It would seem that even the International Space Station (ISS) is not immune to the affects of the current poor financial climate, with the price of food for the cosmonauts sky-rocketing!

According to a Russian spokesman, there has been a near 50 percent increase over the last twelve months in the cost of rations, caused by price inflation on products used in making the rations, and rising costs of required testing and analyses.

"Last year, the cosmonaut's daily ration in space cost about 11,000 rubles (250 euros), and today the cost is reaching 15,000 rubles," said Viktor Dobrovolsky, director of the food institute that supplies space cosmonauts.

The weightless conditions onboard the ISS requires that some thought has to go into the provision of food for the astronauts to eat. Products that cause crumbs, like bread, are excluded as crumbs are light enough to simply float away and scatter throughout the space station, potentially clogging air vents, or contaminating equipment – instead tortillas are used as they have no crumbs, store easily, and of course, can double up as a  frisbee for a bit of fun! For the same reason of float-ability, salt and pepper are provided in liquid form. Food consumed is generally better if it has a moist or sticky consistency, such as porridge, scrambled eggs, or pudding, as this type of food will stay on the spoon or fork.

The end of their ordeal is very much in sight now for the 33 Chilean miners trapped for more than 2 months, over 2000 feet beneath the Earth’s surface at the San Jose mine in Chile.

The rescue shaft has been dug and part-lined in preparation for the 13 foot tall rescue capsule to be lowered and pulled up again (complete with 1 miner) in a return journey that will take one hour.

Paramedics and a mining expert will be lowered first of all to evaluate the men, and the first extraction should take place in the early hours of Wednesday morning, in a capsule nicknamed Phoenix 1. Each man will then have the opportunity to be reunited with family members, before being flown by helicopter to the city of Copiapo for medical treatment.

Psychological support has been in place for the men during their ordeal far below ground, but it will be needed more so than ever before, for their reemergence into the media frenzy that will surround them. A torrent of emotion awaits the miners, and a deluge of questions from a world media trying to extract every moment of news worthiness from the story. Countless television appearances, expenses paid holidays, job opportunities, and book and movie deals will be on offer for sums of money that will make their minds boggle.

But then what?

In the fickle and fast moving world of the media, a story is chased, reported to saturation level and then shelved as world events move on to the next catastrophe or human interest event. And as for the 33 miners and their families, they will be left to pick up the pieces of their former lives, left to face a changed reality as they attempt to adapt to a strange new world.

May this week see them all successfully and safely brought to the surface once more, and may the very best of luck be with them as they try to put their lives back together again.

First established by the United Nations in 1999, and an event held every year from 4-10 October, this week is a global annual celebration highlighting the contributions of space science and technology to life on planet Earth.

The theme this year is "Mysteries of the Cosmos," and activities include a Google Lunar X Prize Summit on the Isle of Man, an astronomy festival in Marrakech, Morocco, and a star camp for high school students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The timing of the event coincides with two important dates in Space exploration - October 4th saw the launch by the Soviet Union 53 years ago of Sputnik, the world's first man-made satellite, and October 10th is the date in 1967 when the Outer Space Treaty came into effect, an agreement that formed the basis for international space law.

Last year, when the theme of World Space Week was "Space for Education," 713 events took place in 55 nations worldwide. Click on the link below to search for events that may be taking place in your country this year.
 
http://www.worldspaceweek.org/event_search.html