1 00:00:00,919 --> 00:00:02,440 Houston, station on space to ground. 2 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:03,712 JOSH BYERLY: Welcome to Space to Ground. 3 00:00:03,712 --> 00:00:06,730 Your weekly look at what’s happening on board the International Space Station. 4 00:00:06,730 --> 00:00:07,970 I’m Josh Byerly. 5 00:00:07,970 --> 00:00:09,030 Hi, Dan Rather. 6 00:00:09,030 --> 00:00:12,190 DAN RATHER: Josh, why don’t you let me take this one? 7 00:00:12,190 --> 00:00:13,190 JOSH: (laughs) Okay… 8 00:00:13,190 --> 00:00:15,180 I’ll just go stand over here... 9 00:00:15,180 --> 00:00:19,230 Houston, station on space to ground. 10 00:00:19,230 --> 00:00:22,100 DAN: Welcome to Space To Ground. 11 00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:26,350 Your weekly look at what’s happening on board the International Space Station. 12 00:00:26,350 --> 00:00:29,470 I am not Josh Byerly. 13 00:00:29,470 --> 00:00:33,929 This week, one Progress cargo craft departed while another arrived. 14 00:00:33,929 --> 00:00:40,870 On Monday, the Progress 52 undocked from the space station, carrying with it trash and 15 00:00:40,870 --> 00:00:43,690 other items the crew no longer needs. 16 00:00:43,690 --> 00:00:47,420 It had been attached to the Pirs docking compartment since July. 17 00:00:47,420 --> 00:00:50,309 But Pirs wasn’t empty for long. 18 00:00:50,309 --> 00:00:55,800 On Wednesday, Progress 54 lifted off from Kazakhstan and took a six hour trip to the 19 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:57,019 outpost. 20 00:00:57,019 --> 00:01:02,850 It is loaded with two-point-eight tons of food, fuel and supplies for the station crew. 21 00:01:02,850 --> 00:01:06,500 They’ll spend the next several weeks unloading it. 22 00:01:06,500 --> 00:01:11,729 As the world gears up for the winter Olympics in Russia, Flight Engineers Mike Hopkins and 23 00:01:11,729 --> 00:01:18,590 Rick Mastracchio joined team USA bobsledder Curt Tomasevicz and others in a Google plus 24 00:01:18,590 --> 00:01:23,539 hangout. 25 00:01:23,539 --> 00:01:27,259 They talked about the importance of fitness both in space and on earth. 26 00:01:27,259 --> 00:01:32,119 Of course, the ISS played an important role in the opening ceremonies. 27 00:01:32,119 --> 00:01:37,799 The torch used to light the Olympic cauldron made a visit to the space station and was 28 00:01:37,799 --> 00:01:39,880 taken out on a spacewalk. 29 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,799 It returned to Earth in November with the Expedition 36 crew. 30 00:01:44,799 --> 00:01:51,499 In station science, the crew worked on a blood pressure experiment called BP Reg. 31 00:01:51,499 --> 00:01:56,219 Coming back to Earth after six months in space isn’t for the faint of heart – but it 32 00:01:56,219 --> 00:02:00,939 can still cause the astronauts and cosmonauts to get a little light-headed. 33 00:02:00,939 --> 00:02:05,890 The cardiovascular system doesn’t have to work as hard in space since it doesn’t have 34 00:02:05,890 --> 00:02:08,789 to battle gravity to pump blood. 35 00:02:08,789 --> 00:02:14,400 Once the space-fliers are back on Earth, their blood gets pulled down and away from the head, 36 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,440 and their blood pressure drops. 37 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:21,870 with BP Reg, the crew monitors their blood pressure before, during and after their time 38 00:02:21,870 --> 00:02:23,480 on board the station. 39 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:29,790 Scientists hope to use the data to better predict how each crew member will be affected. 40 00:02:29,790 --> 00:02:36,290 This week, Chuck asks us “How much water is recycled on ISS?” 41 00:02:36,290 --> 00:02:43,069 About 80 liters of water is purified and recycled each week on board from both sweat and urine. 42 00:02:43,069 --> 00:02:48,970 This eliminates the need to launch a lot of water into space, which is heavy and expensive. 43 00:02:48,970 --> 00:02:54,830 And recycling will be essential for future space missions to an asteroid or mars. 44 00:02:54,830 --> 00:02:59,189 This technology is actually being used right now to provide clean drinking water to some 45 00:02:59,189 --> 00:03:02,260 of the most remote areas of our planet. 46 00:03:02,260 --> 00:03:08,409 This is just one of the ways the space station is benefitting humanity. 47 00:03:08,409 --> 00:03:13,689 Make sure you send us your questions and comments using the hashtag #spacetoground.