1 00:00:06,869 --> 00:00:03,110 station this is houston are you ready 2 00:00:09,669 --> 00:00:08,070 houston station we're ready for the 3 00:00:11,509 --> 00:00:09,679 event 4 00:00:13,509 --> 00:00:11,519 national public radio this is mission 5 00:00:15,430 --> 00:00:13,519 control houston please call station for 6 00:00:17,269 --> 00:00:15,440 a voice check 7 00:00:21,189 --> 00:00:17,279 station this is national public radio 8 00:00:24,470 --> 00:00:23,109 got you loud and clear good to talk to 9 00:00:26,470 --> 00:00:24,480 you today ira 10 00:00:28,630 --> 00:00:26,480 that's great thank you we're very happy 11 00:00:32,069 --> 00:00:28,640 uh to talk to you uh can you both hear 12 00:00:36,870 --> 00:00:34,389 we've got you loud and clear 13 00:00:38,790 --> 00:00:36,880 we used to say in the old uh 14 00:00:40,310 --> 00:00:38,800 business five by five or something like 15 00:00:44,790 --> 00:00:40,320 that when i was 16 00:00:50,790 --> 00:00:44,800 a ham radio operator or something 17 00:00:54,790 --> 00:00:53,670 all right let's let's begin um 18 00:00:57,029 --> 00:00:54,800 uh 19 00:00:58,950 --> 00:00:57,039 let me ask you don first is does the 20 00:01:01,189 --> 00:00:58,960 does the view in space 21 00:01:03,590 --> 00:01:01,199 ever get tiring as you look out the 22 00:01:04,469 --> 00:01:03,600 windows tiring as you look out the 23 00:01:07,270 --> 00:01:04,479 window 24 00:01:09,990 --> 00:01:07,280 it never gets tiring to 25 00:01:13,590 --> 00:01:10,000 view earth from space or 26 00:01:16,230 --> 00:01:13,600 space from space just like 27 00:01:19,030 --> 00:01:16,240 any number of views 28 00:01:21,830 --> 00:01:19,040 from earth of earth never get tiring to 29 00:01:24,149 --> 00:01:21,840 see a sweeping mountain scene never gets 30 00:01:27,270 --> 00:01:24,159 tiring 31 00:01:28,950 --> 00:01:27,280 there's something about natural beauty 32 00:01:31,510 --> 00:01:28,960 that is 33 00:01:34,230 --> 00:01:31,520 inspiring to 34 00:01:36,630 --> 00:01:34,240 myself and i will generalize to human 35 00:01:39,510 --> 00:01:36,640 beings 36 00:01:41,749 --> 00:01:39,520 what question do you get asked most by 37 00:01:43,670 --> 00:01:41,759 people besides the bathroom question 38 00:01:45,670 --> 00:01:43,680 we'll do away with that one what 39 00:01:47,670 --> 00:01:45,680 question do people want to know most 40 00:01:51,350 --> 00:01:47,680 about your experience in in the space 41 00:01:58,469 --> 00:01:54,710 one real common question is what i miss 42 00:01:59,910 --> 00:01:58,479 most from earth being up here for a six 43 00:02:02,149 --> 00:01:59,920 month mission 44 00:02:03,429 --> 00:02:02,159 and 45 00:02:04,870 --> 00:02:03,439 one 46 00:02:07,030 --> 00:02:04,880 real astute 47 00:02:09,589 --> 00:02:07,040 student asked me 48 00:02:13,670 --> 00:02:09,599 the inverse question what will i miss 49 00:02:16,390 --> 00:02:13,680 most from space once i return to earth 50 00:02:18,949 --> 00:02:16,400 so i i thought that was a very clever 51 00:02:21,510 --> 00:02:18,959 play on one of the standard questions 52 00:02:23,589 --> 00:02:21,520 that people ask you 53 00:02:26,630 --> 00:02:23,599 dan burbank uh you were recently 54 00:02:28,550 --> 00:02:26,640 evacuated from the space station because 55 00:02:30,470 --> 00:02:28,560 of what turned out to be a close call 56 00:02:32,470 --> 00:02:30,480 with space debris 57 00:02:36,630 --> 00:02:32,480 give us an idea of what that experience 58 00:02:40,229 --> 00:02:38,390 well we actually had a we had a pretty 59 00:02:41,830 --> 00:02:40,239 good heads up about it um 60 00:02:43,830 --> 00:02:41,840 we've got tracking radars all over the 61 00:02:45,990 --> 00:02:43,840 world that keep track of orbital debris 62 00:02:48,070 --> 00:02:46,000 and it's things that are basically 63 00:02:49,670 --> 00:02:48,080 you know in in rough order magnitude 64 00:02:51,589 --> 00:02:49,680 about the size of your fist or bigger 65 00:02:54,229 --> 00:02:51,599 and there are tens of thousands of 66 00:02:56,869 --> 00:02:54,239 things that are tracked and whenever one 67 00:02:59,030 --> 00:02:56,879 gets kind of close to space station if 68 00:03:00,790 --> 00:02:59,040 we have ample time we will actually move 69 00:03:02,070 --> 00:03:00,800 the space station we'll actually do a 70 00:03:03,910 --> 00:03:02,080 burn a 71 00:03:05,830 --> 00:03:03,920 debris avoidance maneuver if you will 72 00:03:06,710 --> 00:03:05,840 and it'll open up that uh that distance 73 00:03:08,470 --> 00:03:06,720 of something a little bit more 74 00:03:10,630 --> 00:03:08,480 comfortable every now and then we'll get 75 00:03:13,190 --> 00:03:10,640 something that's uh that's either small 76 00:03:15,830 --> 00:03:13,200 enough that it only crops up uh very 77 00:03:18,550 --> 00:03:15,840 late or it uh crops up in such a way 78 00:03:20,710 --> 00:03:18,560 that the accuracy is uh is a little bit 79 00:03:22,149 --> 00:03:20,720 unknown and this particular case was 80 00:03:24,309 --> 00:03:22,159 kind of a combination of both there was 81 00:03:25,830 --> 00:03:24,319 a lot of uncertainty in it and it was 82 00:03:27,270 --> 00:03:25,840 also very late there wasn't time to 83 00:03:29,030 --> 00:03:27,280 actually do a burn that would have been 84 00:03:30,550 --> 00:03:29,040 effective and and opening up that 85 00:03:32,390 --> 00:03:30,560 distance to something more comfortable 86 00:03:34,149 --> 00:03:32,400 so for us we talked about it the night 87 00:03:35,670 --> 00:03:34,159 before actually probably a day and a 88 00:03:38,070 --> 00:03:35,680 half before and we knew there wasn't 89 00:03:40,229 --> 00:03:38,080 time to do the burn and certainly in the 90 00:03:42,070 --> 00:03:40,239 12 or so hours leading up to what we 91 00:03:44,229 --> 00:03:42,080 call the shelter in place 92 00:03:46,070 --> 00:03:44,239 we discussed what we'd have to do and 93 00:03:47,910 --> 00:03:46,080 from our perspective here on board it 94 00:03:49,430 --> 00:03:47,920 was actually fairly straightforward we 95 00:03:51,270 --> 00:03:49,440 essentially started from the forward 96 00:03:52,789 --> 00:03:51,280 part of the station worked our way back 97 00:03:55,030 --> 00:03:52,799 after where the soyuz vehicles are 98 00:03:56,869 --> 00:03:55,040 loaded located and we powered down 99 00:03:58,949 --> 00:03:56,879 systems we in the ground did an awful 100 00:04:01,190 --> 00:03:58,959 lot of the systems work there and we 101 00:04:02,869 --> 00:04:01,200 closed all the hatches to isolate as 102 00:04:05,270 --> 00:04:02,879 many of the modules as possible from 103 00:04:07,429 --> 00:04:05,280 each other and then we just waited until 104 00:04:09,670 --> 00:04:07,439 the closest point of approach with the 105 00:04:12,309 --> 00:04:09,680 the debris item and we were each in our 106 00:04:14,869 --> 00:04:12,319 respective soyuz capsules 107 00:04:17,270 --> 00:04:14,879 there uh uh there have been a couple of 108 00:04:19,110 --> 00:04:17,280 big solar flares recently that sent lots 109 00:04:21,110 --> 00:04:19,120 of potentially dangerous 110 00:04:23,350 --> 00:04:21,120 charged particles toward the earth what 111 00:04:25,189 --> 00:04:23,360 precautions do you have do you have in 112 00:04:30,550 --> 00:04:25,199 the space station to shield yourselves 113 00:04:34,150 --> 00:04:31,990 uh earth 114 00:04:35,590 --> 00:04:34,160 we're outside of the atmosphere so you 115 00:04:37,430 --> 00:04:35,600 don't have the protection from earth's 116 00:04:40,390 --> 00:04:37,440 atmosphere like you would on the surface 117 00:04:43,390 --> 00:04:40,400 of earth however we're still well within 118 00:04:47,749 --> 00:04:43,400 earth's magneto 119 00:04:50,550 --> 00:04:47,759 magnetosphere and that deflects a lot of 120 00:04:51,350 --> 00:04:50,560 these particles so that they don't 121 00:04:53,510 --> 00:04:51,360 uh 122 00:04:55,030 --> 00:04:53,520 pose a real threat we do have a higher 123 00:04:57,110 --> 00:04:55,040 level of radiation up here but we're 124 00:04:59,510 --> 00:04:57,120 still very much under the protection of 125 00:05:02,230 --> 00:04:59,520 mother earth and 126 00:05:04,469 --> 00:05:02,240 with very few exceptions life just goes 127 00:05:08,550 --> 00:05:04,479 on normally on space station 128 00:05:11,189 --> 00:05:08,560 with or without a solar proton event and 129 00:05:14,629 --> 00:05:11,199 what we do notice these events bring out 130 00:05:16,629 --> 00:05:14,639 wonderful displays of aurora 131 00:05:19,189 --> 00:05:16,639 let's talk about some of the interesting 132 00:05:22,070 --> 00:05:19,199 experiments that you folks are doing up 133 00:05:25,430 --> 00:05:22,080 there uh one in particular that 134 00:05:27,670 --> 00:05:25,440 that interests me is a a flame 135 00:05:29,189 --> 00:05:27,680 experiment we all know what a flame 136 00:05:30,550 --> 00:05:29,199 looks like on earth here and how it 137 00:05:33,909 --> 00:05:30,560 behaves 138 00:05:35,990 --> 00:05:33,919 but uh from pictures i've seen in zero g 139 00:05:41,350 --> 00:05:36,000 it looks totally different and how are 140 00:05:46,310 --> 00:05:43,510 well one of the racks this rack right 141 00:05:49,189 --> 00:05:46,320 here is a combustion rack for 142 00:05:51,749 --> 00:05:49,199 investigating various uh 143 00:05:53,670 --> 00:05:51,759 combustion processes where you're 144 00:05:56,309 --> 00:05:53,680 looking at the nitty-gritty details of 145 00:05:59,350 --> 00:05:56,319 how flames burn the rack right next to 146 00:06:01,749 --> 00:05:59,360 it is a glove box where i currently have 147 00:06:03,430 --> 00:06:01,759 a flame experiment set up there and 148 00:06:06,469 --> 00:06:03,440 basically 149 00:06:07,909 --> 00:06:06,479 flames have a healthy appetite for 150 00:06:12,710 --> 00:06:07,919 oxygen 151 00:06:15,270 --> 00:06:12,720 literally by fanning the flame and 152 00:06:17,670 --> 00:06:15,280 gravity helps fan the flame because of 153 00:06:20,710 --> 00:06:17,680 gravity driven 154 00:06:23,749 --> 00:06:20,720 convection the flame is hot the hot air 155 00:06:26,150 --> 00:06:23,759 rises cold air rushes in and and that 156 00:06:27,270 --> 00:06:26,160 brings fresh oxygen next to the flame if 157 00:06:30,150 --> 00:06:27,280 you try to burn a flame in 158 00:06:32,150 --> 00:06:30,160 weightlessness with no uh air motion 159 00:06:34,870 --> 00:06:32,160 around it it'll burn for a few seconds 160 00:06:38,390 --> 00:06:34,880 and snuff itself out so the whole 161 00:06:40,070 --> 00:06:38,400 dynamics of what happens with flames is 162 00:06:41,189 --> 00:06:40,080 different in a weightless environment 163 00:06:43,110 --> 00:06:41,199 and so 164 00:06:45,510 --> 00:06:43,120 the microgravity environment here on 165 00:06:47,430 --> 00:06:45,520 space station is a wonderful place to 166 00:06:48,390 --> 00:06:47,440 investigate fundamental aspects of 167 00:06:50,870 --> 00:06:48,400 combustion 168 00:06:53,350 --> 00:06:50,880 it's basically another experimental knob 169 00:06:56,629 --> 00:06:53,360 we can tweak 170 00:06:58,950 --> 00:06:56,639 and help uh figure out what's going on 171 00:07:00,870 --> 00:06:58,960 when something burns 172 00:07:03,670 --> 00:07:00,880 and you're saying that if you leave the 173 00:07:09,510 --> 00:07:03,680 flame to itself it will snuff itself out 174 00:07:13,029 --> 00:07:11,510 it is and i was doing some combustion 175 00:07:15,589 --> 00:07:13,039 experiments last week where we were 176 00:07:17,830 --> 00:07:15,599 burning little spheres of plastic they 177 00:07:19,909 --> 00:07:17,840 were poly methyl methacrylate it's the 178 00:07:22,070 --> 00:07:19,919 the clear plastic that you see things 179 00:07:24,230 --> 00:07:22,080 made out of and we were burning spheres 180 00:07:26,469 --> 00:07:24,240 of that and we were going to 181 00:07:28,629 --> 00:07:26,479 uh we had a fan blowing on it to add 182 00:07:30,550 --> 00:07:28,639 convection we're going to 183 00:07:33,749 --> 00:07:30,560 put the flame out by purging it with 184 00:07:35,909 --> 00:07:33,759 nitrogen which uh would should stop the 185 00:07:38,550 --> 00:07:35,919 flame it turns out it didn't stop the 186 00:07:40,950 --> 00:07:38,560 flame because the nitrogen entrained 187 00:07:42,390 --> 00:07:40,960 enough air in it that it that it just 188 00:07:44,950 --> 00:07:42,400 kept feeding uh 189 00:07:46,710 --> 00:07:44,960 sufficient oxygen to the burning plastic 190 00:07:48,869 --> 00:07:46,720 and what snuffed the plastic out in a 191 00:07:51,189 --> 00:07:48,879 matter of seconds was turning the fan 192 00:07:53,510 --> 00:07:51,199 off and the flame consumed all the 193 00:07:55,990 --> 00:07:53,520 oxygen around it and and it just went 194 00:07:59,110 --> 00:07:56,000 out on its own and i tell kids this is 195 00:08:02,390 --> 00:07:59,120 the space equivalent of what we tell our 196 00:08:04,790 --> 00:08:02,400 school kids of stop drop and roll if you 197 00:08:07,670 --> 00:08:04,800 happen to catch on fire but the space 198 00:08:09,270 --> 00:08:07,680 version of that is stop 199 00:08:10,869 --> 00:08:09,280 and float 200 00:08:15,270 --> 00:08:10,879 and of course you don't need to drop 201 00:08:17,270 --> 00:08:15,280 because there's no place to drop to 202 00:08:19,270 --> 00:08:17,280 very very interesting let's talk about 203 00:08:20,790 --> 00:08:19,280 another experiment is it is it true that 204 00:08:23,029 --> 00:08:20,800 you have like 205 00:08:25,270 --> 00:08:23,039 a little distillery 206 00:08:27,670 --> 00:08:25,280 up there in space you're doing a sort of 207 00:08:32,790 --> 00:08:27,680 a a malt experiment are you going to 208 00:08:36,149 --> 00:08:33,990 you know i 209 00:08:38,949 --> 00:08:36,159 heard about that but that experiment 210 00:08:40,630 --> 00:08:38,959 hasn't made it on space station yet and 211 00:08:42,949 --> 00:08:40,640 and and i don't really know what the 212 00:08:46,470 --> 00:08:42,959 details are i think it's just uh 213 00:08:48,070 --> 00:08:46,480 bringing some uh materials up and and 214 00:08:49,350 --> 00:08:48,080 maybe mashing them and then bringing 215 00:08:52,070 --> 00:08:49,360 them back down to earth i don't think 216 00:08:54,470 --> 00:08:52,080 there's any plans for distilling however 217 00:08:57,030 --> 00:08:54,480 we do have a distillation 218 00:09:00,310 --> 00:08:57,040 process here on space station a 219 00:09:03,590 --> 00:09:00,320 distillation apparatus and and can you 220 00:09:05,990 --> 00:09:03,600 guess what we distill with it there 221 00:09:07,670 --> 00:09:06,000 i'm afraid to ask 222 00:09:09,750 --> 00:09:07,680 i'm afraid to 223 00:09:12,949 --> 00:09:09,760 okay it's part of what we call our 224 00:09:15,670 --> 00:09:12,959 regenerative life support system which i 225 00:09:18,230 --> 00:09:15,680 like to refer to as the coffee machine 226 00:09:20,790 --> 00:09:18,240 because and it consists of three pieces 227 00:09:23,670 --> 00:09:20,800 of equipment we have a toilet 228 00:09:26,150 --> 00:09:23,680 we have this big piece of equipment 229 00:09:28,470 --> 00:09:26,160 that that the toilet is plumbed into 230 00:09:30,550 --> 00:09:28,480 which contains a distillation apparatus 231 00:09:32,630 --> 00:09:30,560 and then we have a galley 232 00:09:34,070 --> 00:09:32,640 and you go in and use the toilet and 233 00:09:35,990 --> 00:09:34,080 then this big piece of equipment goes 234 00:09:37,509 --> 00:09:36,000 chugga chugga chugga chugga chugga and 235 00:09:40,070 --> 00:09:37,519 then you go to the galley and you get 236 00:09:41,509 --> 00:09:40,080 yourself a bag of coffee and and so i 237 00:09:43,509 --> 00:09:41,519 like to refer to this as a coffee 238 00:09:46,230 --> 00:09:43,519 machine because it takes yesterday's 239 00:09:48,230 --> 00:09:46,240 coffee and turns it into today's coffee 240 00:09:50,389 --> 00:09:48,240 and the key element one of the key 241 00:09:53,430 --> 00:09:50,399 elements in that is a fractional 242 00:09:55,269 --> 00:09:53,440 distillation process and a normal 243 00:09:56,710 --> 00:09:55,279 process like that wouldn't work in a 244 00:09:58,550 --> 00:09:56,720 weightless environment because all our 245 00:10:00,949 --> 00:09:58,560 stills on earth require gravity to 246 00:10:03,750 --> 00:10:00,959 separate the vapor from the liquid 247 00:10:04,550 --> 00:10:03,760 and this uses rotation 248 00:10:08,630 --> 00:10:04,560 it 249 00:10:11,190 --> 00:10:08,640 uses a rotating body to uh help 250 00:10:13,030 --> 00:10:11,200 add centrifugal force to separate the 251 00:10:16,630 --> 00:10:13,040 vapor from the liquid and perform the 252 00:10:19,590 --> 00:10:16,640 distillation so it's really a neat piece 253 00:10:21,990 --> 00:10:19,600 of engineering research 254 00:10:23,430 --> 00:10:22,000 very very very very interesting to learn 255 00:10:25,990 --> 00:10:23,440 how that works 256 00:10:28,190 --> 00:10:26,000 uh dan burbank what are you hoping to 257 00:10:33,670 --> 00:10:28,200 learn through your integrated 258 00:10:36,630 --> 00:10:35,190 well that's an experiment that's got a 259 00:10:39,990 --> 00:10:36,640 lot of different aspects to it and 260 00:10:43,269 --> 00:10:40,000 fundamentally the the uh the main goal 261 00:10:45,030 --> 00:10:43,279 is to understand how humans um adapt to 262 00:10:47,990 --> 00:10:45,040 the weightless environment of space and 263 00:10:50,310 --> 00:10:48,000 uh and how we can mitigate the negative 264 00:10:51,750 --> 00:10:50,320 effects of that so for all of us here 265 00:10:53,590 --> 00:10:51,760 you know our bodies are just as strong 266 00:10:55,110 --> 00:10:53,600 as they need to be for the environment 267 00:10:57,269 --> 00:10:55,120 that we're operating in so if we don't 268 00:10:59,590 --> 00:10:57,279 exercise and we're on planet earth we 269 00:11:01,509 --> 00:10:59,600 will get flabby and we'll will lose 270 00:11:04,150 --> 00:11:01,519 muscle mass if you're up here in space 271 00:11:05,670 --> 00:11:04,160 and you don't exercise considerably 272 00:11:07,750 --> 00:11:05,680 you're since you're never counteracting 273 00:11:09,509 --> 00:11:07,760 the force of gravity walking around as 274 00:11:11,430 --> 00:11:09,519 you would on earth up here you would 275 00:11:13,269 --> 00:11:11,440 lose a lot of muscle mass you'd lose a 276 00:11:15,350 --> 00:11:13,279 lot of minerals from your bones 277 00:11:16,949 --> 00:11:15,360 your heart volume the the size of the 278 00:11:19,829 --> 00:11:16,959 heart muscle would get smaller and 279 00:11:21,430 --> 00:11:19,839 smaller and those would all be fine if 280 00:11:23,269 --> 00:11:21,440 you were going to live and essentially 281 00:11:24,630 --> 00:11:23,279 be a long-term creature of space but 282 00:11:27,269 --> 00:11:24,640 since we're going to return to planet 283 00:11:29,110 --> 00:11:27,279 earth sometime we'd like to uh to 284 00:11:31,269 --> 00:11:29,120 minimize that as much as possible so 285 00:11:33,030 --> 00:11:31,279 integrated cardiovascular kind of looks 286 00:11:35,190 --> 00:11:33,040 at a holistic 287 00:11:37,030 --> 00:11:35,200 um in a holistic way at how the body 288 00:11:38,870 --> 00:11:37,040 adapts to here and we do everything from 289 00:11:40,790 --> 00:11:38,880 ultrasound where we're scanning our 290 00:11:42,710 --> 00:11:40,800 hearts and our blood vessels 291 00:11:45,430 --> 00:11:42,720 we've got a lot of exercise components 292 00:11:47,190 --> 00:11:45,440 to this we're doing uh blood pressure um 293 00:11:50,590 --> 00:11:47,200 and um and 294 00:11:53,110 --> 00:11:50,600 a 24 hour actually 48 hour 295 00:11:55,110 --> 00:11:53,120 electrocardiogram to understand how from 296 00:11:56,949 --> 00:11:55,120 electrical standpoint how the human body 297 00:11:59,030 --> 00:11:56,959 is changing and all these things will 298 00:12:00,790 --> 00:11:59,040 help us leave low earth orbit and go on 299 00:12:03,190 --> 00:12:00,800 into deep space to go back to the moon 300 00:12:05,030 --> 00:12:03,200 long term and to go on to the asteroids 301 00:12:07,190 --> 00:12:05,040 and mars and i think that's 302 00:12:08,389 --> 00:12:07,200 a key part of what space station can do 303 00:12:10,230 --> 00:12:08,399 for us 304 00:12:12,310 --> 00:12:10,240 i had heard that there had been some 305 00:12:14,790 --> 00:12:12,320 talk at nasa i was reading about it this 306 00:12:17,190 --> 00:12:14,800 week and maybe you can talk about it 307 00:12:20,069 --> 00:12:17,200 about using the space station as a 308 00:12:22,710 --> 00:12:20,079 simulation for for going to mars a sort 309 00:12:24,550 --> 00:12:22,720 of a a long-term simulation mode of what 310 00:12:26,069 --> 00:12:24,560 the trip would be like and how it might 311 00:12:30,790 --> 00:12:26,079 affect your body 312 00:12:34,150 --> 00:12:32,710 yeah there's a lot of discussion about 313 00:12:36,150 --> 00:12:34,160 it right now and that's a that's a 314 00:12:37,829 --> 00:12:36,160 really interesting um 315 00:12:39,750 --> 00:12:37,839 part of it you know one thing that's 316 00:12:41,430 --> 00:12:39,760 fundamentally different about what we do 317 00:12:43,590 --> 00:12:41,440 here on space station and our experience 318 00:12:44,949 --> 00:12:43,600 here on space station from uh from what 319 00:12:47,030 --> 00:12:44,959 it would be like to go to the moon long 320 00:12:48,550 --> 00:12:47,040 term and certainly to go to mars now 321 00:12:50,069 --> 00:12:48,560 rough word of magnitude the moon's about 322 00:12:52,150 --> 00:12:50,079 a thousand times further from the earth 323 00:12:54,790 --> 00:12:52,160 than the space station mars is about 324 00:12:57,190 --> 00:12:54,800 another thousand times further uh you 325 00:12:58,949 --> 00:12:57,200 know than the moon is so you've got a 326 00:13:00,550 --> 00:12:58,959 lot of different aspects to what it's 327 00:13:03,110 --> 00:13:00,560 like to leave 328 00:13:05,110 --> 00:13:03,120 the close confines of planet earth here 329 00:13:06,870 --> 00:13:05,120 we essentially have a permanent 330 00:13:09,509 --> 00:13:06,880 logistics stream from earth if something 331 00:13:12,150 --> 00:13:09,519 breaks on station as you know all too 332 00:13:13,910 --> 00:13:12,160 frequently will happen um we've always 333 00:13:15,190 --> 00:13:13,920 got the ability to fly new parts if 334 00:13:16,550 --> 00:13:15,200 you're going to the moon they're going 335 00:13:18,389 --> 00:13:16,560 to be there long term if you're going to 336 00:13:20,949 --> 00:13:18,399 mars you can't do that you're going to 337 00:13:23,350 --> 00:13:20,959 basically rely on yourself 338 00:13:25,350 --> 00:13:23,360 now the psychological aspect of going to 339 00:13:28,470 --> 00:13:25,360 mars there's another whole wrinkle to 340 00:13:31,829 --> 00:13:28,480 that and that is the uh the the time it 341 00:13:34,470 --> 00:13:31,839 takes to transmit a a signal from earth 342 00:13:36,310 --> 00:13:34,480 to the crew on mars or vice versa and 343 00:13:38,710 --> 00:13:36,320 you're limited by the speed of light and 344 00:13:40,870 --> 00:13:38,720 it'll be a long long time earth will 345 00:13:43,189 --> 00:13:40,880 become vanishingly small it'll almost be 346 00:13:45,350 --> 00:13:43,199 you know be indistinguishable from a lot 347 00:13:47,590 --> 00:13:45,360 of the brighter stars so you'll feel 348 00:13:49,509 --> 00:13:47,600 very remote so the psychological part of 349 00:13:51,350 --> 00:13:49,519 it would be kind of an interesting thing 350 00:13:53,350 --> 00:13:51,360 to simulate that on station that would 351 00:13:55,829 --> 00:13:53,360 probably involve 352 00:13:57,910 --> 00:13:55,839 essentially introducing a time lag 353 00:14:00,150 --> 00:13:57,920 between when the crew calls the ground 354 00:14:02,949 --> 00:14:00,160 and when the ground responds it would 355 00:14:04,949 --> 00:14:02,959 involve you know potentially 356 00:14:06,470 --> 00:14:04,959 limiting the crew's view out the window 357 00:14:09,110 --> 00:14:06,480 so you're not seeing planet earth you 358 00:14:11,509 --> 00:14:09,120 don't feel physically as close to it and 359 00:14:13,590 --> 00:14:11,519 it might involve even going so far as to 360 00:14:16,550 --> 00:14:13,600 letting the crew deal with 361 00:14:18,790 --> 00:14:16,560 emergencies and and system malfunctions 362 00:14:21,189 --> 00:14:18,800 and work the way through them 363 00:14:23,110 --> 00:14:21,199 to a greater and a more independent 364 00:14:24,710 --> 00:14:23,120 degree than we currently might on space 365 00:14:26,150 --> 00:14:24,720 station and 366 00:14:27,670 --> 00:14:26,160 there's a lot of discussion about how 367 00:14:30,150 --> 00:14:27,680 you might do that it might be something 368 00:14:31,110 --> 00:14:30,160 that would be applicable but i don't 369 00:14:33,509 --> 00:14:31,120 know 370 00:14:36,550 --> 00:14:33,519 yet about any immediate near-term 371 00:14:38,710 --> 00:14:36,560 concrete steps in that direction 372 00:14:41,910 --> 00:14:38,720 don pettit you're going to be involved 373 00:14:42,949 --> 00:14:41,920 in the tracking and capture of elon 374 00:14:45,590 --> 00:14:42,959 musk's 375 00:14:48,150 --> 00:14:45,600 spacex commercial resupply ship which is 376 00:14:50,629 --> 00:14:48,160 actually a an historic event the the 377 00:14:52,470 --> 00:14:50,639 dragon capsule in a few days what's 378 00:14:58,069 --> 00:14:52,480 what's going to be your exact role and 379 00:15:02,710 --> 00:15:00,069 uh the short answer to looking forward 380 00:15:06,069 --> 00:15:02,720 to it is yes it's going to be 381 00:15:09,110 --> 00:15:06,079 really exciting to have uh a u.s 382 00:15:13,829 --> 00:15:11,910 unmanned vehicle come and and a 383 00:15:16,310 --> 00:15:13,839 rendezvous was stationed and then we 384 00:15:18,710 --> 00:15:16,320 will lasso it with the arm and berth it 385 00:15:21,110 --> 00:15:18,720 to one of our common birthing ports 386 00:15:24,150 --> 00:15:21,120 and so that is going to be a real neat 387 00:15:25,670 --> 00:15:24,160 piece of technology plus the the idea 388 00:15:27,910 --> 00:15:25,680 that we can have these vehicles come up 389 00:15:30,389 --> 00:15:27,920 and bring needed supplies so so all of 390 00:15:32,870 --> 00:15:30,399 that aspect is really really good in 391 00:15:35,509 --> 00:15:32,880 terms of what we're doing to prepare 392 00:15:38,069 --> 00:15:35,519 uh andre kuipers and i are going to be 393 00:15:38,949 --> 00:15:38,079 doing the robotics to 394 00:15:42,230 --> 00:15:38,959 to 395 00:15:45,430 --> 00:15:42,240 lasso the dragon vehicle and then birth 396 00:15:47,670 --> 00:15:45,440 it to one of our ports and i'll be 397 00:15:49,749 --> 00:15:47,680 flying the arm for the lasso part and 398 00:15:51,829 --> 00:15:49,759 andre will be flying the arm for the 399 00:15:53,509 --> 00:15:51,839 birthing to space station so we're 400 00:15:58,310 --> 00:15:53,519 sharing the duties and backing each 401 00:16:00,470 --> 00:15:58,320 other up for this uh approach uh uh 402 00:16:02,790 --> 00:16:00,480 track and capture and then birthing the 403 00:16:05,350 --> 00:16:02,800 station 404 00:16:07,030 --> 00:16:05,360 having having lived i'll address this to 405 00:16:09,269 --> 00:16:07,040 both of you having lived up there for 406 00:16:12,150 --> 00:16:09,279 for many months and having prepared so 407 00:16:14,310 --> 00:16:12,160 long for the your your voyage in your in 408 00:16:16,790 --> 00:16:14,320 your life in the space station 409 00:16:18,550 --> 00:16:16,800 what did you find that you were not 410 00:16:21,670 --> 00:16:18,560 quite prepared for what are some of the 411 00:16:23,749 --> 00:16:21,680 unexpected things that that you say gee 412 00:16:26,470 --> 00:16:23,759 you know i can pass this knowledge along 413 00:16:29,189 --> 00:16:26,480 to the next person or i found out more 414 00:16:32,710 --> 00:16:29,199 about myself from being up here for this 415 00:16:39,350 --> 00:16:36,230 i i i that's a good question and i've 416 00:16:41,910 --> 00:16:39,360 got a little example one of these small 417 00:16:43,990 --> 00:16:41,920 details that you can never train for and 418 00:16:45,829 --> 00:16:44,000 you are just surprised when you come up 419 00:16:48,790 --> 00:16:45,839 to orbit that it could be this way and 420 00:16:51,269 --> 00:16:48,800 it has to do with our trash cans our 421 00:16:53,030 --> 00:16:51,279 waste baskets and we have these really 422 00:16:55,990 --> 00:16:53,040 nice weight baskets 423 00:16:58,629 --> 00:16:56,000 and if you open up the lid to put a 424 00:17:00,069 --> 00:16:58,639 small piece of something in there 425 00:17:01,829 --> 00:17:00,079 that little small piece of something 426 00:17:03,670 --> 00:17:01,839 will just be floating right under that 427 00:17:05,829 --> 00:17:03,680 lid and then the next person opens that 428 00:17:07,350 --> 00:17:05,839 lid up all these little small pieces 429 00:17:08,230 --> 00:17:07,360 come floating out and it makes a big 430 00:17:11,029 --> 00:17:08,240 mess 431 00:17:12,789 --> 00:17:11,039 and so the wastebaskets are great for a 432 00:17:14,549 --> 00:17:12,799 big chunk of something but all these 433 00:17:16,870 --> 00:17:14,559 little tiny things like little pieces of 434 00:17:18,470 --> 00:17:16,880 tape and and little little strings and 435 00:17:20,309 --> 00:17:18,480 things like that you don't want to put 436 00:17:22,069 --> 00:17:20,319 them in a wastebasket or they just make 437 00:17:23,429 --> 00:17:22,079 a mess for the next guy 438 00:17:25,110 --> 00:17:23,439 so what we do 439 00:17:27,110 --> 00:17:25,120 is we take one of our little wet wipe 440 00:17:28,710 --> 00:17:27,120 containers which is just like the wet 441 00:17:30,470 --> 00:17:28,720 wipes that you use for wiping baby 442 00:17:32,710 --> 00:17:30,480 bottoms on earth and we use the same 443 00:17:34,789 --> 00:17:32,720 ones up here they come in a little 444 00:17:36,789 --> 00:17:34,799 plastic pouch with a little 445 00:17:38,789 --> 00:17:36,799 lid a little doorway that you can open 446 00:17:41,190 --> 00:17:38,799 up and when we have one of those things 447 00:17:43,669 --> 00:17:41,200 empty we stick it on the wall and we use 448 00:17:46,150 --> 00:17:43,679 it for a small items 449 00:17:47,669 --> 00:17:46,160 waste basket and you can open that 450 00:17:49,110 --> 00:17:47,679 little lid you can put little tiny 451 00:17:50,470 --> 00:17:49,120 things in there and close the lid and 452 00:17:52,950 --> 00:17:50,480 you don't need to worry about all of 453 00:17:55,029 --> 00:17:52,960 these seeds swimming out and and i never 454 00:17:57,029 --> 00:17:55,039 would have thought that that you'd do 455 00:18:00,150 --> 00:17:57,039 that you'd use something like this for a 456 00:18:02,789 --> 00:18:00,160 little trash can and it's it's uh it's 457 00:18:04,070 --> 00:18:02,799 an elegant solution to the problem and 458 00:18:05,909 --> 00:18:04,080 these are the kinds of things that you 459 00:18:08,630 --> 00:18:05,919 only learn once 460 00:18:14,310 --> 00:18:08,640 once you show up in space and dan what 461 00:18:18,070 --> 00:18:16,950 yeah i guess um if if i were to think 462 00:18:19,669 --> 00:18:18,080 back on the thing that probably 463 00:18:21,909 --> 00:18:19,679 surprised me the most you know even 464 00:18:24,710 --> 00:18:21,919 having been up here twice on on shuttle 465 00:18:26,630 --> 00:18:24,720 missions is how difficult it is to keep 466 00:18:27,750 --> 00:18:26,640 track of everything that you have on a 467 00:18:29,430 --> 00:18:27,760 shuttle mission it's a little bit 468 00:18:32,230 --> 00:18:29,440 smaller volume you do spend time in the 469 00:18:34,549 --> 00:18:32,240 station but you're you don't spend as 470 00:18:36,150 --> 00:18:34,559 much time here that you don't get 471 00:18:38,870 --> 00:18:36,160 necessarily 472 00:18:40,710 --> 00:18:38,880 exquisitely good about keeping track of 473 00:18:42,390 --> 00:18:40,720 things and up here you know the first 474 00:18:44,950 --> 00:18:42,400 couple of weeks that were around 475 00:18:47,190 --> 00:18:44,960 uh it is so easy for things even that 476 00:18:49,430 --> 00:18:47,200 are velcroed and attached and so forth 477 00:18:51,190 --> 00:18:49,440 to just fly away get bumped and jostled 478 00:18:52,630 --> 00:18:51,200 you know we we joke about you know new 479 00:18:54,789 --> 00:18:52,640 crews coming onboard space station 480 00:18:57,990 --> 00:18:54,799 shuttle crews included creating a wake 481 00:18:59,909 --> 00:18:58,000 of swimming parts and cameras and 482 00:19:02,390 --> 00:18:59,919 notebooks and procedures and so forth 483 00:19:04,070 --> 00:19:02,400 behind them when they go by um it gets 484 00:19:06,070 --> 00:19:04,080 to the point up here where everything 485 00:19:07,110 --> 00:19:06,080 that you do you're constantly thinking 486 00:19:08,549 --> 00:19:07,120 planning 487 00:19:10,230 --> 00:19:08,559 or at least in the back your mind how to 488 00:19:11,830 --> 00:19:10,240 keep track of everything and and if 489 00:19:13,990 --> 00:19:11,840 you're going to take something apart to 490 00:19:15,990 --> 00:19:14,000 fix it for example keeping track of 491 00:19:17,990 --> 00:19:16,000 bolts and washers and nuts and having a 492 00:19:19,909 --> 00:19:18,000 little piece of tape stage by and having 493 00:19:21,270 --> 00:19:19,919 all your tools organized is something 494 00:19:23,029 --> 00:19:21,280 that's kind of part and parcel with your 495 00:19:25,110 --> 00:19:23,039 life up here 496 00:19:27,270 --> 00:19:25,120 one last question dan burbank you're 497 00:19:29,110 --> 00:19:27,280 going to be coming back in a few days is 498 00:19:31,029 --> 00:19:29,120 adjusting to life back on earth going to 499 00:19:32,230 --> 00:19:31,039 be difficult are you how are you looking 500 00:19:33,990 --> 00:19:32,240 forward to it are you going to be 501 00:19:38,150 --> 00:19:34,000 nostalgic about missing the space 502 00:19:40,470 --> 00:19:39,270 i think for everybody that's had a 503 00:19:42,390 --> 00:19:40,480 chance to be up here i think you're 504 00:19:43,909 --> 00:19:42,400 always going to have just a little piece 505 00:19:45,430 --> 00:19:43,919 of your heart that's uh that's still 506 00:19:47,190 --> 00:19:45,440 here that you're going to miss these 507 00:19:49,830 --> 00:19:47,200 views miss just the 508 00:19:51,669 --> 00:19:49,840 the the nature of life in space 509 00:19:53,909 --> 00:19:51,679 i'm really looking forward to seeing my 510 00:19:56,230 --> 00:19:53,919 family again family and friends being 511 00:19:58,549 --> 00:19:56,240 able to to see them again will be great 512 00:20:00,390 --> 00:19:58,559 the thing that'll be really hard is by 513 00:20:02,870 --> 00:20:00,400 at least by all reports is getting used 514 00:20:04,310 --> 00:20:02,880 to uh to planet earth's gravity and 515 00:20:05,909 --> 00:20:04,320 getting used to fighting it all the time 516 00:20:08,149 --> 00:20:05,919 we spend a lot of time exercising up 517 00:20:09,909 --> 00:20:08,159 here but i wonder if it'll ever really 518 00:20:13,110 --> 00:20:09,919 be enough to make those first couple of 519 00:20:15,270 --> 00:20:13,120 weeks as easy as i hope they would be 520 00:20:16,789 --> 00:20:15,280 well commander burbank and flight 521 00:20:19,029 --> 00:20:16,799 engineer don pettit i want to thank you 522 00:20:21,590 --> 00:20:19,039 both for taking time to be with us today 523 00:20:23,510 --> 00:20:21,600 and and good luck to you and and and 524 00:20:25,029 --> 00:20:23,520 welcome back when you get back to earth 525 00:20:26,630 --> 00:20:25,039 thank you for joining us on science 526 00:20:30,230 --> 00:20:26,640 friday from the international space 527 00:20:37,350 --> 00:20:31,750 ira thank you it's great talking to you 528 00:20:42,789 --> 00:20:39,750 station this is houston acr thank you 529 00:20:44,789 --> 00:20:42,799 that concludes the event 530 00:20:46,870 --> 00:20:44,799 thank you national public radio station