Unusual Fitness Exercises

 

Al Worden, Apollo 15 command module pilot. Source: NASA

More info: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15-techdebrief.pdf

Everyone needs to exercise for physical fitness and good health.  Astronauts needs to exercise even more since floating in microgravity weakens the body over time.

Apollo astronauts did not spend more than 12 full days in space, so their bodies remained in good shape.

Still, scientists asked them to use exercise gear.  The results would be reviewed and applied to future long-duration missions (like today's International Space Station).

During Apollo 15 in 1971, command module pilot Al Worden used an "Exergym."  It was a cord system that provided resistance for muscle tone.  

But he found a better way to exercise!

* * * * *

"The Exergym is good for keeping some muscle tone, but I found that there was just no way I could get a heart rate established and keep it going. There was just no way I could do that. So I finally decided on a combination of two exercises. I used the Exergym a little bit, just to keep my shoulders and arms toned, and I ran in place. 

I took the center couch out and wailed away with my legs, just like running in place as a matter of fact.

I didn't say anything to the ground, but the doctors watching the biomeds called up and said, "Hey, you must be exercising. We can see your heart rate going up." And they kept me advised as to what my heart rate was. It worked out very nicely, I thought, because they could tell you that you're up to 130, going up to 140. Then I would exercise a little bit harder, and true, even though I wasn't exerting any pressure on anything, just moving the mass of your legs around really gets your heart going. 

I'm really convinced that that's the way to exercise in flight; get that kind of motion going and keep it going not let up on it at all. I did that for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. I just ran in place as hard as I could.

As a matter of fact, I thought I'd strained some muscles that I had never used before because I was just free wheeling legs and wasn't exerting any pressure on anything. I really thought that was a useful exercise, and as far as cardiovascular was concerned, I thought that was a much better exercise than the Exergym."

[Excerpt from "Apollo 15 Technical Debrief", MSC-04561, 14 August 1971. Source: NASA]

Donning and Doffing

 

Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 commander.  Source: NASA

More info: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/AS17Tech2.pdf

Astronaut Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, commented about dressing ("donning") and undressing ("doffing") in the confined space of the Lunar Module.  But first, a vocabulary lesson.

LCG is a "Liquid Cooled Garment."  This was worn under the big moon suit.  It had small tubes sewn in to circulate water and keep the astronauts cool.  

CWG is a "Constant Wear Garment" like long-johns.

* * * * *

"When we doffed the suit, we went into a drying mode as the checklist suggests prior to the sleep period. I'm really glad we did because our suits stayed relatively fresh and clean on the inside.

We doffed our LCGs every day and slept in CWGs rather than the LCG. And I'm glad we did that because it was much more comfortable.

We made it a buddy system in the entire donning and prep when it came to the suit operations, except for putting on the gloves. We found it easier to put them on in parallel and get them locked and verified locked.

We actually, each individually in almost all cases, put our own glove dust covers and ring dust covers on. Maybe we had to help each other once in a while.

And contrary to some of our initial desires, we decided to go ahead and put those dust covers on for every EVA. After the first EVA, we found out what the dust problem really was."

[Excerpt from "Apollo 17 Technical Debrief, Manned Spacecraft Center Document MSC-07631" dated 4 January 1973.]

Apollo 16 "Invisible" Obstacles

More info: Apollo 16 Lunar Surface Journal; https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16.trvsta1.html

Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) gets a high-speed workout by Apollo 16 commander John Young. Source: NASA

When exploring the moon, Apollo astronauts visited several different "stations." These could be craters or other landmarks that looked interesting to scientists.

In the early missions, the astronauts walked to each station. Later, they had a cool moon buggy to drive.

John Young, the Apollo 16 commander, spent three days driving the Lunar Rover to distant stations, and he had some scary moments with "invisible" craters.  

After he returned to Earth in 1972, he met with engineers to discuss the mission and the worries he had about driving on the moon.

When Artemis astronauts return to the moon, this may be something to watch for...

* * * * *

"I was scared to go more than 4 or 5 kilometers an hour. Going out there, looking dead ahead, I couldn't see the craters. I could see the blocks alright and avoid them. But I couldn't see craters. I couldn't see benches. I was scared to go more than 4 or 5 clicks. Maybe some times I got up to 6 or 7, but I ran through a couple of craters because I flat missed (seeing) them until I was on top of them. And, I don't recommend driving in zero phase (which is the direction directly opposite the Sun). (Pre-flight) they kept saying they wanted it included in the traverse, and I specifically cautioned them not to include it on the traverse. But, there is no way for us to get to Flag Crater without driving in zero phase. It sure is grim. The other direction (on the way back to the LM) was about twice as good. I saw my tracks on the way back. We were doing 7, 8, 9, and 10 clicks. It wasn't any good during the traverses where we were going down-Sun. I was tacking a lot of times. But, when you got to a ridge, you couldn't tell if it was a drop-off, or whether it was a smooth, shallow ridge. In a couple of cases, you couldn't see there was a ridge. I didn't care for that much. It's kind of like landing an airplane aboard ship where you're looking right into the Sun and you can't see what you're doing. You just go ahead and land it anyway. It is not normal but, on occasion, you have to do it. But you'd just as soon not."

[Excerpt from the Apollo 16 Lunar Surface Journal with corrected transcript and commentary by Eric M. Jones (Copyright © 1997).]

ISS and Meteors

More info:

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146171/watching-meteors-from-space

https://www.nasa.gov/offices/meo/home/index.html

Photo taken from ISS of meteors burning up in Earth's atmosphere.  Source: NASA.

I was reading about meteor showers, and it made me wonder what happens onboard the International Space Station (ISS) during a meteor shower. Are the astronauts in danger?

Luckily, NASA has an organization called the Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) that handles the technical work on meteoroids in space.

Bill Cooke is the lead at the MEO. He says, “Meteors fly by the ISS all the time, but the astronauts don’t see them. The meteor is just a little piece of rock, but it is so dark and moves so fast that you don’t see it whiz by. Astronauts see the meteors when they look down and see them burning up near Earth’s atmosphere, appearing as streaks of light.”

The objective of the MEO is to figure out the risk of meteoroids impacting ISS and other spacecraft in Earth’s orbit.

While it is not clear if meteoroids have ever destroyed a spacecraft, there have been several in-flight anomalies attributed to meteoroid impacts including loss of the Olympus satellite.

Spacecraft designers work to protect critical components on spacecraft or avoid critical operations such as extravehicular activities during meteor showers.

Astronaut Chris Hatfield, a past commander of ISS, once wrote that seeing a meteor from space was a “reminder of living in a shooting gallery.”

The good news is that the chances of the ISS getting hit by a small meteor are low. Plus, the ISS is built tough, and it can withstand many kinds of meteoroid impacts.

New Horizons Adventure Continues

The New Horizons spacecraft launched in 2006 to explore distant Pluto and other mysterious objects.

Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, belong to a category of planets known as “ice dwarfs.” They have solid surfaces but, unlike the rocky planets like Earth and Mars, a big part of their mass is icy material.

Scientists are eager to see what New Horizon's will find in the unexplored outer part of the solar system. The adventure of exploration continues.

More info: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html

 

Credit: Mike Yakovlev, Johns Hopkins APL

Pluto and Charon.  Credit: NASA

Can You Find Planet 9?

More info: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/marckuchner/backyard-worlds-planet-9/about/research

Scientists need your help searching for new objects at the edges of our solar system.

They have created a project for you to help find real celestial objects from NASA images.

The real objects are brown dwarfs and low-mass stars, the Sun's nearest neighbors.

You may find an object closer than Proxima Centauri (the closest star to the Sun) or even discover the Sun's hypothesized ninth planet, which models suggest might appear in these images.

Eat Well Today

Your reminder to eat well today. 😄

Moonwalking Apollo astronauts had lots to accomplish in a short time.  To keep them on track, each astronaut had a little book strapped to the cuff of their spacesuit.  The book had reminders about the tasks they needed to finish in which order.

Sometimes, the checklist creators would add some humor.  The reminder below relates to a high-energy snack bar the astronauts could nibble while they worked.

Image: Apollo 16 moonwalk checklist worn on the spacesuit cuff

Source: Apollo Lunar Surface Journal https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/alsj-DrinkFood.html

Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke said,

"That food stick was a thing that stuck inside the suit and it came up like this (on the right-hand side of the neck ring) and, when you were out on the surface, you could just reach over (with your teeth) and pull it up and chop off a piece. And it was really high-energy stuff."

Black Hole Art

More info: https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/starsgalaxies/black_hole_description.html

From NASA...

A black hole is an astronomical object with a gravitational pull so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it. A black hole’s “surface,” called its event horizon, defines the boundary where the velocity needed to escape exceeds the speed of light, which is the speed limit of the cosmos. Matter and radiation fall in, but they can’t get out.

Two main classes of black holes have been extensively observed. Stellar-mass black holes with three to dozens of times the Sun’s mass are spread throughout our Milky Way galaxy, while supermassive monsters weighing 100,000 to billions of solar masses are found in the centers of most big galaxies, ours included.

What if an ion-drive probe could visit an unnamed gas giant orbiting near a black hole?  It might look like this.

International Observe the Moon Night

More info: https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/

From NASA...

When you look up in the sky at night, often the brightest object you can see is our Moon! Earth only has one Moon. So, no matter where you are on Earth, the Moon you see is the same one that everyone else sees. But, every person’s view of that same Moon is a little bit different!

Why not check out what the Moon looks like from where you live? You can join others around the world in a night of Moon watching on October 16, for International Observe the Moon Night! 

This is some moon art from my Rocket Team science fiction blog at https://ramonerocketeer.blogspot.com/

September Space Art Challenge

Deadline: September 30, 2021

More info: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/art-challenge/en/

From NASA...

September’s drawing prompt:

This month’s art prompt: Draw a view of the Moon on Halloween night! Is the Moon helping to light the way for trick-or-treaters? Can you spot the Moon above your neighborhood Halloween decorations?

Hint: This Halloween, the Moon will be in the waning crescent phase. Check out our page on the Moon’s phases to learn more about what this means.

Submit your drawings between 9/2/21 and 9/30/21. Selected art submissions will appear on the website during the first week of October!

This is some moon art I created for the Rocket Team series of science fiction books.
You can see more at https://ramonerocketeer.blogspot.com/

Dress for Success

Ya know, they say to dress for the job you want. So I'm going to try that.

Inspiration4 In-Flight Update with the Crew

Here's an on-orbit update from the Inspiration4 crew – the world’s first all-civilian human spaceflight to orbit!

Video Credit: SpaceX

Lucy Mission Art Challenge

If you are a space artist (like me - sorta), you might be interested in this opportunity...

"NASA’s Lucy Mission to the Trojan asteroids will survey eight asteroids in six independent orbits around the Sun to help unravel the history of the solar system. Your challenge is to illustrate the diversity Lucy will explore by creating a work of art in the medium of your choice, including, but not limited to painting, drawing, pottery, sculpture, 2D or 3D computer-generated products, music, film/video, written or spoken word, dance, or textile."


More Info: https://2021.spaceappschallenge.org/challenges/statements/artfully-illuminated-asteroids/details

Here is a sample that I created.  I have several versions, but this one is just for you!

Your Mission: Find a Lunar Landing Site

The Artemis mission planners need your help. When we go back to the moon in the next few years, where should we land?

Your job is to review five different places and decide where we should build an outpost.

These places are:

1. Highlands
2. South Pole
3. Aristarchus
4. Tranquility
5. Far Eastern

You rate each place based on these factors:

1. Water and Resources
Can be used for water and fuel. May occur as ice on the Moon, delivered by comets and maintained in Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) near the poles.

Batteries are heavy payload to send to the Moon. Solar power will be a primary source. Fuel could come from the break down of water ice into oxygen and hydrogen.

Aluminum, titanium, iron, loose lunar regolith to make “lunar bricks” all offer building resources.

2. Terrain Smoothness (Topography)
Flat terrain is best, not near steep cliffs, mountainous regions or areas with lots of boulders.

3. Temperature and 4. Radiation
Natural habitats or resources, such as lava tubes (ancient caves created where lava once flowed) or soil to cover a base or make lunar bricks, offer protection from radiation and extreme temperatures. If not available, a base will need to be built.

5. Science
What are the interesting science questions to be addressed?

6. Special Considerations
Needs a clear line of sight to Earth, or a more costly satellite system will be needed.

 

Use a grid and fill in the squares with "Go", "No Go", or "Need Info"

Full mission info is here:

[1] Mission Overview; https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/LRO/activities/mission_moon/mission_team_overview.pdf

[2] Site Information; https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/LRO/activities/mission_moon/site_info.pdf

Landing on the Moon

When a crew capsule lands on the Earth, it slows down by using parachutes to grab the thick blanket of air in our sky.

But, when a crew capsule (or a robot) lands on the moon, there is no air to grab. A parachute is useless.

The Apollo 12 lunar module, Intrepid, ready to land on Nov. 19, 1969.
Credits: NASA/Richard Gordon

So, to safely land on the moon, we have to use thrust to slow down. This video shows how you can experiment with thrust to build your own moon lander.

Soyuz Ride

On 28 May 2014, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman under the command of Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev rocketed into space in a Soyuz spacecraft. This was their voyage.

 

Source: European Space Agency, ESA

Water on the Moon?

Scientists have discovered that water is being released from the Moon during meteor showers. 

When a speck of comet debris strikes the Moon it vaporizes on impact, creating a shock wave in the lunar soil. For a sufficiently large impactor, this shock wave can breach the soil's dry upper layer and release water molecules from a hydrated layer below.

Source: NASA

People Power!

"Citizen scientist" is a great title. It means regular people (like you and me) can help researchers make new discoveries.

You don't need any special training to make important discoveries. You need eyes and some examples to follow, then - BAM - you're exploring the universe!

Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. They say this:

"You don’t need any specialized background, training, or expertise to participate in any Zooniverse projects. We make it easy for anyone to contribute to real academic research, on their own computer, at their own convenience."

Here are some of my favorite Zooniverse projects. 

Try them out and let me know what you think at MickeyKulp00 -at- gmail -dot- com.

*****

AI4Mars
Teaching Mars Rovers How to Classify Martian Terrain
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/hiro-ono/ai4mars

*****

Active Asteroids
Examine images to find comet-like tails... on asteroids! These strange objects hold clues about water on Earth, in the solar system, and beyond.
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/orionnau/active-asteroids

*****

Cosmological Jellyfish
Help us find galaxies that look like jellyfish! This will help us understand how they interact with their environment.
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/apillepich/cosmological-jellyfish

*****

Dark Energy Explorers
Identify distant galaxies to help measure dark energy when the universe was just ~2-3 billion years old.
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/erinmc/dark-energy-explorers

*****

Backyard Worlds: Planet 9
Search the realm beyond Neptune for new brown dwarfs and planets.
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/marckuchner/backyard-worlds-planet-9

WELCOME

Welcome to Outward Space.

Here, I will cover the renewed sense of energy and spirit in space exploration. We will celebrate both the human achievement and technical innovations that will serve to propel humanity into the universe.

Source: NASA