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British scientists led by Nathaniel Szewczyk from Notthingham University believe that microscopic worms, which are biologically similar to humans, may hold important clues as to how we can adapt to long-term living in space environments, such as a colony on Mars.  

His team sent 4,000 microscopic worms, Caenorhabditis elegans, into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery, and were able to successfully remotely monitor 12 generations of them over a period of 6 months, whilst they were housed on the International Space Station.

This type of worm has long been used by scientists to further our understanding of human biology. They were the first multi-cellular organism to have its genetic structure completely mapped, and many of their genes perform the same function as found in humans, such as promoting muscle function.

According to Szewczyk, in a study recently published in the journal ‘Interface’, many of the biological changes that occur during space flight affect astronauts and worms in the same way.

"We have been able to show that worms can grow and reproduce in space for long enough to reach another planet and that we can remotely monitor their health. Worms allow us to detect changes in growth, development, reproduction and behaviour in response to environmental conditions such as toxins or in response to deep space missions," Szewczyk said.

This makes the worms an ideal and cost-effective way to study the possible effects of both long term and long distance human space exploration, which are known to have major challenges associated with them, including exposure to high levels of radiation, rapid loss of bone density and muscle weakness.

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The possibility has emerged that the International Space Station (ISS) may be left unmanned for a period of time if launch problems with the Russian Soyuz rockets cannot be rectified soon.

Earlier this month, 24th August 2011, saw the crash soon after launch from Kazakhstan of an unmanned Soyuz carrying food and fuel to the ISS, following the failure of one of the booster rockets. The Russian Space Agency Roscosmos has delayed the next manned mission by at least a month to allow time for safety checks to be carried out, and it is likely that at least two test launches of an unmanned rocket will be conducted before sending anymore astronauts up.

 The delay means that replacement crew will not go to the ISS until late October at the earliest, assuming that all goes well with the testing. The station is currently manned by a team of 6, with 3 likely to return to Earth in mid September and a decision needing to be made about the remaining crew.

Alexei Krasnov, head of manned flights at Roscosmos recently indicated that: 'If for any reason we will not be able to deliver the crew before the end of November, we will need to review all possibilities including leaving the station unmanned.'

The ISS has been continuously manned for more than a decade. It can in fact be flown without a crew if needed, though this is not an ideal situation as repairs can be made and problems fixed faster with crew members onboard, reducing the possibilities of major damage occurring. 

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ESA Astronaut Candidates
Basic training officially ended yesterday, 22nd November 2010, for the six newest astronaut candidates to be selected by the European Space Agency (ESA), with their graduation ceremony taking place in front of family, friends, guests and media, at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.

The rigorous training schedule included space & electrical engineering, other scientific disciplines and the major systems of the International Space Station (ISS) and space vehicles. Also included were scuba diving sessions as a preparation for spacewalks, robotics, survival training, rendezvous and docking, and the Russian language.

Selection of the astronauts began in 2008 when the process began of whittling down the 8,000 applications received, to fill just six available places. There followed a year long process of interviews and assessment to evaluate all aspects of suitability, including not only mental and physical aptitude, but importantly, the ability to work successfully as a member of a close-knit team.

Finally, in May 2009, the following six applicants were invited to join ESA’s astronaut group - Samantha Cristoforetti from Italy, Alexander Gerst from Germany, Andreas Mogensen from Denmark, Luca Parmitano from Italy, Timothy Peake from the UK and Thomas Pesquet from France.

The new astronauts will continue with their pre-assignment training, and will also be taking part in public relations activities. Once assigned to a mission, they will concentrate on specialist training for that mission. It is hoped that the first of the new astronauts will have the opportunity to fly to the International Space Station by 2013.

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This week finds me in Greece, more precisely Thessaloniki, where I am trying to prove the theory that work and pleasure can mix!

I am here at the 6th International Conference of Aerospace Medicine, kindly organized by the Greek Aerospace Medical Association, in conjunction with the International Academy of Astronautics.

Given the current world financial climate, and knowing in particular how hard Greece has been hit, I take my hat off to Dr. Chrysoula Kourtidou-Papadeli who we must all thank for organizing and obtaining the funding for this event.

The meeting, which is usually held every two years, brings together many leading names from the world of aerospace medicine and this year is no exception. Speakers will include ESA astronaut Frank De Winne whose first Space flight was in 2002, and Dr. Chiaki Mukai, the first female Japanese astronaut who flew in 1994, to name but a couple – with the collective experience of those involved being immeasurable.

And all taking place in a city bathed in Greek sunshine – always a bonus! 

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Nasa
A fresh faced new crew member is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station (ISS) this September 2010, arriving on the shuttle Discovery STS-133 mission.

Robonaut 2 or simply, R2 to his friends will become a permanent resident on board the ISS under a joint cooperation agreement between NASA and General Motors, to develop a robotic assistant able to work alongside humans, lending a helping hand or two!

R2, consisting of a torso, head, two arms and hands, and weighing in at 300lbs (136Kg) will be monitored to see how it copes in a weightless setting, and subjected to the station's radiation and electromagnetic environments. Eventually it is hoped that robots like R2 will be able to do those tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans, and perhaps one day to stand in for astronauts during spacewalks.
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