Monday 29 October 2012

SpaceUP Stuttgart




I was lucky enough to attend the space unconference SpaceUP Stuttgart this weekend. Originating in the US, SpaceUP allows participants to speak openly about a topic they are passionate about.

Speakers such as my professor Chris Welch and ESA representative Rudiger Jehn conducted presentations on a variety of space-related concepts such as the Interstellar Society and 'What's so strange about Mercury?'

I enjoyed snowy Stuttgart with friends from the Space Studies Program in Florida this summer who were also in attendance, which made the weekend that much more enjoyable.

-Nikita

Monday 1 October 2012

Alsatian Food, Wine & Castles

This week I've had the chance to learn how astronauts medically treat themselves in space, meet some of the Board of Trustees of the International Space University and visit some beautiful places in  Mont Sainte Odille whilst conducting remote sensing work.

Astronaut Life Support Kit


Attaching electrodes in order to measure my eye movement

Once the biomedical workshop was over, we managed to complete and submit our third assignment which involved designing a NanoRacks experiment on plants for flight aboard the International Space Station.  I particularly enjoyed this project since it utilised my Biological Sciences background for application into the space industry.

My university threw us a traditional Alsatian dinner of Tarte Flambee, cooked authentically in an outdoor wood oven. This gave my class and I a chance to meet the Board of ISU trustees and some alumni of the university.


Cosmonaut suit flown in space

I have been learning about Remote Sensing satellite applications on Earth this week also. ISU has their own GENSO ground station, where satellites passing over the Strasbourg campus can be tracked in real time.

Tracking satellites at GENSO ground station

We also took a day trip to Mont Sainte Odille, where we visited Roshein Romanesque church and an ancient castle in the Vosges mountains before learning how to make and tasting Alsatian wine at Arthur Metz winery.

Roshein /Romanesque Church


Alsatian wine tasting
The House of Tears

This week, our assignment topic is remote sensing images of Mont Sainte Odille and what can and can't be identified from them. 

- Nikita

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