of flying time, and teachers who have taught K-12, can apply to be astronauts. 

- Astronauts practice everything they’ll do in space on Earth. This includes how to fix malfunctioning equipment, use cameras, conduct experiments, make a meal, stow equipment, and even store trash. 

- Every astronaut has a university education and experience in engineering, biological science, physical science, or math. 

- Astronauts find out what it’s like to be weightless before they go into space. They practice floating inside a high flying plane known as the vomit comet. The plane flies to an altitude of 24,000 feet then climbs at a 45 degree angle to reach 34,000 feet. It then enters a controlled free fall which involves traveling to 24,000 feet in a gradual curve, following a 30-degree descent. This gives about 20 seconds of being weightless. The sensation of weightlessness makes a lot of people feel nauseous. Passengers in the vomit comet also feel 1.8 times heavier when the plane reaches its lowest point. 

- You can experience a few seconds of being weightless when you go down a sudden drop on a rollercoaster or other amusement park ride. 

If you’d like to see the International Space Station pass by at night, visit the Resources page of my website to access information on alerts for your area. If you’re an educator interested in a STEM or STEAM-themed presentation based on Mortimer: Rat Race to Space, contact me to ask about my virtual session—A Rat, A Rocket, and Science. As well as fun science, it includes literacy-building discussion on research, misinformation, and writing.

Fiction with science elements

 Our own Joan Marie Galat shared on Facebook the news of her soon-to-be released book, Mortimer: Rat Race to Space -- which you can tell from the title and the cover image is a work of fiction with a lot of science elements!

Joan says:

Cover reveal! Scheduled for release in September 2022 by Cormorant Books. This is my first middle-grade novel and I'm super excited! I expect to hold a launch but you can also preorder through the links below. Preorders help authors and shopping at independent bookstores helps too. That's my pitch!

Edmonton: https://audreys.ca/item/Sz_EzYizsPkW9cJp8r_mmQ

Calgary: https://shop.owlsnestbooks.com/.../mortimer.../k/keyword

Amazon.ca: mybook.to/Preorder_Mortimer

Amazon.com

mybook.to/Mortimer_Amazon_Galat

NASA's Planetary Protection Officer

By Paula Johanson

There's been a new job posting at NASA, for a Planetary Protection Officer.

Sounds like something from the film Men In Black, doesn't it? But for NASA, planetary protection isn't so much about people resisting invasion by giant space bugs. It's about tiny germs.

NASA needs to avoid "organic-constituent and biological contamination in human and robotic space exploration." Policies for planetary protection apply to all space flight missions, whether they might carry Earth microbes or bring back microbes in samples from comets and asteroids. The posting lasts three to five years before someone else will be hired.

"It is not a new post," wrote reporter Andy Hayes for Sky News. Click here to read his article. He went on to add:

The current holder, Catharine Conley, was presented with a pair of sunglasses on her first day in the job back in 2006 - bringing to mind Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in Men in Black.

Dr Conley told the New York Times in 2015 that she was keen to keep Mars from becoming contaminated by anything from Earth.

"If we're going to look for life on Mars, it would be really kind of lame to bring Earth life and find that instead," Dr Conley said.

"So far, Mars is still pretty clean."

While most of the people applying for the position already work at NASA in some capacity, one of the first applicants was a civilian. Nine-year-old Jack Davis sent his letter of application, and it was well-received. The director of NASA's planetary science division, Dr James L. Green, wrote him an encouraging reply and you can read both letters at this link.

Canada's next Governor General - out of this world!

By Claire Eamer

Literally, she was out of this world. Twice! Julie Payette, who will take up the post of Governor General of Canada in the fall, is a scientist, an astronaut, and the first Canadian woman to board the International Space Station (ISS).

Julie Payette. Canadian Space Agency photo.

In fact, she helped build it. In 1999, she spent nine days as part of the second mission ever to the ISS. In a 2015 interview with Macleans Magazine, she said she thought of herself as a space construction worker. "We brought the first three tons of equipment, including some of the Imax camera stuff. We literally switched the light on to the station and walked in."

In 2009, Payette left Earth again, this time as flight engineer aboard the space shuttle. During that trip, she got to manipulate the giant, Canadian-designed robotic arms on the shuttle and the space station - Canadarm and Canadarm2. It was a tense assignment, she said in the Macleans interview: "When you're moving something on a a multi-billion-dollar structure, with people on board who count on that structure for safety and integrity, a mistake is not an option."

Payette has degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. She holds a commercial pilot's licence and is also a qualified pilot of military jet aircraft. She speaks English and French fluently, and can also carry on a conversation in Russian, Italian, Spanish, and German. And if that's not enough, she plays piano and has sung with several major classical music groups.

The 53-year-old Payette retired from the Canadian Space Agency in 2013, and became chief operating officer of the Montreal Science Centre. She left that job recently and will be sworn in as Governor General probably in late September or early October.

As the representative of the Crown in Canada, the Governor General performs the Queen's duties as set out in the Canadian constitution. It is a largely ceremonial role, but offers the person performing it plenty of opportunity to interact with Canadians in all regions and at all levels. Most recent governors general have used the opportunity to bring attention to an aspect of Canadian life that they feel strongly about.

In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Payette said it's still too early to say what her priorities will be during her tenure, but that they will include science and a knowledge-based society. As both a scientist and a science communicator, she is admirably equipped to take on that task.

References:

• Buck, Genna. "What's the scariest part about being in space?" Macleans, 20 August 2015.
• Leblanc, Daniel. "Julie Payette says being governor-general a chance to serve Canada 'on Earth'." Globe and Mail, 13 July 2017.
• Biography of Julie Payette. Canadian Space Agency, 10 September 2013.
• The Canadian Press. "Former astronaut Julie Payette will be Canada's next Governor General." The Star, 13 July 2017.

Lego Launches Women into Space Play!

Post by Helaine Becker

Count down to equal opportunity, on this planet and beyond. Lego has introduced a new set of figures that celebrate female space pioneers.

They include Katherine Johnson (the subject of the Hollywood blockbuster, Hidden Figures, and my own upcoming picture book, Counting on Katherine), Mae Jemison, Sally Ride, Nancy Grace Roman and Margaret Hamilton.

It's five small steps for womankind, and a giant leap for all!

Katherine Johnson calculated trajectories to the
moon and back for the Apollo program

Margaret Hamilton wrote the in flight software for Apollo,
and was a pioneer in computer science.

Deep Space Network!

By Paula Johanson

This week, my new favourite science website is once again a NASA site. Their Deep Space Network keeps track of communications from interplanetary spacecraft, on missions around the solar system and beyond. And when you click on the link for their live feed, you can see representations of the signals being received right at that very moment by NASA's three big radio telescopes.

As they say:

When it comes to making a long-distance call, it's hard to top NASA's Deep Space Network. It’s the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications system in the world.

This is an image borrowed from the Deep Space Network website -- thank you, NASA!

Wandering through this website is fascinating. There are so many little details that will fascinate fans of space programs like me. Next to the image of Voyager was this caption:

Several times per week, the DSN antennas capture signals from the two Voyager spacecraft, which are exploring the edge of interstellar space. Their signal has a received power 20 billion times weaker than that of a digital wristwatch. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

My favourite science website isn't the same one, day in and day out. Lately, about every week there's another website that comes to my attention and is suddenly my NEW favourite. Many of these websites are based on astronomy or space exploration, with amazing photographs and videos. Other sites are focusing on citizen science, or geology, or nearly any science. I'm not fickle so much as distractable -- SQUIRREL! (That's my favourite quote from the film Despicable Me.)

Free Space Program Info from NASA

Rocket ships, telescopes, and astronauts! My computer brings me NASA's Astronomy Pictureof the Day and Image of the Day. NASA's space program has been fascinating since I was a child. These days, it's interesting in more ways, and the information is much more accessible than it ever was. 

Mike Collins in a command module simulator on June 19, 1969 during a practice rendezvous

 and docking maneuver with the lunar module. Credits: NASA

 

Did you know that since it was founded, NASA makes heaps of learning materials available for free? Fifty years ago, there were only newspaper articles for me and my brother to read about the Apollo program. We watched the moon landings on our family's black-and-white television. Then in a science magazine we found the mailing address for NASA. In reply to our questions about astronauts, NASA sent us free pamphlets and posters and booklets. We sent blank videotapes and got back recordings about Mars and Venus probes. We were the space program experts at our school back then! 

 

That same feeling of “kid in a candy store” is what I get today at NASA's website at nasa.gov . It's wonderful to see the photos and videos of images from telescopes and from probes that visit other planets. Banners at the top of the screen organize links to many pages on different topics. When I wanted detailed articles to read on Curiosity Mars rover, it was easy to find information. Social media links are there, for daily updates from NASA on current events such as the Pluto fly-by. I even found podcasts and ebooks to download for my phone and tablet, and ringtone mp3s for my spouse to mix into Acid music loops! There is material of interest for people of every age or reading level, and particular attention is paid to teachers and students. For young children, there are NASA Space Place at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ and NASA Kids Club.

This Jan. 19, 2016, self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle 

at "Namib Dune," where the rover's activities included scuffing into the dune with a wheel 

and scooping samples of sand for laboratory analysis.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

I'll never forget watching the dawn sky from an isolated farm north of Edmonton as the space station went by, and feeling connected to the space program because I looked it up at https://spotthestation.nasa.gov . The information NASA gathers on Earth and in space is for everyone. International scientists study data and draw conclusions that are wide-reaching. Doctors in Canada's North use monitoring and communications systems originally developed for astronaut safety. Artists are inspired by images and ideas from programs that study the solar system and galaxies.

We may never know how many people are helped by NASA making this knowledge available. You can look at NASA's web pages on Benefits To You to get some idea of the impact. The weather data alone is priceless. As for my brother who made an astronaut costume for Hallowe'en, he grew up to test computer games and security programs, and edit Neo-opsis Magazine. I'm the author of over two dozen books on science for educational publishers. With my friends and colleagues I write for our blog Sci/Why which has a list of family-friendly science books you can find in the left-hand column on this page. Whenever someone says they want to know more about astronomy and the space program, I send them to NASA's website for all kinds of information.

Happy Book Birthday!

Post by Helaine Becker

It's a Big Bang Book Bash! I'm delighted to announce the publication of my newest book, Everything Space! (National Geographic Kids). Readers ages 8+ will get blasted into space, where we explore planets, stars, and beyond. This fun book will pull you in like gravity, if I do say so myself. It's full of jaw-dropping facts, first-hand reports from space explorers, detailed maps and fascinating infographics. It also has more than 100 stunning pictures.

The Kiss Connection in Spacecraft

By Paula Johanson

If you've ever wondered what connection could there possibly be between chocolate and the space program, well, there is one. According to Colonel Chris Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut, it's the shape of a Hershey's Kiss.

On December 12, Hadfield posted on Facebook a picture of four spaceships, comparing the shape of the re-entry modules. All four have a similar shape. It's actually Hadfield's son Evan who manages most of Hadfield's social media posting, and he does so with grace and efficiency.

The Hadfields wrote a caption for the image:

The natural shape of spaceships. Apollo vs NASA's current fleet under construction. The Hershey's Kiss shape makes the spaceships inherently stable, and the broad flat bottom helps spread the blistering heat of re-entry. By moving the centre of gravity we can alter how the ships fly, and thus roll and steer them to both reduce g-load and land precisely.

It was Evan Hadfield who went on to add the following note:

All four of the modules shown have the same basic curved bottom, for the heat shield that protects the module while it returns to the Earth's surface. It is the shifting of the centre of gravity that allows it to creates lift – they shift it in the shaping of the capsule. Those two concepts are just different descriptions of the same thing.

One of the readers of Chris Hadfield’s Facebook page, Scott Corliss, had this to say about the curved bottoms of the re-entry modules:

The basic shape and curveture radius for the heat shields were worked out in the early 1960s by Harvey Allen, Max Faget and Caldwell Johnson (as noted in a book, Smithsonian Air & Space Collectors Edition, Fall 2013). Slide rule and engineering paper solutions still work today!

There's an adult discussion about the shape of the re-entry modules on the Space page on Reddit; for those who like to get a bit technical, click here.

And for those of any age who prefer a more hands-on approach to learning about space, there’s a link to a page here with instructions on how to make a spaceship-shaped treat for a space-themed party, complete with a Hershey's Kiss on top for a re-entry module. Now I know what to make for my brother's next birthday party -- he's been a spaceship fan since before the Apollo launches!

Welcome Back, Commander Hadfield!

When I was a child, the Apollo space missions were taking place. My brother wore a home-made space-suit for Hallowe'en, and we learned everything we could about the American space program. It was exciting to see the formation of the Canadian Space Agency and to find the CSA's Facebook page. I've even been lucky enough to meet two Canadian astronauts, Marc Garneau and Bob Thirsk. But for a couple of months now, I've had an astronaut in space as my Facebook friend and Twitter contact!

This is astronaut Chris Hadfield's profile photo from Facebook!

For the past five months, it's been fascinating to follow the activities of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield in orbit aboard the International Space Station. Space fans and science fans around the world have been able to keep track of Hadfield's journey in many ways. The usual news reports on television, radio, and in the newspapers -- usual for any space program -- have been supplemented with an amazing number of updates directly from Hadfield.

With the help of his grown son back on Earth, Hadfield has sent a series of Twitter updates that give readers an interesting perspective on the life of astronauts aboard the space station. Many of these Twitter updates have a photograph or a short video attached! You can see an album of fifteen of these photographs at The Guardian newspaper's website. The same website has a three-minute video with a few highlights of the many videos Hadfield has shared.

My friends and I are currently having a friendly argument about which video is our favourite. One space fan likes the haircut best of all -- in this sequence, another astronaut is trimming Hadfield's hair back to a short brush-cut, using an electric clipper hooked up to a vacuum hose so the bits of hair don't drift around and make a hazardous mess. Several of us were fascinated to watch Hadfield doing a simple experiment at a Canadian student's suggestion: what happens when you wring out a washcloth, in space? When Hadfield co-wrote a song with Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies, there were several recordings made so that Hadfield could sing in real time with both this Canadian music group and with choirs from Canadian schools.

One of the most popular videos is Hadfield's version of a song by David Bowie, called "A Space Oddity."


Hadfield's current video interview is posted here on YouTube. It takes almost an hour -- something that might be nice to listen to while getting homework books organized, or doing some sketching, or washing dishes. (Can you tell that I like to multi-task, and also to integrate my science interests into the rest of my day?) An additional bonus for Canadians is that Hadfield speaks in French for portions of the interview; if you're an English-speaker who is learning French, this video is a good opportunity to practise picking out words in your expanding vocabulary of science words.

Astronomy's Fantastic Fiveby Joan Marie Galat

Astronomy's Fantastic Five

by Joan Marie Galat

Next time it's too cloudy to enjoy the night sky, explore these five fantastic astronomy sites:

• View from the International Space Station at this moment! 
  

• Choosing Binoculars

• Choosing a Telescope

• How to Become an Astronaut
  
• Space Weather.

You can find more astronomy resources, as well as information on the Dot to Dot in the Sky book series at www.joangalat.com under Astronomy and Books.

What's NOT a black hole?

By M. E. Powell
(Photo - http://creativity103.com)

Scientists and science fiction writers often influence or inspire each other. I gained some insight into that process during "When Words Collide," the Calgary science fiction and genre writers festival, earlier this year.

For example,  David Wesley Hobill of the University of Calgary led a workshop in his special interest subjects: black holes, dark energy, and dark matter. I'm sure I'll over-simplify what he said, but his lecture shed some light on the "dark side of the universe" for me.

Hobill talked about finding black holes by observing gravitational effects. For example, we may observe a quasar at a far distance from Earth. If something is between us and the quasar, we know the gravity of that object will bend the light coming from the quasar. This "gravitational lensing" results in multiple images. If we observe light bending or being redirected around an object, but we can't see what is causing the light to bend, we deduce that a black hole is likely the cause.

Gravitational time delays caused by strong gravity may also cause time to slow down. Curved space requires more time to traverse. Inside it, a person's heartbeat may slow to two beats per hour, for instance, causing the person to live longer. Time would appear to stop. (You can imagine what science fiction writers might make of that train of thought!)

Hobill also debunked some popular science fiction myths about black holes. For example, he said, black holes are not:
- cosmic vacuum cleaners
- portals to another universe
- made of dense material.
In fact, black holes are completely empty space, he said, caught at the moment of a change of energy.

Instead, he pointed out, scientists would say that black holes are:
- formed from the gravitational collapse of a star 
- empty of space-time
- boundaries of causally separated regions
- cold and black
- and very very small.
If our sun collapsed into a black hole, for example, it would implode the gravitational forces, and it would become 400,000 times smaller. In other words, Hobill said, it would end up being about the size of downtown Calgary.

Here are some interesting links to follow up, if you're interested in black holes:
Hubble Site: Black Holes - Gravity's relentless pull: http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/
NASA: Black Holes - What are they? http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/black_holes.html
NASA: What is a black hole? http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/what-is-a-black-hole-k4.html 
Black Holes - Frequently asked questions: http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/BHfaq.html

M. E Powell is the a Regina-based professional writer and the author of Dragonflies are Amazing (Scholastic Canada, 2007).