1 00:00:14,033 --> 00:00:16,495 -1,651 -- 2 00:00:16,495 --> 00:00:18,825 That's the total number of investigations 3 00:00:18,825 --> 00:00:21,297 performed on the International Space Station 4 00:00:21,297 --> 00:00:23,462 since it first started operations 5 00:00:23,462 --> 00:00:26,264 through Expeditions 38/39. 6 00:00:26,264 --> 00:00:29,132 Researchers from more than 83 countries 7 00:00:29,132 --> 00:00:31,297 have relied on the unique facility 8 00:00:31,297 --> 00:00:32,792 that is the space station 9 00:00:32,792 --> 00:00:35,231 to help with their scientific discoveries, 10 00:00:35,231 --> 00:00:37,495 contributing in countless ways 11 00:00:37,495 --> 00:00:41,594 to the health and safety of life on Earth and in space. 12 00:00:41,594 --> 00:00:44,132 The collaboration between the station crew 13 00:00:44,132 --> 00:00:45,462 and ground controllers 14 00:00:45,462 --> 00:00:48,330 at Marshall's Payload Operations Integration Center, 15 00:00:48,330 --> 00:00:49,957 Europe, and Japan, 16 00:00:49,957 --> 00:00:53,033 resulted in more than 300 investigations 17 00:00:53,033 --> 00:00:55,000 on station this year alone 18 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,297 and record-breaking hours of science 19 00:00:57,297 --> 00:00:59,891 conducted by the crews each week. 20 00:00:59,891 --> 00:01:01,198 Over the course of the year, 21 00:01:01,198 --> 00:01:02,825 we interviewed several researchers 22 00:01:02,825 --> 00:01:04,396 about their investigations 23 00:01:04,396 --> 00:01:07,297 to learn why and how they're conducting research 24 00:01:07,297 --> 00:01:09,396 on the International Space Station. 25 00:01:09,396 --> 00:01:12,033 Now, while we can't get to everyone in the next 30 minutes, 26 00:01:12,033 --> 00:01:13,660 you'll hear from some of the scientists 27 00:01:13,660 --> 00:01:15,099 about their investigations. 28 00:01:15,099 --> 00:01:17,429 But first, let's hear from Ellen Stofan, 29 00:01:17,429 --> 00:01:19,033 NASA's Chief Scientist, 30 00:01:19,033 --> 00:01:23,165 to find out why this orbiting laboratory is so valuable. 31 00:01:23,165 --> 00:01:26,825 -We have experiments that included a 3-D printer 32 00:01:26,825 --> 00:01:28,396 to start testing -- 33 00:01:28,396 --> 00:01:30,957 Can we eventually get to a point where we can produce parts 34 00:01:30,957 --> 00:01:32,627 for the International Space Station 35 00:01:32,627 --> 00:01:34,528 on the International Space Station, 36 00:01:34,528 --> 00:01:36,330 rather than bringing them from Earth? 37 00:01:36,330 --> 00:01:40,132 We took up rodents for the first time since the shuttle days, 38 00:01:40,132 --> 00:01:43,099 and we're going to be using these rodents as model systems 39 00:01:43,099 --> 00:01:45,627 to better understand the effects of microgravity 40 00:01:45,627 --> 00:01:48,000 on the human system, 41 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,033 and using those mice, 42 00:01:49,033 --> 00:01:50,462 potentially for drug development. 43 00:01:50,462 --> 00:01:52,693 Things that happen to the human body in space, 44 00:01:52,693 --> 00:01:54,759 like bone-density loss and muscle wasting, 45 00:01:54,759 --> 00:01:57,000 are things that happen to us as we age, 46 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:58,297 so can we use the fact 47 00:01:58,297 --> 00:02:01,132 that these processes occur very rapidly in space 48 00:02:01,132 --> 00:02:04,726 to develop new treatments that benefit us right here on Earth? 49 00:02:04,726 --> 00:02:07,330 So, direct benefits to the world of science, 50 00:02:07,330 --> 00:02:09,429 direct benefits to human health -- 51 00:02:09,429 --> 00:02:11,759 That's the kind of research we do every day 52 00:02:11,759 --> 00:02:13,891 up on the International Space Station. 53 00:02:13,891 --> 00:02:15,594 -As the Chief Scientist, though, 54 00:02:15,594 --> 00:02:17,198 I'm sure you want to see more. 55 00:02:17,198 --> 00:02:18,396 There's more that can be done. 56 00:02:18,396 --> 00:02:19,858 What do you tell folks about that? 57 00:02:19,858 --> 00:02:22,264 -You know, that's why this extension to 2024 58 00:02:22,264 --> 00:02:23,528 was so important to me, 59 00:02:23,528 --> 00:02:24,858 because as a researcher, 60 00:02:24,858 --> 00:02:26,825 you really want to be able to say, 61 00:02:26,825 --> 00:02:29,561 "Can I come up with a theory, come up with an experiment, 62 00:02:29,561 --> 00:02:32,957 send it up to the ISS, see what my results are, 63 00:02:32,957 --> 00:02:34,726 and tweak my experiment, 64 00:02:34,726 --> 00:02:36,891 go further, go to the next step?" 65 00:02:36,891 --> 00:02:38,495 And that's what that 10-year extension 66 00:02:38,495 --> 00:02:40,033 of the ISS has given us. 67 00:02:40,033 --> 00:02:42,693 And so, the rodent research I was talking about -- 68 00:02:42,693 --> 00:02:44,000 We're just beginning. 69 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:45,264 We're going to have rodents, 70 00:02:45,264 --> 00:02:46,957 model system, fruit-fly experiments 71 00:02:46,957 --> 00:02:48,627 going up on the ISS 72 00:02:48,627 --> 00:02:50,924 that are really going to help us start addressing questions 73 00:02:50,924 --> 00:02:54,297 on how do we send humans on that long journey to Mars, 74 00:02:54,297 --> 00:02:55,924 that eight-month journey to Mars, 75 00:02:55,924 --> 00:02:58,495 eight months back, time on the Martian surface -- 76 00:02:58,495 --> 00:02:59,759 That's a lot of time 77 00:02:59,759 --> 00:03:02,363 out of the Earth's protective environment 78 00:03:02,363 --> 00:03:04,528 that protects us from space radiation. 79 00:03:04,528 --> 00:03:06,198 So, we have a lot of research to do 80 00:03:06,198 --> 00:03:07,792 on the International Space Station 81 00:03:07,792 --> 00:03:09,099 over the next 10 years 82 00:03:09,099 --> 00:03:11,264 to really get ready for that journey to Mars. 83 00:03:11,264 --> 00:03:12,561 And we're excited about it. 84 00:03:12,561 --> 00:03:15,297 -And the space station has also given researchers 85 00:03:15,297 --> 00:03:18,330 who may not have ever gotten anything in microgravity -- 86 00:03:18,330 --> 00:03:19,825 They've given them an opportunity. 87 00:03:19,825 --> 00:03:21,924 It's easier now to get on the space station, right? 88 00:03:21,924 --> 00:03:23,231 -It is easier. 89 00:03:23,231 --> 00:03:25,825 We're really working at NASA to try to make the ISS 90 00:03:25,825 --> 00:03:27,561 a researcher-friendly environment. 91 00:03:27,561 --> 00:03:29,825 And through our efforts, as well as CASIS, 92 00:03:29,825 --> 00:03:31,561 which is the organization 93 00:03:31,561 --> 00:03:35,231 that runs our national laboratory on the space station, 94 00:03:35,231 --> 00:03:37,066 we're trying to get new partners, 95 00:03:37,066 --> 00:03:39,198 not just our traditional research crowd, 96 00:03:39,198 --> 00:03:42,165 but can we get pharmaceutical companies? 97 00:03:42,165 --> 00:03:45,264 Can we get companies that do materials research? 98 00:03:45,264 --> 00:03:47,033 Can they start seeing the benefits 99 00:03:47,033 --> 00:03:48,495 of doing microgravity research? 100 00:03:48,495 --> 00:03:50,000 So, we really want to exploit 101 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:51,825 not just the scientific potential 102 00:03:51,825 --> 00:03:53,396 of the International Space Station, 103 00:03:53,396 --> 00:03:55,198 but its potential commercial uses. 104 00:03:55,198 --> 00:03:57,066 -What do you tell folks who say, 105 00:03:57,066 --> 00:03:58,561 "Ah, the space station -- 106 00:03:58,561 --> 00:04:00,759 That doesn't mean anything to me"? 107 00:04:00,759 --> 00:04:03,396 -You know, I really try to focus on the fact 108 00:04:03,396 --> 00:04:05,693 that when we're working off the Earth, 109 00:04:05,693 --> 00:04:07,297 we're working for the Earth. 110 00:04:07,297 --> 00:04:09,660 From the RapidScat instrument 111 00:04:09,660 --> 00:04:12,033 that we just put up to help measure ocean winds, 112 00:04:12,033 --> 00:04:13,957 which is going to be able to allow us 113 00:04:13,957 --> 00:04:16,396 to do better weather forecasting, 114 00:04:16,396 --> 00:04:18,033 better understanding of the climate -- 115 00:04:18,033 --> 00:04:21,594 That's something that affects us directly right here on Earth. 116 00:04:21,594 --> 00:04:23,858 From things like, again, bone-density loss. 117 00:04:23,858 --> 00:04:27,330 Okay, that's what happens to us as we age -- osteoporosis. 118 00:04:27,330 --> 00:04:29,462 We're looking into developing new treatments 119 00:04:29,462 --> 00:04:31,528 based on what we're doing on the space station. 120 00:04:31,528 --> 00:04:33,858 So, while we're not right here on Earth, 121 00:04:33,858 --> 00:04:36,231 everything we do is to benefit the Earth, 122 00:04:36,231 --> 00:04:38,561 and those technologies that we develop 123 00:04:38,561 --> 00:04:40,759 are being done right here on Earth. 124 00:04:40,759 --> 00:04:42,561 We send them up to space and test them, 125 00:04:42,561 --> 00:04:45,330 and there's huge numbers of spin-offs that come from that. 126 00:04:45,330 --> 00:04:48,660 The benefits of the ISS, to me, are just endless. 127 00:04:48,660 --> 00:04:50,066 The One Year mission is something 128 00:04:50,066 --> 00:04:51,693 that we've really been looking forward to 129 00:04:51,693 --> 00:04:53,198 in the Human Research Program, 130 00:04:53,198 --> 00:04:55,132 because there are a lot of things that happen, again, 131 00:04:55,132 --> 00:04:56,363 to the human body in space, 132 00:04:56,363 --> 00:04:58,726 from, again, the muscle wasting, bone-density loss, 133 00:04:58,726 --> 00:05:01,429 the rise in intercranial pressure that affects vision, 134 00:05:01,429 --> 00:05:03,429 changes in the immune system. 135 00:05:03,429 --> 00:05:05,429 Our crews mostly go up for six months. 136 00:05:05,429 --> 00:05:07,495 So, okay, what happens after six months? 137 00:05:07,495 --> 00:05:09,132 Do those effects plateau? 138 00:05:09,132 --> 00:05:11,462 Do they lessen? Do they get worse? 139 00:05:11,462 --> 00:05:13,693 Those are things we really want to know, 140 00:05:13,693 --> 00:05:15,726 and so by having the two astronauts 141 00:05:15,726 --> 00:05:16,858 up there for a year -- 142 00:05:16,858 --> 00:05:18,759 a Russian astronaut, a U.S. astronaut -- 143 00:05:18,759 --> 00:05:21,363 it's a great opportunity to really push that envelope 144 00:05:21,363 --> 00:05:24,495 in what we understand about the affects of microgravity, 145 00:05:24,495 --> 00:05:27,924 and again, critical for this much longer trip to Mars. 146 00:05:27,924 --> 00:05:29,660 The other exciting aspect, of course, 147 00:05:29,660 --> 00:05:30,891 of the One Year mission 148 00:05:30,891 --> 00:05:33,594 is that Scott Kelly, who's going up for a year, 149 00:05:33,594 --> 00:05:36,132 happens to have a twin brother, Mark Kelly, 150 00:05:36,132 --> 00:05:38,198 former astronaut, who's here on the ground. 151 00:05:38,198 --> 00:05:40,957 And so not only are we going to be doing the one-year studies 152 00:05:40,957 --> 00:05:42,297 of the long-duration effects, 153 00:05:42,297 --> 00:05:45,561 we're also doing a number of twin studies to say, 154 00:05:45,561 --> 00:05:47,396 "Okay, we've got one in space and one on the ground, 155 00:05:47,396 --> 00:05:48,660 same genetics. 156 00:05:48,660 --> 00:05:50,066 What can we learn from that?" 157 00:05:50,066 --> 00:05:51,165 Really exciting. 158 00:05:51,165 --> 00:05:53,495 -So, let's take a look at some of those investigations, 159 00:05:53,495 --> 00:05:54,858 from growing veggies 160 00:05:54,858 --> 00:05:57,858 to studying how flames behave in microgravity, 161 00:05:57,858 --> 00:05:59,462 and what we've learned 162 00:05:59,462 --> 00:06:03,132 by observing our planet from more than 200 miles up. 163 00:06:07,330 --> 00:06:11,726 -It's the first continuous HD downlink from the ISS. 164 00:06:11,726 --> 00:06:13,330 We've had other cameras up there before, 165 00:06:13,330 --> 00:06:15,033 but they have sort of been spotty coverage. 166 00:06:15,033 --> 00:06:17,033 This is the first one that's on all the time. 167 00:06:17,033 --> 00:06:18,462 It's actually four cameras -- 168 00:06:18,462 --> 00:06:20,759 four commercial, off-the-shelf, HD cameras -- 169 00:06:20,759 --> 00:06:24,033 in an enclosure that's built to test temperature control. 170 00:06:24,033 --> 00:06:25,198 And the cameras -- 171 00:06:25,198 --> 00:06:27,792 The main purpose of this, of the HDEV project, 172 00:06:27,792 --> 00:06:29,528 is not to take Earth imagery. 173 00:06:29,528 --> 00:06:31,759 That's just a very cool added bonus of it. 174 00:06:31,759 --> 00:06:33,693 The real purpose is to test 175 00:06:33,693 --> 00:06:37,495 how long these cameras can survive in the space environment 176 00:06:37,495 --> 00:06:39,264 before they degrade so much 177 00:06:39,264 --> 00:06:41,066 through things like cosmic-ray hits 178 00:06:41,066 --> 00:06:42,693 that they're not usable anymore. 179 00:06:42,693 --> 00:06:44,066 So, the four cameras. 180 00:06:44,066 --> 00:06:46,660 There's one pointed in the ram direction, 181 00:06:46,660 --> 00:06:48,957 the forward-velocity vector of the ISS. 182 00:06:48,957 --> 00:06:50,627 There's two facing aft, 183 00:06:50,627 --> 00:06:53,000 and one facing nadir, looking right down on the Earth. 184 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,099 And the way the system is currently set up right now, 185 00:06:56,099 --> 00:07:01,330 the video feeds cycle through all four cameras. 186 00:07:01,330 --> 00:07:05,429 But there's two educational opportunities that are coming up 187 00:07:05,429 --> 00:07:09,297 that we're working with student groups in Germany, 188 00:07:09,297 --> 00:07:10,528 University of Bonn, 189 00:07:10,528 --> 00:07:12,858 through the German Space Agency, DLR, 190 00:07:12,858 --> 00:07:15,231 and also University of Houston, Clear Lake, 191 00:07:15,231 --> 00:07:16,396 has a group of students also 192 00:07:16,396 --> 00:07:17,924 that will be looking at the camera 193 00:07:17,924 --> 00:07:20,033 both to collect data for specific areas 194 00:07:20,033 --> 00:07:23,066 but also to monitor the primary purpose of the experiment -- 195 00:07:23,066 --> 00:07:25,726 see how the cameras are degrading over time. 196 00:07:25,726 --> 00:07:28,528 And so, those programs are just getting spun up. 197 00:07:28,528 --> 00:07:31,429 But in the meantime, yeah, the HDEV is returning 198 00:07:31,429 --> 00:07:33,594 spectacular HD views of the Earth. 199 00:07:33,594 --> 00:07:36,066 -The first one is an area called Los Glaciares. 200 00:07:36,066 --> 00:07:37,693 It's a national park in Argentina. 201 00:07:37,693 --> 00:07:39,759 It's right on the Argentinean/Chilean border, 202 00:07:39,759 --> 00:07:41,429 and it's particularly significant 203 00:07:41,429 --> 00:07:43,132 because it's one of the few areas 204 00:07:43,132 --> 00:07:44,759 where there are glaciers, 205 00:07:44,759 --> 00:07:47,627 specifically a glacier called Perito Moreno, 206 00:07:47,627 --> 00:07:48,660 which is actually growing. 207 00:07:48,660 --> 00:07:50,561 Most of the glaciers in that area, 208 00:07:50,561 --> 00:07:52,792 in that particular glaciation field there, 209 00:07:52,792 --> 00:07:54,660 are shrinking. 210 00:07:54,660 --> 00:07:56,660 But Perito Moreno is growing. 211 00:07:56,660 --> 00:07:58,594 And there's a lot of research there 212 00:07:58,594 --> 00:08:00,594 trying to figure out exactly what's going on, 213 00:08:00,594 --> 00:08:03,099 why this one particular area, as opposed to the other areas, 214 00:08:03,099 --> 00:08:04,660 are increasing. 215 00:08:04,660 --> 00:08:06,363 Glaciation is one of those things that has -- 216 00:08:06,363 --> 00:08:09,462 It's a fingerprint of what the current climate is 217 00:08:09,462 --> 00:08:11,363 and how things may be trending, 218 00:08:11,363 --> 00:08:14,561 so glaciation studies around the world are very important. 219 00:08:14,561 --> 00:08:17,264 The next one is Lake Titicaca. 220 00:08:17,264 --> 00:08:21,363 This particular image is on the northwestern shore of Titicaca, 221 00:08:21,363 --> 00:08:25,528 right at the border between Peru and Bolivia. 222 00:08:25,528 --> 00:08:28,264 Titicaca is a very important area. 223 00:08:28,264 --> 00:08:30,924 It's a huge local fishery. 224 00:08:30,924 --> 00:08:32,924 It's a very important local area 225 00:08:32,924 --> 00:08:35,462 because of the tourism business there. 226 00:08:35,462 --> 00:08:38,627 And it also in an indicator of the health of the planet. 227 00:08:38,627 --> 00:08:40,363 As the water level rises and falls, 228 00:08:40,363 --> 00:08:42,495 as the water quality increases and decreases, 229 00:08:42,495 --> 00:08:44,627 it's a good indicator of what's going on, generally, 230 00:08:44,627 --> 00:08:46,033 in the environment. 231 00:08:46,033 --> 00:08:48,429 The next image that we have is the upper Nile in Sudan. 232 00:08:48,429 --> 00:08:49,792 This is a late-afternoon shot. 233 00:08:49,792 --> 00:08:53,066 You can see there's a pink glow cast across the landscape 234 00:08:53,066 --> 00:08:54,627 from the setting sun there. 235 00:08:54,627 --> 00:08:58,792 The Nile, of course, is critical for agriculture in the area. 236 00:08:58,792 --> 00:09:01,891 Most of the population in the desert environments 237 00:09:01,891 --> 00:09:03,363 live along riverbanks. 238 00:09:03,363 --> 00:09:04,561 The Nile, of course, 239 00:09:04,561 --> 00:09:06,528 is the focus of the population in that area. 240 00:09:06,528 --> 00:09:08,462 What you see here is a set of villages 241 00:09:08,462 --> 00:09:10,363 that are interspersed with agriculture 242 00:09:10,363 --> 00:09:12,033 along the banks of the Nile. 243 00:09:12,033 --> 00:09:15,099 The Nile itself is the source both of the water 244 00:09:15,099 --> 00:09:17,297 and the fertilization for those fields. 245 00:09:17,297 --> 00:09:21,528 And the people in those areas depend on the agriculture 246 00:09:21,528 --> 00:09:23,528 that's in their local area to survive. 247 00:09:23,528 --> 00:09:25,132 And modifications to the environment -- 248 00:09:25,132 --> 00:09:29,099 The Nile has been modified over the last 50 years or so 249 00:09:29,099 --> 00:09:31,330 to have some significant effect 250 00:09:31,330 --> 00:09:32,825 on the ability of the people 251 00:09:32,825 --> 00:09:35,066 to conduct their agricultural activities. 252 00:09:39,132 --> 00:09:43,231 -The hardware consists of an LED lid 253 00:09:43,231 --> 00:09:44,858 with lighting underneath it 254 00:09:44,858 --> 00:09:46,396 with a bellows system 255 00:09:46,396 --> 00:09:48,396 and a skeleton that holds that all together. 256 00:09:48,396 --> 00:09:51,099 We have root maps with seeds inside of them, 257 00:09:51,099 --> 00:09:56,363 and it's an accordion-type system 258 00:09:56,363 --> 00:09:58,891 that will raise as the plants grow. 259 00:09:58,891 --> 00:10:00,330 And the lighting system 260 00:10:00,330 --> 00:10:03,594 is only the light that is necessary for plants to live, 261 00:10:03,594 --> 00:10:06,627 and it's a 24/7 cycle, so there is no nighttime. 262 00:10:06,627 --> 00:10:08,132 So it grows very quickly, 263 00:10:08,132 --> 00:10:10,099 and we turn the crops very quickly. 264 00:10:10,099 --> 00:10:11,396 It's unique in a way 265 00:10:11,396 --> 00:10:14,165 that it's very interactive to the astronauts. 266 00:10:14,165 --> 00:10:16,693 They can touch it, feel it, have the goodness. 267 00:10:16,693 --> 00:10:18,693 There's been plant science up there, 268 00:10:18,693 --> 00:10:23,066 but it's all been enclosed in a very controlled environment. 269 00:10:23,066 --> 00:10:26,462 This environment is outside. 270 00:10:26,462 --> 00:10:31,957 It's very, very interactive to the astronauts. 271 00:10:31,957 --> 00:10:35,000 We are very interested 272 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,924 in the environmental control and life-support systems. 273 00:10:37,924 --> 00:10:42,132 With this plant technology, ISS, with zero G, 274 00:10:42,132 --> 00:10:46,330 we're able to take and assess what the plants do in the grow, 275 00:10:46,330 --> 00:10:47,957 and what we're trying to do 276 00:10:47,957 --> 00:10:50,330 is capture the humidity, condensation, 277 00:10:50,330 --> 00:10:54,264 and recycle it back into the environmental control systems. 278 00:10:54,264 --> 00:10:59,825 So, in this effort to resource utilize as much as possible. 279 00:10:59,825 --> 00:11:03,000 Now, it's critical to do this at zero G 280 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,033 because if we're going to do long-duration space -- 281 00:11:06,033 --> 00:11:08,198 Moon, Mars -- this has to be done, 282 00:11:08,198 --> 00:11:10,099 and we have to recover 283 00:11:10,099 --> 00:11:13,363 and take those resources as far as they can. 284 00:11:13,363 --> 00:11:15,759 -People have been studying fruit flies 285 00:11:15,759 --> 00:11:18,660 and using them to understand important questions 286 00:11:18,660 --> 00:11:20,363 for over 100 years. 287 00:11:20,363 --> 00:11:24,594 And so genetically, we know a lot about them. 288 00:11:24,594 --> 00:11:26,231 They're very well-characterized. 289 00:11:26,231 --> 00:11:29,363 They also, because they're so small -- 290 00:11:29,363 --> 00:11:32,528 in a small area, when you do a space-flight experiment, 291 00:11:32,528 --> 00:11:36,924 you can fly a lot of these little fruit flies. 292 00:11:36,924 --> 00:11:39,627 And so, when you get the data back, 293 00:11:39,627 --> 00:11:41,792 you have a lot of information, 294 00:11:41,792 --> 00:11:44,561 a lot of samples to do your studies. 295 00:11:44,561 --> 00:11:47,759 Another thing that I think surprises a lot of people 296 00:11:47,759 --> 00:11:49,792 but is important to know 297 00:11:49,792 --> 00:11:53,264 is that fruit flies actually are very -- 298 00:11:53,264 --> 00:11:54,660 When you look at their DNA 299 00:11:54,660 --> 00:11:57,957 and you compare it with DNA, say, of humans, 300 00:11:57,957 --> 00:11:59,462 there's a lot of similarity. 301 00:11:59,462 --> 00:12:01,858 So, when you look at the database 302 00:12:01,858 --> 00:12:04,165 which has the collection of genes 303 00:12:04,165 --> 00:12:07,330 which are important for human function -- 304 00:12:07,330 --> 00:12:09,957 so, when you get any kind of anomaly, 305 00:12:09,957 --> 00:12:13,099 then you can show a human disease. 306 00:12:13,099 --> 00:12:14,759 When you look at that collection 307 00:12:14,759 --> 00:12:17,000 and you compare it against the fruit fly DNA, 308 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,264 you actually find more than 70% similarity. 309 00:12:20,264 --> 00:12:23,231 So more than 70% of those genes are similar. 310 00:12:23,231 --> 00:12:28,396 So, there's a lot that you can use the fly to do studies with 311 00:12:28,396 --> 00:12:30,561 and then a lot you can understand 312 00:12:30,561 --> 00:12:32,858 about other more complex systems, 313 00:12:32,858 --> 00:12:34,165 like the human being, 314 00:12:34,165 --> 00:12:38,066 and how an astronaut would experience space flight. 315 00:12:42,066 --> 00:12:46,165 -We study the behavior of colloidal samples. 316 00:12:46,165 --> 00:12:48,000 What does that mean? 317 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,033 Colloid is fluid 318 00:12:50,033 --> 00:12:53,033 that has particles in it that we may not see. 319 00:12:53,033 --> 00:12:56,759 Everyday products are colloidal, 320 00:12:56,759 --> 00:13:02,660 like toothpaste, shaving cream, detergent. 321 00:13:02,660 --> 00:13:05,000 Milk is even a colloid, 322 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,660 and the researchers want to find ways 323 00:13:08,660 --> 00:13:12,033 to extend the shelf life of some products 324 00:13:12,033 --> 00:13:15,627 and also understand the behavior 325 00:13:15,627 --> 00:13:18,132 of the particles inside these products 326 00:13:18,132 --> 00:13:21,132 and probably for many of them, 327 00:13:21,132 --> 00:13:24,363 improve the manufacturing of those products. 328 00:13:24,363 --> 00:13:26,066 -One of the things that we discovered 329 00:13:26,066 --> 00:13:27,099 in the FLEX experiments 330 00:13:27,099 --> 00:13:30,561 is the so-called cool-flame combustion. 331 00:13:30,561 --> 00:13:33,462 What happens there is the hot flame goes out, 332 00:13:33,462 --> 00:13:37,330 and then the droplet continues to burn at a very vigorous rate, 333 00:13:37,330 --> 00:13:39,264 but without any visible flame. 334 00:13:39,264 --> 00:13:41,792 So this has got practical applications 335 00:13:41,792 --> 00:13:44,792 in the form of using liquid fuels 336 00:13:44,792 --> 00:13:46,825 in an efficient and a clean way. 337 00:13:46,825 --> 00:13:48,726 And the space applications for this 338 00:13:48,726 --> 00:13:50,528 is also very critical because -- 339 00:13:50,528 --> 00:13:52,561 from the point of view of fire safety. 340 00:13:52,561 --> 00:13:54,660 So, if you have a fire-fighting strategy 341 00:13:54,660 --> 00:13:57,495 in a microgravity environment or a spacecraft environment, 342 00:13:57,495 --> 00:14:00,462 so if you think that once that hot flame is gone, 343 00:14:00,462 --> 00:14:03,825 then you can't think that the fire is extinguished. 344 00:14:03,825 --> 00:14:04,957 What is happening -- 345 00:14:04,957 --> 00:14:07,957 It's almost like smoldering combustion on Earth. 346 00:14:07,957 --> 00:14:11,165 Like, if you put a piece of log in the fireplace 347 00:14:11,165 --> 00:14:13,264 and the flame goes out 348 00:14:13,264 --> 00:14:16,627 but it can still smolder and produce toxic gases. 349 00:14:16,627 --> 00:14:17,759 Just like that. 350 00:14:17,759 --> 00:14:19,957 This is the first time anybody has observed this. 351 00:14:19,957 --> 00:14:23,330 Hot flame goes out and there's no visible flame 352 00:14:23,330 --> 00:14:25,792 and still the liquid fuel continues to burn, 353 00:14:25,792 --> 00:14:28,033 partially oxidizing this fuel, 354 00:14:28,033 --> 00:14:31,594 spewing out, you know, combustible mixtures. 355 00:14:31,594 --> 00:14:35,066 So, it is very important to know that 356 00:14:35,066 --> 00:14:38,429 so that, in principle, at least, 357 00:14:38,429 --> 00:14:41,132 we have demonstrated that after hot flame, 358 00:14:41,132 --> 00:14:43,297 the cool flame can be a fire hazard 359 00:14:43,297 --> 00:14:46,594 because it can re-ignite and then bring back the hot flame. 360 00:14:46,594 --> 00:14:48,891 -I never tire of those amazing images, 361 00:14:48,891 --> 00:14:51,627 but that's not all that happened on space station this year. 362 00:14:51,627 --> 00:14:54,495 There were laser beams, 3-D printing, 363 00:14:54,495 --> 00:14:57,066 and even a bedtime story from space. 364 00:14:57,066 --> 00:14:58,330 And let's not forget 365 00:14:58,330 --> 00:15:01,726 those ever-important human research investigations. 366 00:15:06,264 --> 00:15:09,495 -We're looking at the immunosuppression in astronauts. 367 00:15:09,495 --> 00:15:13,264 We're using very complicated bioinformatics 368 00:15:13,264 --> 00:15:16,660 in order to look at all 30,000 genes involved. 369 00:15:16,660 --> 00:15:18,198 And from there, 370 00:15:18,198 --> 00:15:24,627 we are finding the way to modulate the immune system, 371 00:15:24,627 --> 00:15:26,924 not only for people in space flight, 372 00:15:26,924 --> 00:15:29,132 but also for people on the ground. 373 00:15:29,132 --> 00:15:32,957 For instance, older people, as they age, 374 00:15:32,957 --> 00:15:35,198 they have an immunosuppression. 375 00:15:35,198 --> 00:15:39,627 Something like 70% of the people in ICU that die 376 00:15:39,627 --> 00:15:42,132 have had pneumonia. 377 00:15:42,132 --> 00:15:46,132 We're also looking at ways to modulate the immune system 378 00:15:46,132 --> 00:15:48,825 for autoimmune disease. 379 00:15:48,825 --> 00:15:51,462 That would be when it's turned on too high. 380 00:15:51,462 --> 00:15:54,693 So the hope for our research is 381 00:15:54,693 --> 00:15:59,396 that we're going to be able to pinpoint the target areas 382 00:15:59,396 --> 00:16:02,363 that might make a good pharmaceutical target. 383 00:16:02,363 --> 00:16:03,726 My experiment -- 384 00:16:03,726 --> 00:16:07,198 The first one flew on station some time ago. 385 00:16:07,198 --> 00:16:12,363 We published the paper in 2012 about the experiment, 386 00:16:12,363 --> 00:16:14,957 and this is the next experiment following. 387 00:16:14,957 --> 00:16:17,033 -So, what did you find in the first study? 388 00:16:17,033 --> 00:16:18,462 -In the first study, 389 00:16:18,462 --> 00:16:21,759 we found some of the very early signaling events 390 00:16:21,759 --> 00:16:25,132 that change in the immune system in microgravity. 391 00:16:25,132 --> 00:16:26,198 With this study, 392 00:16:26,198 --> 00:16:28,429 we're carrying it one step further. 393 00:16:28,429 --> 00:16:31,330 We're able to look at micro RNA 394 00:16:31,330 --> 00:16:33,495 where we will be able to have 395 00:16:33,495 --> 00:16:36,165 brand-new pharmaceutical targets. 396 00:16:36,165 --> 00:16:37,792 -We hadn't had any data 397 00:16:37,792 --> 00:16:40,429 that allowed us to show specifically 398 00:16:40,429 --> 00:16:41,825 how there were changes. 399 00:16:41,825 --> 00:16:43,891 We just knew there probably were. 400 00:16:43,891 --> 00:16:45,759 So this was the first activity 401 00:16:45,759 --> 00:16:48,825 that we did a formal evaluation of how people run 402 00:16:48,825 --> 00:16:52,264 and compared running styles in normal gravity 403 00:16:52,264 --> 00:16:54,297 to running styles up on the space station. 404 00:16:54,297 --> 00:16:57,429 We learned a lot of really cool things. 405 00:16:57,429 --> 00:17:00,198 First of all, from an exercise perspective, 406 00:17:00,198 --> 00:17:04,066 we found out that running fast is really, really important. 407 00:17:04,066 --> 00:17:05,330 The faster you run, 408 00:17:05,330 --> 00:17:08,231 the greater the force is between the foot and the ground. 409 00:17:08,231 --> 00:17:10,561 From a brain perspective, 410 00:17:10,561 --> 00:17:13,033 and this is where people who study motor control 411 00:17:13,033 --> 00:17:14,231 and how the brain works 412 00:17:14,231 --> 00:17:16,297 and maybe people who are interested in studying 413 00:17:16,297 --> 00:17:18,132 how the brain might change due to injury 414 00:17:18,132 --> 00:17:22,198 or due to aging or these sort of things, 415 00:17:22,198 --> 00:17:26,231 what this means is that gravity is not necessary 416 00:17:26,231 --> 00:17:27,429 for someone to run 417 00:17:27,429 --> 00:17:30,297 the same way that they would run on the ground. 418 00:17:30,297 --> 00:17:33,693 So, the data tell us that, when it comes to running, 419 00:17:33,693 --> 00:17:35,825 people pretty much do this automatically, 420 00:17:35,825 --> 00:17:38,528 even though that input is different from on the ground, 421 00:17:38,528 --> 00:17:40,462 and there hasn't been any other studies 422 00:17:40,462 --> 00:17:41,792 that have been able to study 423 00:17:41,792 --> 00:17:45,858 a real, large-scale, multi-joint movement like running 424 00:17:45,858 --> 00:17:49,198 where you take away gravity to see what the effects are. 425 00:17:49,198 --> 00:17:50,330 So, this is one of the first 426 00:17:50,330 --> 00:17:51,759 that's ever been able to do that. 427 00:17:51,759 --> 00:17:53,891 It was kind of a serendipitous finding. 428 00:17:53,891 --> 00:17:56,099 Our purpose was to understand exercise, 429 00:17:56,099 --> 00:17:58,066 but we also found out a little bit 430 00:17:58,066 --> 00:18:00,165 about how the body controls running. 431 00:18:04,495 --> 00:18:06,594 -The printer has two windows, 432 00:18:06,594 --> 00:18:08,891 and we're placing the imaging cameras 433 00:18:08,891 --> 00:18:10,594 very closely to those windows 434 00:18:10,594 --> 00:18:14,231 so we can monitor the actual extrusion process. 435 00:18:14,231 --> 00:18:16,429 As the prints and the layers are being deposited, 436 00:18:16,429 --> 00:18:18,231 we'll be able to see that in detail. 437 00:18:18,231 --> 00:18:20,429 The real objective of this first phase 438 00:18:20,429 --> 00:18:22,099 of the technology demonstration 439 00:18:22,099 --> 00:18:25,561 is just to verify that the process works in microgravity 440 00:18:25,561 --> 00:18:27,693 the same way it does on the ground. 441 00:18:27,693 --> 00:18:31,264 NASA in main space have flown parabolic flights 442 00:18:31,264 --> 00:18:32,561 and tested this, 443 00:18:32,561 --> 00:18:34,627 but you only get the short spurts of microgravity. 444 00:18:34,627 --> 00:18:37,099 So being able to test this on space station 445 00:18:37,099 --> 00:18:39,462 and print complete parts in microgravity, 446 00:18:39,462 --> 00:18:40,627 as you mentioned, 447 00:18:40,627 --> 00:18:42,726 space station is actually the only platform 448 00:18:42,726 --> 00:18:44,726 where we're able to test this technology 449 00:18:44,726 --> 00:18:47,429 before we use it in further out exploration missions. 450 00:18:47,429 --> 00:18:48,594 The first phase 451 00:18:48,594 --> 00:18:50,858 is really focused around those engineering samples 452 00:18:50,858 --> 00:18:51,627 that we'll be studying, 453 00:18:51,627 --> 00:18:52,924 but then the second phase, 454 00:18:52,924 --> 00:18:55,198 once we see that the process works in microgravity 455 00:18:55,198 --> 00:18:56,528 the same way, 456 00:18:56,528 --> 00:18:59,330 will turn its focus more towards the parts that we print 457 00:18:59,330 --> 00:19:03,000 and demonstrating their utilization on space station. 458 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,726 So this is actually, truly, a historical moment. 459 00:19:05,726 --> 00:19:08,363 Since the inception of the human space program, 460 00:19:08,363 --> 00:19:10,363 we have been completely dependent 461 00:19:10,363 --> 00:19:13,957 on launching every single thing we need from Earth to space, 462 00:19:13,957 --> 00:19:17,825 so it's a very constrained supply and demand chain. 463 00:19:17,825 --> 00:19:20,264 For exploration missions, you mentioned earlier, 464 00:19:20,264 --> 00:19:22,429 that's just not plausible, it's not feasible. 465 00:19:22,429 --> 00:19:25,330 So I think we're making history by, for the first time ever, 466 00:19:25,330 --> 00:19:29,297 being able to make what we need when we need it in space. 467 00:19:29,297 --> 00:19:32,561 And even though it may sound a little bit like science fiction, 468 00:19:32,561 --> 00:19:35,297 we're actually able to e-mail our hardware to space 469 00:19:35,297 --> 00:19:36,495 instead of launching it. 470 00:19:36,495 --> 00:19:39,297 -What we're trying to do is transmit data over laser beam, 471 00:19:39,297 --> 00:19:40,429 which is very focused, 472 00:19:40,429 --> 00:19:42,429 as opposed to a radio-frequency beam, 473 00:19:42,429 --> 00:19:45,000 which diverges quite a bit over time. 474 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:46,891 And because we have a focused laser beam, 475 00:19:46,891 --> 00:19:48,726 we can get a lot of data to the ground. 476 00:19:48,726 --> 00:19:52,495 So, with higher data rates, we can get data moving faster, 477 00:19:52,495 --> 00:19:54,429 and we get things like high-definition video 478 00:19:54,429 --> 00:19:56,033 across that data stream. 479 00:19:56,033 --> 00:19:57,825 It's very important for going out and exploring 480 00:19:57,825 --> 00:19:59,627 and getting our science data back to the ground. 481 00:19:59,627 --> 00:20:02,165 The ISS gives us a platform that's already existing. 482 00:20:02,165 --> 00:20:04,726 It's an existing infrastructure. 483 00:20:04,726 --> 00:20:07,264 You can think of infrastructures used today, 484 00:20:07,264 --> 00:20:09,231 like using Windows on a PC. 485 00:20:09,231 --> 00:20:10,660 That's a platform. 486 00:20:10,660 --> 00:20:12,132 The ISS is a platform, 487 00:20:12,132 --> 00:20:13,726 and that gives us a window, really, 488 00:20:13,726 --> 00:20:15,627 to look down at the Earth and to demonstrate 489 00:20:15,627 --> 00:20:18,561 and really use this optical link as a test bed 490 00:20:18,561 --> 00:20:21,066 as if we're in the laboratory. 491 00:20:21,066 --> 00:20:22,528 It rotates over the Earth 492 00:20:22,528 --> 00:20:25,033 just like a orbiter would rotate over Mars, 493 00:20:25,033 --> 00:20:26,561 and we can test things out like 494 00:20:26,561 --> 00:20:28,858 what if a Mars rover were to communicate 495 00:20:28,858 --> 00:20:30,264 with an orbiter in space? 496 00:20:30,264 --> 00:20:31,495 We can test that out 497 00:20:31,495 --> 00:20:34,297 by communicating between the ISS in Earth orbit 498 00:20:34,297 --> 00:20:36,231 and a ground station on the Earth 499 00:20:36,231 --> 00:20:37,924 and test out those technologies. 500 00:20:37,924 --> 00:20:39,891 We have been tracking the space station 501 00:20:39,891 --> 00:20:41,891 with our telescope at Table Mountain. 502 00:20:41,891 --> 00:20:45,891 What we do is we get a GPS state from GPS, 503 00:20:45,891 --> 00:20:47,693 same way you get it on your iPhone, 504 00:20:47,693 --> 00:20:49,231 and we use that to predict 505 00:20:49,231 --> 00:20:52,561 where the ISS is going to be in the sky from our telescope. 506 00:20:52,561 --> 00:20:55,891 And so we've tracked the ISS on our telescope, overhead, 507 00:20:55,891 --> 00:20:58,594 early in the morning when it's dark on the ground 508 00:20:58,594 --> 00:21:00,594 but the ISS is lit up by the sun, 509 00:21:00,594 --> 00:21:03,066 so we can actually see the ISS passing through our telescope, 510 00:21:03,066 --> 00:21:04,231 which is pretty neat to see. 511 00:21:04,231 --> 00:21:05,396 So, the next time we'll do this, 512 00:21:05,396 --> 00:21:07,000 we'll see a laser pointing back down at us, 513 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,792 sending data down to the ground, which will be very exciting. 514 00:21:14,330 --> 00:21:16,396 -We have, right now, 515 00:21:16,396 --> 00:21:20,396 13 schools that participated last year, 516 00:21:20,396 --> 00:21:24,429 flew on the zero-gravity plane out of Ellington Field, 517 00:21:24,429 --> 00:21:30,891 and of them, one school was selected this year 518 00:21:30,891 --> 00:21:33,198 and two in previous years 519 00:21:33,198 --> 00:21:36,957 to go to the International Space Station. 520 00:21:36,957 --> 00:21:40,858 However, none have reached that spot yet. 521 00:21:40,858 --> 00:21:43,561 All three schools are working on it, 522 00:21:43,561 --> 00:21:47,726 but we have yet to send one to the ISS. 523 00:21:47,726 --> 00:21:49,264 -But it's a learning process, right? 524 00:21:49,264 --> 00:21:50,561 The whole thing -- 525 00:21:50,561 --> 00:21:52,759 the procedures, working with NASA -- 526 00:21:52,759 --> 00:21:54,693 It's all a learning experience for these kids. 527 00:21:54,693 --> 00:21:57,066 -It's a huge learning experience, 528 00:21:57,066 --> 00:22:02,165 and the schools who have been selected 529 00:22:02,165 --> 00:22:05,099 have actually been working for -- 530 00:22:05,099 --> 00:22:07,165 two of them for five years. 531 00:22:07,165 --> 00:22:09,759 So, every year they fly on the zero-gravity plane, 532 00:22:09,759 --> 00:22:11,429 they improve their experiment. 533 00:22:11,429 --> 00:22:12,759 -I'm astronaut Alvin Drew 534 00:22:12,759 --> 00:22:14,231 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. 535 00:22:14,231 --> 00:22:15,891 I'd like to read you a bedtime story. 536 00:22:15,891 --> 00:22:17,858 This one is called "Max Goes to the Moon" 537 00:22:17,858 --> 00:22:20,495 by Jeffrey Bennett, illustrated by Alan Okamoto. 538 00:22:20,495 --> 00:22:22,132 -A really cool moment for you, though, 539 00:22:22,132 --> 00:22:24,726 was when an astronaut read your book from space, right? 540 00:22:24,726 --> 00:22:26,759 -That was a pretty incredible moment 541 00:22:26,759 --> 00:22:29,198 when I got the phone call from Patricia Tribe 542 00:22:29,198 --> 00:22:30,825 saying that Alvin Drew 543 00:22:30,825 --> 00:22:33,000 would like to read one of my books from space. 544 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,000 I didn't believe it was a real phone call, 545 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,462 and once I finally accepted that it was, 546 00:22:37,462 --> 00:22:39,594 I sent them the PDF, in that case, 547 00:22:39,594 --> 00:22:41,528 and Astronaut Drew read the book 548 00:22:41,528 --> 00:22:44,858 from the final mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery, 549 00:22:44,858 --> 00:22:47,099 and that's posted up on YouTube. 550 00:22:47,099 --> 00:22:48,561 -The thing about the book is 551 00:22:48,561 --> 00:22:50,297 it's not just a children's book. 552 00:22:50,297 --> 00:22:53,264 I mean, the basic story itself is, you know, meant 553 00:22:53,264 --> 00:22:55,825 so that, you know, children 2, 3, or 4 years old 554 00:22:55,825 --> 00:22:57,198 can enjoy the story and see the great pictures, 555 00:22:57,198 --> 00:22:58,363 but on the side, 556 00:22:58,363 --> 00:22:59,957 there are these things called "Big Kid Science" 557 00:22:59,957 --> 00:23:02,297 where they go into all the actual physics 558 00:23:02,297 --> 00:23:03,495 and things like that. 559 00:23:03,495 --> 00:23:04,957 So, you know, if you're like me, 560 00:23:04,957 --> 00:23:07,000 when I used to have my favorite kids' books I grew up with, 561 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:08,264 and when you're 12 or 13, 562 00:23:08,264 --> 00:23:10,396 you don't want to pull those books back off the shelf 563 00:23:10,396 --> 00:23:12,462 because, like, even though you might still like the pictures 564 00:23:12,462 --> 00:23:13,264 and everything... 565 00:23:13,264 --> 00:23:14,429 So now you've got an excuse 566 00:23:14,429 --> 00:23:16,132 to pull the book off the shelf and go, 567 00:23:16,132 --> 00:23:17,924 "I'm reading up on the science here, man. 568 00:23:17,924 --> 00:23:19,429 That's why I've got the book back off." 569 00:23:19,429 --> 00:23:21,495 So even now, it's got good science in it, 570 00:23:21,495 --> 00:23:23,495 and I like pulling it down off the shelf 571 00:23:23,495 --> 00:23:25,924 and pretending that I'm getting science out of it, too. 572 00:23:25,924 --> 00:23:27,891 -Hi. I'm NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins 573 00:23:27,891 --> 00:23:30,099 on board the International Space Station, 574 00:23:30,099 --> 00:23:32,330 and it's one of my favorite times. 575 00:23:32,330 --> 00:23:33,957 It's story time from space. 576 00:23:33,957 --> 00:23:37,264 -Hi. I am JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata. 577 00:23:37,264 --> 00:23:40,957 Welcome to story time from space. 578 00:23:40,957 --> 00:23:42,792 -Well, after Astronaut Drew 579 00:23:42,792 --> 00:23:45,957 read "Max Goes to the Moon" from the Discovery, 580 00:23:45,957 --> 00:23:47,891 that was sort of a pilot project, 581 00:23:47,891 --> 00:23:52,099 and Patricia Tribe went out with the demo tape 582 00:23:52,099 --> 00:23:55,528 and polled a lot of teachers and looked into it, 583 00:23:55,528 --> 00:23:57,660 and people were real excited about the idea. 584 00:23:57,660 --> 00:24:01,462 And then CASIS got excited about the idea, as well, 585 00:24:01,462 --> 00:24:05,066 and they decided they would take all five of my children's books 586 00:24:05,066 --> 00:24:08,924 up to the station to be read from the cupola up there. 587 00:24:08,924 --> 00:24:11,099 So, it's the four Max books and a fifth one I have 588 00:24:11,099 --> 00:24:13,000 called "The Wizard Who Saved the World," 589 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:14,825 which also has a little bit of space in it. 590 00:24:14,825 --> 00:24:16,330 -Aww, I love that. 591 00:24:16,330 --> 00:24:19,165 Now let's hear from NASA's Associate Administrator 592 00:24:19,165 --> 00:24:21,099 for Human Exploration and Operations, 593 00:24:21,099 --> 00:24:22,429 William Gerstenmaier, 594 00:24:22,429 --> 00:24:26,396 about what's to come on the International Space Station. 595 00:24:26,396 --> 00:24:28,891 -One of the crews carried a little -- 596 00:24:28,891 --> 00:24:32,462 on their lapel pins or badges, they said, 597 00:24:32,462 --> 00:24:34,000 "Off the Earth, for the Earth," 598 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,132 and I think that's what, really, station is doing. 599 00:24:36,132 --> 00:24:38,066 The work we're doing in space, 600 00:24:38,066 --> 00:24:41,198 its ultimate benefit is to us here on the Earth, 601 00:24:41,198 --> 00:24:45,198 so, you know, from the areas of the colloidals 602 00:24:45,198 --> 00:24:46,693 that we talked about earlier 603 00:24:46,693 --> 00:24:48,858 and some of the combustion research -- 604 00:24:48,858 --> 00:24:52,594 All of these things have very exciting applications 605 00:24:52,594 --> 00:24:54,264 to folks here every day on Earth. 606 00:24:54,264 --> 00:24:56,099 -We're looking into the future, as well. 607 00:24:56,099 --> 00:24:57,924 I mean, we've got, we hope, 608 00:24:57,924 --> 00:25:00,429 a lot more years on space station, 609 00:25:00,429 --> 00:25:02,891 so what does that look like to you? 610 00:25:02,891 --> 00:25:07,033 -Yeah, it's exciting that station's been extended to 2024, 611 00:25:07,033 --> 00:25:08,891 and I think that's really important 612 00:25:08,891 --> 00:25:10,429 to this research community 613 00:25:10,429 --> 00:25:14,066 that they see now a much longer horizon to go do their research 614 00:25:14,066 --> 00:25:18,429 and to really see the fruits of what they do come about. 615 00:25:18,429 --> 00:25:20,561 You know, when we were thinking just 2020, 616 00:25:20,561 --> 00:25:22,033 that's a pretty short horizon. 617 00:25:22,033 --> 00:25:23,330 By the time you build your experiment, 618 00:25:23,330 --> 00:25:24,792 you fly it, 619 00:25:24,792 --> 00:25:26,891 and then you get a chance to see if it works or it doesn't work, 620 00:25:26,891 --> 00:25:28,198 that's pretty short. 621 00:25:28,198 --> 00:25:30,594 But when you think you've got all the way to 2024, 622 00:25:30,594 --> 00:25:32,726 you can get some real results and move forward. 623 00:25:32,726 --> 00:25:35,594 So, you know, hopefully the International Space Station 624 00:25:35,594 --> 00:25:37,693 is used to spawn other space stations. 625 00:25:37,693 --> 00:25:42,561 Hopefully, this space station is kind of the innovation incubator 626 00:25:42,561 --> 00:25:45,726 that gives folks new ideas on how to do research in space 627 00:25:45,726 --> 00:25:48,528 and it actually builds a larger commercial market 628 00:25:48,528 --> 00:25:50,726 for low-Earth-orbit research. 629 00:25:50,726 --> 00:25:52,891 You know, the last thing I would add is 630 00:25:52,891 --> 00:25:54,132 we talked a little bit 631 00:25:54,132 --> 00:25:56,528 about human exploration beyond space station 632 00:25:56,528 --> 00:26:00,099 and what the role is space station has in Mars 633 00:26:00,099 --> 00:26:02,231 and in moon and other activities, 634 00:26:02,231 --> 00:26:04,693 and you can see space station playing a critical role 635 00:26:04,693 --> 00:26:05,858 even in those areas. 636 00:26:05,858 --> 00:26:08,495 So, as we are addressing the human health problems 637 00:26:08,495 --> 00:26:12,297 needed for adaptation for long-duration space flight, 638 00:26:12,297 --> 00:26:14,132 you can see how this space station 639 00:26:14,132 --> 00:26:15,462 is really that first step, 640 00:26:15,462 --> 00:26:17,363 and that first real step in exploration. 641 00:26:17,363 --> 00:26:20,231 So, as we push human presence into the solar system 642 00:26:20,231 --> 00:26:22,561 and we do this thing we call pioneering, 643 00:26:22,561 --> 00:26:24,891 space station is going to play that pivotal role. 644 00:26:24,891 --> 00:26:27,198 So, it's neat to see station. 645 00:26:27,198 --> 00:26:29,264 It's neat to see it in this venue 646 00:26:29,264 --> 00:26:32,858 where we get a chance to see not only the typical NASA research, 647 00:26:32,858 --> 00:26:34,627 we get to see the commercial activity, 648 00:26:34,627 --> 00:26:37,132 and we get to see how station fits in the exploration role 649 00:26:37,132 --> 00:26:38,462 moving forward. 650 00:26:38,462 --> 00:26:40,264 -Finally, while it may not have had 651 00:26:40,264 --> 00:26:42,792 the biggest impact on scientific research this year, 652 00:26:42,792 --> 00:26:44,561 astronauts having a little fun 653 00:26:44,561 --> 00:26:46,759 with water-surface tension in space 654 00:26:46,759 --> 00:26:49,660 certainly made a big splash on the Internet. 655 00:26:49,660 --> 00:26:51,462 Earlier this year, some of the crew 656 00:26:51,462 --> 00:26:54,693 grew a softball-sized ball of water floating in space 657 00:26:54,693 --> 00:26:56,891 and nudged a compact video camera 658 00:26:56,891 --> 00:26:59,891 encased in a waterproof housing into the middle of it. 659 00:26:59,891 --> 00:27:02,528 They also broke out the station's 3-D camera 660 00:27:02,528 --> 00:27:03,891 to record the exercise. 661 00:27:03,891 --> 00:27:06,000 When they sent the images back home, 662 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,165 our television crew edited the footage 663 00:27:08,165 --> 00:27:11,396 and posted both a 3-D version and a regular version 664 00:27:11,396 --> 00:27:13,396 to the agency's YouTube channel. 665 00:27:13,396 --> 00:27:15,429 In a little over two months, 666 00:27:15,429 --> 00:27:18,627 this video received more than two million views. 667 00:27:18,627 --> 00:27:21,495 By the way, that 3-D video camera on station 668 00:27:21,495 --> 00:27:24,561 is part of a legitimate scientific investigation 669 00:27:24,561 --> 00:27:26,330 run here at the Marshall Center 670 00:27:26,330 --> 00:27:28,693 studying why a 3-D video camera in orbit 671 00:27:28,693 --> 00:27:32,594 does not degrade as fast as a traditional video camera. 672 00:27:32,594 --> 00:27:36,165 Right now, regular cameras are replaced every 8 to 12 months 673 00:27:36,165 --> 00:27:39,165 due to the high number of hot or burned-out pixels, 674 00:27:39,165 --> 00:27:43,396 those little white dots you see is some footage from station. 675 00:27:43,396 --> 00:27:46,759 A 3-D camera has virtually zero burned-out pixels, 676 00:27:46,759 --> 00:27:49,000 meaning it can be used a lot longer 677 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,462 and save on the cost of sending up replacement cameras. 678 00:27:52,462 --> 00:27:54,264 The team here, led by Rodney Grubbs, 679 00:27:54,264 --> 00:27:55,660 is looking into the phenomenon 680 00:27:55,660 --> 00:27:57,000 and, at the same time, 681 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,462 helping bring back some incredible images 682 00:27:59,462 --> 00:28:03,000 of our astronauts living and working in space. 683 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,726 And that will do it for our look back at the year in research 684 00:28:05,726 --> 00:28:07,429 on the International Space Station. 685 00:28:07,429 --> 00:28:09,759 Be sure and visit nasa.gov/station 686 00:28:09,759 --> 00:28:11,561 and follow us on social media