This guy is everything you expect in an astronaut. At least that was my first thought when I was looking at his biography. David St. Jacques was one of only two candidates (along with Jeremy Hansen) chosen in the 2008 Canadian Astronaut draft, the third in our nation’s history. He has a degree in Engineering Physics, a Ph.D. in Astrophysics, and is a medical doctor. And that’s just his formal education. He’s an avid mountaineer, cyclist, skier, and sailor. Not to mention his advanced certification as a scuba diver, his commercial pilot’s license, and his ability to converse in Russian, Spanish, and Japanese. And so...
Mice are a common laboratory animal for pre-human testing. Everything from drugs to medical treatments to surgeries have been tested on mice, and the effects of spaceflight are no exception. Animals such as Laika the dog and Rhesus monkey Albert 1 have had their own test flights, but mice offer an easy alternative when there’s not much extra room on a spacecraft. In a recent study, mice flown on the space shuttle Atlantis were shown to have developed early signs of liver disease. Could humans in space exhibit the same symptoms? “Prior to this study we really didn’t have much information...
There are so many little things about gravity that we take for granted. If you take it away, a lot of things become tougher. The common discussion points are how you lose bone density, muscle mass, you get taller, and increased risk of herniated disks. But there are a lot of day to day things that are tough too. Sleeping while having no concept of up and down, exercising without weights, eating, writing, and drinking. Generally astronauts would have to drink from bags because you simply couldn’t have a cup of water. The lack of gravity would have the water...
Space is incredibly dangerous, in case you didn’t know. Harmful radiation, bitter cold, low pressure, no air, and no gravity make for a very difficult environment to survive in. Even though a space capsule is pressurized with breathable air, protected with radiation shields, and warmed to a comfortable temperature, the effects of microgravity are still damaging to the human body. We know that astronauts lose bone mass rapidly, have to exercise to keep their muscles active, but what other effects does microgravity have on the body? For one, without gravity to clear your sinuses, they get a bit clogged in...
It has been 15 years since November 2nd, 2000, when Astronauts first occupied the International Space Station. Since then, it has been inhabited continuously by a team of up to six people. 220 citizens of Earth from 17 nations have flown with $100 Billion station over many 45 minute orbits of our planet. The men and women who have spent time aboard the station have had a view of our world that so many people have never experienced. Seeing the planet as a planet, one of countless other worlds in a dark empty void dotted by stars, it changes your perspective on...
It always fascinates me to see videos and photographs from the International Space Station (ISS), how simple day to day activities are so altered because of the altered Physics of constant free fall in orbit around the Earth. Many of the videos are showing what people call the ‘effects of zero gravity.’ This is actually not the case. There is gravity in space. Let’s take a closer look at the situation of an ISS astronaut. If we do the math (I do realize the term ‘do the math’ turns away a lot of people, so I will keep it short),...
This past week, American astronaut Scott Kelly, currently on a one year stint aboard the International Space Station, broke the record of 363 days for most time logged in Space by an American. Kelly will continue to run up the tally, as he is just over halfway through his one year mission. His record comes from a total of four space missions, including two Shuttle missions and two ISS stays. While Kelly continues his mission to determine the long term effects of space flight on humans, his fellow ISS astronaut Andreas Mogensen has been testing a new skin suit developed...
I went to the movies last night to see ‘The Martian,’ something I have been excited about for a long time. The theatre was packed, and the movie was amazing, both unsurprising facts. I had very few scientific issues with the film, even with low standards for a big screen pic, but mostly due to first thing the screen showed: ‘NASA was heavily consulted to ensure the science in this movie is accurate.’ Way to go Hollywood! My favourite parts of the movie employed some hilarious use of technical definitions. For example, when Mark Watney grows potatoes on Mars, he says...
I was downtown Toronto this morning, dressed in a suit and holding my umbrella to stay dry and navigate the city streets as they were soaked with rain. I was headed to the CBC building on John street to do an interview about the SpaceX CRS-7 mission that would launch an hour later. This would be a very important mission, the seventh of twelve ISS resupply missions contracted by NASA. It was also the third attempt at a secondary goal – landing the first stage launch vehicle, the Falcon 9 rocket, upright on an ocean platform, a feat that had...
I think he’s had to upgrade his sleigh for space operations in order to reach the three space station astronauts living 400 Km above the surface of the Earth. Realistically, at 7 Km/s, it may be the fastest anyone has ever moved to celebrate Christmas.
