Catching a Comet - Rosetta Mission Landing Success!

Today, history has been made as the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta Mission becomes the first spacecraft to land on the surface of a comet. After separating from its comet-chasing companion, Rosetta, lander Philae touched down on the mysterious surface after a nail-biting 7 hour descent. Philae has boldy gone where no human-built spacecraft has ever gone before. 

Dotted with large cliffs, boulders and jets of gas and dust, landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was no easy feat and was the most critical milestone in the decade long mission. Now that Philae is safely on the surface, it will use its instruments to conduct science and provide experts on Earth with clues into not only the comet's history and origins but also our own. Humanity may well have begun with the help of comet seeding - the notion that a comet carrying water through the solar system collided into our planet, triggering life. We may soon be able to know the answer to this and many other secrets hidden in the treasure chest of knowledge that is comet 67P.

The possibilities are endless, and this mission marks the first of hopefully many momentous missions that really challenge us as a species and encourage us to work together as one to unlock the many mysteries of our Universe and protect our precious planet whilst we do so. Today I feel proud to not only be a part of this space-faring generation and a European, but most importantly to be human.

Now, that is one small step for Philae and one giant leap for mankind :)

-Nikita

Köln - The Human Side of Space at DLR & ESA

 I recently visited the beautiful German city of Köln (or Cologne). Sitting on both sides of the River Rhine, Köln has always been on my list of favourite cities in the world. Its unique skyline is a blend of quaint, historical architecture and modern, high-rise buildings — making it a European city definitely worth visiting. 

As well as being a cool city, Köln is also home to the headquarters of the German Space Agency or Deutsches zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) and the European Space Agency's (ESA) European Astronaut Centre (EAC) -  making it that much cooler if you ask me :)

During my time in Cologne, I visited both DLR HQ and the EAC ESA centre. The last time I came here was during the ESA Space Medicine Workshop in 2011 when I was still a Biology student at the University of Birmingham. It was great to return over 3 years later now that I work in the space industry and to see it with new, more knowledgeable eyes. 

I paid a visit to the StABLE Study at DLR in particular. The study aims to investigate the impact of a changing rotational axis upon brain perfusion and fluid shift to the lower extremities. In essence, it is trying to figure out the extent to which the Short-Arm Human Centrifuge (SAHC) can be used as a potential countermeasure to the negative impacts of space on the human body. 

Ranging from muscle and bone loss to fluid shift, the SAHC is proposed as an ideal countermeasure to these space side-effects thanks to its short radius. Yet, the extent to which it may be so is still unknown. I watched subjects being spun for science at DLR — work that will better enable scientists to understand the effects of this centrifuge on the human body, especially when the central point of rotation is altered.

Next up on my space agency tour of Köln was the EAC. Home to all things astronaut — the ESA centre is in fact led by ESA astronaut Frank de Winne. As a powerhouse of human spaceflight, the EAC is where astronauts are selected, trained and provided with medical care & support for themselves as well as their families both before and during their time in space.

The Neutral Buoyancy Facility at the EAC is used to simulate weightlessness during astronaut training. It is a great way for astronauts to practice spacewalking and although you can still feel the pull of gravity whilst underwater, it is the closest you can get to microgravity on Earth.

 I also pretended to be Commander of the Soyuz spacecraft - the vehicle that carries astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Developed for the Soviet Space Program in the 1960s, it is still in use today!

My friend Antonio Fortunato works in the position of EUROCOM - or European Spacecraft Communicator. Here, he relays information to the International Space Station from the Columbus Flight Control Team in Munich. When I was there, the station was threatened by a piece of debris - a problem that is unfortunately ever increasing. Teams on Earth worked hard to ensure that the space station successfully dodged the debris - using the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to conduct a debris avoidance maneuver - boosting the station to a higher orbit. Science: 1, Real-life Gravity movie: 0 

Another example of the work conducted by people on Earth for life in space is demonstrated by my friend Romain Charles (pictured above). He spent 520 days in crew isolation from 2010-2011 as part of the first simulation of a manned mission to Mars and back. Named Mars 500 - the psychological experiment kept the crew of 6 locked in their spacecraft as they simulated a return trip to the Red Planet. An incredible achievement!

As a key player in European space activities, Germany definitely is the place to be to learn more about human spaceflight. My trip to DLR and the EAC was a unique insight into the process, people and research involved with putting a human in orbit around Earth. The human side of space is very much present in Germany and I believe that such work is not only important, but vital to advancing as a species together - here on Earth and beyond.

Tschüss!

-Nikita

Clues to a Cosmic Crime

Not so long ago, I travelled to the picturesque town of Tergensee. Nestled beside the Alps, it is home to the recording studio used by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to film the video podcast series - ESOcast and Hubblecast. 

These videos tell the stories from the frontline of astronomy from both ESO and  NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope perspectives — using spectacular graphics, witty metaphors and awe-inspiring scientific information.

We spent the day with Dr. Joe Liske, otherwise known as 'Dr J' the narrator of both podcasts as he narrated scenes against the studio's green screen. 

I co-wrote the script for Hubblecast Episode 72: Clues to a Cosmic Crime and was lucky enough to make a cameo appearance in the video!

This episode of Hubblecast witnesses a cosmic crime in action, as a spiral galaxy moves through the heart of galaxy cluster named Abell 3627. The cluster has no mercy on its galactic visitor as it rips the spiral's entrails out into space, leaving bright blue streaks as telltale clues to this cosmic crime.

 As someone that watched these videos online before joining ESO, it was a great behind-the-scenes insight into the production work that goes into creating these magnificent pieces of science communication. 

The Hubblecast is out today, you'll understand why Dr. J looks so windswept in the photo above when you watch Hubblecast Episode 72: Clues to a Cosmic Crime below or on YouTube here. My cameo appearance is at 2:42 :)

- This is Nikita, signing off for Making Apple Pie From Scratch, 'once again nature has surprised us beyond our wildest imaginations'.

Columbus Calling

Yesterday morning, I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the Columbus Control Centre. Located at the German Aerospace Centre - DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) it sits just outside Munich in a place called Oberpfaffenhofen (also, my new favourite German word).

 As the Mission Control Centre for the European Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS), engineers here are in contact with the astronauts up in space as well as other ISS Mission Control Centres scattered across the globe. It was a pretty amazing way to start my weekend!

 

The Columbus module is the European part of the ISS. It is a European Space Agency (ESA) laboratory attached to the space station, where astronauts conduct experiments in fields ranging from plant biology, fluid physics, life science and material science. 

Launched into space nestled inside the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2008—the Columbus module is a powerhouse of  space research and it is here, at the Columbus Control Centre that the space laboratory is controlled.

 

This room in the photos above is the Flight Control Room. It's staffed by a minimum of 3 people around the clock who monitor the module to ensure that everything is functioning correctly. Each astronaut's schedule is mapped out down to 5 minute increments — with 8 hours of work, 8 hours of play and 8 hours of sleep all precisely pencilled into the computer program on the screen above. Since it was a weekend, the astronauts are given this time off, so are free to enjoy the wonders of zero gravity without disturbance.

It was a really great day and a fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into the enormous global effort that the space station is, both on Earth and in space. 

A friendly engineer even let us sit in his chair for a photo op :) The button I'm holding speed dials an astronaut via Houston!

-Nikita

Fairytale Science

"Once upon a time, a spacecraft named Rosetta was launched into the night sky and had a long journey ahead of her to uncover the mysteries of our solar system. "

The ESA Rosetta team have created this cute video that explains Rosetta's mission and the magic of space travel whilst personifying the spacecraft perfectly.

After 31 months of deep-space hibernation, on 20th January 2014 the comet-chaser will be waking up at 10am, 673 kilometres from the warmth of the sun. Without coffee.

If you would like to wake up Rosetta, record your video shout out and submit it in the #WakeUpRosetta contest here. Wake up sleeping beauty! 

-Nikita

Chronicles From Concordia

Today, my friend and International Space University classmate Adrianos Golemis is embarking on a year-long Antarctic adventure. 
Braving harsh temperatures as low as -80˚C, Adrianos will reside alongside 13 others in Concordia Station, Antarctica. Established in 2005, Concordia is a remote research base located 3200m above sea-level. It shares a great deal of characteristics with a long-duration space mission, isolation and confinement to name just a few. The station is inaccessible for 9 months during the winter and due to extreme frost and icy winds, the crew are unable to venture further than 1 km around the base with precaution. Shrouded in a blanket of darkness for many months, Concordia Station is a challenging place to live for a month, let alone a year. 

However, the unique conditions found in Antarctica are a valuable tool for humanity to explore the limits of the human body and mind when faced with such environmental extremes and as a result, an excellent analogue platform for research into space medicine.  Analogous to human settlers onto a planet once humanity has advanced to space colonisation, Concordia Station requires total autonomy during the winter, as will a human base on another planet.

Adrianos will therefore pretty much experience a year in the life of an astronaut living on a planet other than Earth. Pretty amazing way to spend a year if you ask me.
 Adrianos, who originates from Greece will join the crew as the European Space Agency sponsored Medical Doctor. There, he will conduct physiological and psychological research during his time at the station and has written his first blog entry, Chronicles from Concordia on the ESA site here.

"This year the lucky one to go is me. “Lucky” might sound a bit funny to your ears if you consider that we are about to travel to the infinite white desolation that is Dome Circe. But there are great returns to be discovered in such a journey, and after giving it much thought, I yearn to go."

Good Luck Adrianos!  Say hi to the penguins from me :)

Follow Adrianos on his journey at the Concordia Base Log here and on Twitter here

-Nikita

Nikita's News

We're well and truly into Autumn here in the UK and the time I usually spend starting a new academic year has now been replaced by time spent planning my time in 2014! Turning 23 next week, I'm now back in London with a few ideas up my sleeve for what the year ahead may hold. One of these is the newly released daily, online newspaper that goes by the name of Nikita's News (I'm a sucker for alliteration). It has a nifty way of sourcing my favourite online posts via twitter into one beautiful place for you to read easily and conveniently, allowing me to select and edit daily content as I please. Covering sources from my favourite astronaut Cmdr Chris Hadfield, to the life-changing International Space University and my favourite writer & comedian Mindy Kaling, Nikita's News has a range of information for everybody to enjoy. Whether you want an update from the European Space Agency (ESA), the magazine I've just begun writing for Space Safety Magazine, inspirational businesswoman and role model Sheryl Sandberg or even from little old me via my twitter account Nikita_, then Nikita's News is the place to be!

Take a look for yourself at: http://paper.li/Nikita_/1380979535

Don't forget to hit that subscribe button :)

-Nikita

p.s I've been asked if I can really make apple pie from scratch. Find out soon whether I can invent the universe/my cooking skills and make Carl Sagan proud!