Space News thread

[harrybarracuda]

He's fucking full of shit is what he is.

As we have dug into the issues following the exiting of prior senior management, they have unfortunately turned out to be far more severe than was reported.

He's either fucking useless at managing a company, lying through his teeth about what he knew, or screwing as many employees as possible out of paid overtime so he doesn't have to hire.

Probably the answer lies somewhere in the middle of the mess of his own making.

[Takeovers]

A known problem with long term effects of microgravity on the human body is pooling of blood in the upper body and head. Effects are already from standard 6 months stays at the ISS but more severe on long term stays, up to 1 year has been tried. Resulting in higher pressure in the brain and eyes, with lasting effects on eyesight, probably other potentially severe effects on the brain. This news is about research how to mitigate the effect.

Original Investigation
December 9, 2021
Effect of Nightly Lower Body Negative Pressure on Choroid Engorgement in a Model of Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome
A Randomized Crossover Trial


Key Points
Question Does nightly (8 hours) lower body negative pressure (LBNP) attenuate microgravity-induced choroid engorgement, an early marker of ocular remodeling related to space-associated neuro-ocular syndrome?


Findings In this randomized crossover study of 10 individuals, overnight LBNP reintroduced hydrostatic gradients during sleep without compromising hemodynamic stability and significantly attenuated the choroid engorgement observed during 3 days of simulated microgravity.


Meaning These results suggest nightly LBNP may be an effective countermeasure against early markers of ocular remodeling associated with space-associated neuro-ocular syndrome.


Abstract
Importance Astronauts returning from long-duration spaceflight experience ocular remodeling related to cephalad fluid shifts induced by microgravity. It is hypothesized that the absence of diurnal reductions in intracranial pressure in microgravity creates a low but persistent pressure gradient at the posterior aspect of the eye, which results in ocular remodeling and space-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS) over many months.


Objective To determine whether partial reintroduction of footward fluid shifts during simulated microgravity via lower body negative pressure (LBNP) during sleep attenuates choroid engorgement, an early marker of ocular remodeling related to SANS.


Design, Setting, and Participants Between May 2019 and February 2020, participants with no major cardiovascular, kidney, or ophthalmic disease completed 3 days of supine (0°) bed rest with and 3 days without 8 hours of nightly LBNP in a randomized, crossover design. This single-center investigation took place at the UT Southwestern Medical Center. All analyses were conducted blinded to condition and time point.


Interventions Eight hours of nightly LBNP (−20 mm Hg) vs no LBNP.


Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was the change in choroid area and volume after 3 days of bed rest measured by optical coherence tomography.


Results Of 10 participants, 5 were female, the mean (SD) age was 29 (9) years, and the age range was 18 to 55 years. Central venous pressure increased from the seated to supine position (mean [SD], seated: −2.3 [2.0] vs supine: 6.9 [2.0] mm Hg; P < .001), leading to choroid engorgement over 3 days of bed rest (Δ area: +0.09 mm2 [95% CI, 0.04-0.13]; P = .001; Δ volume: +0.37 mm3 [95% CI, 0.19-0.55]; P = .001). Nightly LBNP caused a sustained reduction in supine central venous pressure (mean [SD], 5.7 [2.2] mm Hg to 1.2 [1.4 mm Hg]; P < .001) and attenuated the increase in choroid area (74%) (Δ: 0.02 mm2 [95% −0.02 to 0.06]; P = .01) and volume (53%) (Δ: 0.17 mm3 [95% CI, 0.01-0.34]; P = .05) compared with control.


Conclusions and Relevance Nightly LBNP reinstated a footward fluid shift and mitigated the increase in choroid area and volume. LBNP during sleep may be an effective countermeasure for ocular remodeling and SANS during long-duration space missions.

I got to admit I am a little surprised about it. It is well known that Russia, I think even back in Soviet times, has done research on reducing the pressure on the lower body. We did not hear a lot about results. Now suddenly a quite short study shows significant positive effect.

I trust other research more about effects of using a short arm centrifuge for the same problem. The centrifuge has the head of a person at the center in near microgravity and the feet out at 1g, pulling the blood. This kind of research has been done by a joint french-russian medical team as well as at NASA. Problem with the centrifuge approach is that ISS modules are too small to contain even that kind of small centrifuges. Future stations and SpaceX Starship have plenty of volume to have one.

[OhOh]

Future stations and SpaceX Starship have plenty of volume to have one.

Presumably one for 33% of all crew members and passengers, 3 people utilising them for every day for 8hrs/day if awake or 100% if sleeping.

All the movies showing rows of sleeping passengers were misleading then?

Do you know if there are any other physical changes that may require to be rectified on long journeys in space?

[Takeovers]

Presumably one for 33% of all crew members and passengers, 3 people utilising them for every day for 8hrs/day if awake or 100% if sleeping.

Seems 1/2 hour every week in that centrifuge is enough to mitigate the pooling problems.

Do you know if there are any other physical changes that may require to be rectified on long journeys in space?

Body fluid pooling is the biggest. There are a few others but for them root causes are not known. The immune sytem does not work as efficient. Cell division seems to have a higher rate of problems. Both seem not very serious in any reasonable time frame.

I like to think that growing vegetables and have fresh produce for long duration stays may help, but have no scientific proof.

Bone structure changes, even if there is enough exercise to maintain constant bone mass.

I like to argue that toilet is the biggest remaining problem in microgravity. Very inconvenient.

[harrybarracuda]

They're going to have to do something about farts. Otherwise they will stink the whole ship out.

[Takeovers]

Nasa has cancelled all it's planned missions to moon till 2025 after watching this.

Video on twitter.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1470093729818046467

[Takeovers]

Found a picture of the lower body low pressure sleeping device as in 2 posts above.

UT Southwestern
Becoming an astronaut requires perfect 20/20 vision, but unfortunately, the effects of space can cause astronauts to return to Earth with degraded eyesight. Now, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a sleeping bag that that could prevent or reduce those problems by effectively sucking fluid out of astronauts' heads.


More than half of NASA astronauts that went to the International Space Station (ISS) for more than six months have developed vision problems to varying degrees. In one case, astronaut John Philips returned from a six month stint about the ISS in 2005 with his vision reduced from 20/20 to 20/100, as the BBC reported.


For multi-year trips to Mars, for example, this could become an issue. "It would be a disaster if astronauts had such severe impairments that they couldn't see what they're doing and it compromised the mission," lead researcher Dr. Benjamin Levine told the BBC.


Optical Disc Edema SANSUT Southwestern/NASA
Fluids tend to accumulate in the head when you sleep, but on Earth, gravity pulls them back down into the body when you get up. In the low gravity of space, though, more than a half gallon of fluid collects in the head. That in turn applies pressure to the eyeball, causing flattening that can lead to vision impairment — a disorder called spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome, or SANS. (Dr. Levine discovered SANS by flying cancer patients aboard zero-G parabolic flights. They still had ports in their heads to receive chemotherapy, which gave researchers an access point to measure pressure within their brains.)


To combat SANS, researchers collaborated with outdoor gear manufacturer REI to develop a sleeping bag that fits around the waist, enclosing the lower body. A vacuum cleaner-like suction device is then activated that draws fluid toward the feet, preventing it from accumulating in the head.


Around a dozen people volunteered to test the technology, and the results were positive. Some questions need to be answered before NASA brings the technology aboard the ISS, including the optimal amount of time astronauts should spend in the sleeping bag each day. They also need to determine if every astronaut should use one, or just those at risk of developing SANS.


Still, Dr. Levine is hopeful that SANS will no longer be an issue by the time NASA is ready to go to Mars. "This is perhaps one of the most mission-critical medical issues that has been discovered in the last decade for the space program," he said in a statement.

[Edmond]

Video on twitter.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1470093729818046467

Bit of a bummer, but understandably safety needs to come first.

[OhOh]

Hidden water reserves discovered on Mars

15 Dec, 2021 22:29

"A joint European and Russian mission has discovered “significant amounts of water” lying just below the surface of Mars – and scientists say it could be “easily exploitable” by future explorers. The largest canyon in our Solar System, Valles Marineris sits just south of Mars’ equator and is some 10 times longer and five times deeper than Earth’s Grand Canyon. It’s also hiding a body of water the size of the Netherlands, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Wednesday.

The water was detected by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, a joint project of the ESA and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. The satellite detected a large amount of hydrogen less than a meter below the canyon’s surface, and, as hydrogen molecules bind into water molecules, the discovery indicates the soil in that location is rich in moisture, which probably exists as ice.'

More at:

Hidden water reserves discovered on Mars — RT Russia & Former Soviet Union

[Takeovers]

Hidden water reserves discovered on Mars

It is really interesting. Water much closer to the equator than other known locations. It may be a very attractive site for a large base, or a settlement. Close to the cliff cosmic background radiation would be much reduced. So much so that possibly little radiation protection would be needed for habitats.

So far Valles Marineris was not considered as a potential site for the first landings.

[Takeovers]

SpaceX continuing to push the envelope on rocket booster reuse. Today another Starlink sat launch out of Vandenberg Spaceforce base in California. It was the 11th successful launch and landing of this booster, record so far.

Seems tracking is not as good at the West coast as it is usually on the East coast out of the Cape in Florida. But the landed booster is visible.

[Takeovers]

Meanwhile we are waiting for the launch of the James Webb space telescope. Another small slip due to communications issues between the rocket and the telescope. Nothing unusual really.

[Topper]

It is really interesting. Water much closer to the equator than other known locations. It may be a very attractive site for a large base, or a settlement. Close to the cliff cosmic background radiation would be much reduced. So much so that possibly little radiation protection would be needed for habitats.

They could bore or use natural caves that are already at the base of the cliffs with a solar array at the top of the cliffs.

[Takeovers]

with a solar array at the top of the cliffs

Yes, it would put the solar arrays almost 2km higher, much less affected by the occasional dust storms.

[Takeovers]

Wow, this is bad.

You may remember that I made some very critical posts about the state of the russian space agency Roscosmos. Recently there was a new law that made it impossible for independent russian journalists to write anything even remotely critical of Roscosmos. So very little came out recently.

Now a state controlled media outlet run an article that goes way beyond any criticism so far. Impossible this can happen without a go ahead from high in the administration.

A link to the source article in russian language, if anyone is fluent in russian or wants to run it through a translation software.

Космос, гниющий изнутри: Россия сходит с орбиты - МК

A link to an article on ars technica with a good translation.

A domestic newspaper warns of the Russian space program’s “rapid collapse” | Ars Technica

A domestic newspaper warns of the Russian space program’s “rapid collapse”


"The space program is rotting from within."
ERIC BERGER - 12/17/2021, 3:23 PM

The Moscow-based daily newspaper MK, formerly known as Moscovsky Komsomolets, was, during the Soviet era, the propaganda organ of the Komsomol, or Young Communists League. This article was written by Dmitry Popov, who has worked at the publication since 1992. During his career Popov earned numerous official expressions of thanks, recognitions, and awards from the Russian government and recently received a commemorative dagger from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Because the article was published in a state-sanctioned newspaper, Popov is exempt from the country's recently declared rules about independent media reporting on much of Russia's space activities.


Notably Popov's analysis is highly critical of Dmitry Rogozin, who leads the Roscosmos space corporation, which manages much of the country's spaceflight activities. So why is a state-sanctioned journalist criticizing the state's space leader in a state-aligned publication? That's a big question.

A small but scathing exerpt from the article. If you are interested in more follow the link to Ars Technica. There is much more.

We launched the Progress MS-16 cargo spacecraft in mid-February of this year. However it was unable to dock automatically, and had to be docked under manual control due to damage to the Kurs-NA system (radar measuring system). It was damaged because the fairing delaminated during launch. It turned out that the epoxy used in its manufacture was not checked to see if it was within specifications. The contractor for the glue, CHEMEX Limited joint stock company, lacks the technological means to produce its own product, meaning they purchased the product from another vendor, and for the samples already used, documentation affirming its conforming with specifications and its origin were never submitted. That is, when and where the epoxy was purchased is unknown. Fine, as long as it wasn’t purchased at the local Sadovod DIY store (Russia’s Home Depot). But a further 15 payload fairings were built using the same "technology." Their acceptance has been halted. And then the most interesting part—similar damage to the KURS-NA system has been noted previously, on the launches of Progress ships MS-13 (Dec. 6, 2019), MS-14 (April 25, 2020), and MS-15 (Jun 23, 2020). But they flew, didn’t they? Why raise a panic now? It went before, it’ll do.

[Takeovers]

SpaceX has just launched a resupply mission to the ISS. Science payloads, but also christmas meals and presents. That's why it was important to fly around this date. Weather was only 30% go for today but it cleared up just minutes before launch, except for some rain which is not a problem.

This flight also is the 100th successful landing of a Falcon 9 booster. That is, if you count one landing of a Falcon Heavy central booster as success. It landed successful, but was lost on the way to port in severe weather. The same could not happen any more. They now have a robot that can fix and stabilize landed boosters.

[Edmond]

was lost on the way to port in severe weather. The same could not happen any more. They now have a robot that can fix and stabilize landed boosters.

For a second there I thought the last two words were gonna be 'the weather'.


#Wouldn't surprise me.

[Topper]

^^ amazing....

[Edmond]

The JWST is now atop its Ariane 5 rocket.

Looking at a Christmas Day launch.

[Takeovers]

BTW. This was the first flight of this booster. They used it for a cargo Dragon. The second flight will be with crew. Probably NASA now goes with the safe "flight proven booster" for crew.

[david44]

far out

[Latindancer]

What We Learned from the Space Station this Past Year

What We Learned from the Space Station this Past Year | NASA

[Takeovers]

The James Webb Space Telescope was today successfully launched by ESAs Ariane 5 rocket and is on its way to the Earth Sun L2 Lagrange point.

A schedule of things that will happen during the next days to make it operational.

Launch + Event
12.5 hours MCC1a1 (Mid Course Correction Burn 1a)
1 day Gimbaled Antenna Assembly2
2 days MCC1b1
3 days Forward Sunshield Pallet3
3 days Aft Sunshield Pallet4
4 days DTA Deployment5 (Deployable Tower Assembly)
5 days Aft Momentum Flap6
5 days Sunshield Covers Release7
6 days Sunshield PORT Mid-Boom8
6 days Sunshield STARBOARD Mid-Boom9
7 days Sunshield Layer Tensioning10

If these things all happen successfully, we will know after 6 months if the telescope is working as intended.

[S Landreth]

Engineering of the James Webb Space Telescope

[OhOh]

If these things all happen successfully

That seems to be a long list. Is that normal for many satellites, or is this one exceptional?