Ok, so maybe the real suit isn't quite as slinky as the one on Jane Fonda there, but it's incredible anyway. Designed by David Akin and Shane Jacobs at the University of Maryland, the design is basically a baggy suit with an upper torso which "contracts using pneumatic artificial muscles to ensure a perfect fit."

I certainly hope those artificial muscles know when to stop squeezing, because crushed astronauts wouldn't exactly be able to use the "stereo LCD spectacles" and the in-helmet video screen that come with the suit. [New Scientist via io9]

Barbarella photo by Klipsch

Instead, as seen in this condensed video, they wrap up the last of the EVAs for mission STS-128 (completed Saturday). Total EVA time was an impressive 7 hours, 1 minute.

Early in the video, that first helmet cam glimpse of Earth, so many, many miles below, is completely and utterly breathtaking. Trivia: They were passing over South America at the time. [YouTube via Tom's Astronomy Blog]

Apparently the stench can be a real morale buster when you're quarantined by the vacuum of space.

The criteria were reportedly leaked by a representative from No 454 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, one of five hospitals putting 100 potential Chinese astronauts through 100 grueling mental and physical tests that, if passed, qualify them as "super-human beings" (as one hospital rep puts it). Of course, these gods among men might just floss twice a day and hit the elliptical on the weekends. And eat lots of parsley. That's a good trick, we hear. [Sina English via Pop Sci]

When he returns to earth, astronaut Koichi Wakata is handing his underwear (boxers or briefs, I wonder) over to scientists to study how well everything held up after being worn for a month straight.

The supposed reason behind this test is to make astronauts' lives easier since there isn't a way to wash clothing in space, but I have the distinct feeling that the technology will be abused in horrible, horrible ways.

Photo by Space

[Yahoo]

Remember those "pillownauts"? Just like them, folks at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston are spending weeks at a time in bed, except they're also spending an hour each day being spun around in a centrifuge designed by NASA. The idea is that creating an effect that feels like standing against "a force two and half times that of gravity" will assist in restoring muscle synthesis (and thereby possibly preventing muscle loss).

While the study takes detailed measurements of protein synthesis and muscle breakdown, UTMB associate professor Douglas Paddon-Jones warns that it's not without flaws:

"[T]he rate of muscle protein synthesis alone does not necessarily predict changes in muscle function. But, he pointed out, it was still a strong indicator that a relatively brief intervention could have a positive effect in preventing zero-gravity muscle loss - one that might also be applied on Earth.

Paddon-Jones continues on to explain that joy rides in centrifuges aren't the end-all solution to the muscle loss issues in space, but at least the study also has potential for clinical applications for the immobile and elderly suffering down here. [Journal of Applied Physiology via Science Daily]

Photo by LanceCheungImages

The suits shown here are part of a collection of Apollo-era artifacts on display right now at the National Air and Space Museum.

The exhibit is part of a 40th anniversary celebration for the event that attention-seeking idiots say never happened so that they can get a few extra clicks and adSense dollars on their crock conspiracy theory web site. Tons more pics over at io9. Can we go back now, please? [io9]

[TodaysBigThing]

Both the Russian MIR and United States' Skylab had a permanent crew of three. The International Space Station also had three astronauts until last Friday, when ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk arrived onboard the Soyuz TMA-15. Together with the other three existing members, they have become the Expedition 20 mission crew, the first 6-member resident crew ever in a orbital outpost. [Hyperbola]

Officially called the "Lunar Texshield," this wearable blanket is made from a lightweight polymer material that has a layer of radiation shielding that deflects or absorbs harmful rays. The skin of the blanket also contains solar cells that help to generate electricity.

If NASA wants to make a permanent base on the moon, the question of how to protect our astronauts from radiation for extended periods of time needs to be addressed. Fabric like this could be the answer—but the fate of the project won't be known until NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace RASC-AL competition concludes during a forum held from June 1st-3rd. Projects entered into the competition could wind up traveling with astronauts on future moon exploration missions. [Networkworld via Digg]

And it's completely fitting too, given that this voyage is the last trip NASA will take to service Hubble. But enough sad news on Mother's Day, what's with these "superpowers?"

The first power is "three-in-one vision," provided by the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), which will allow Hubble to see the light spectrum simultaneously, from ultraviolet to infrared. The gadget also grants Hubble the ability to see "cosmic cobwebs" that stretch out and connect galaxies. These new abilities should double or tripe the rate at which NASA discovers distant supernovae.

The other addition, called the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), costs $70 million and sniffs out ultraviolet light with reckless abandon. What once took 10 Earth orbits to observe will now take just one. Extremely dim objects that took a year to observe properly will be cataloged in weeks.

Unsurprisingly, both gadgets, used in tandem with with existing tech on Hubble, are designed to seek out dark matter and energy. Oh, and alien planets too:

"For example, you might be able to see whether a planet's atmosphere has hydrogen or carbon or oxygen in it," said Ken Sembach, Hubble project scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

NASA expects the first data from these new instruments to be delivered by Labor Day. [MSNBC]

So how did everything taste? On the whole, surprisingly good! But before we delve into our detailed taste test, a word about what we were eating. I spoke to Vickie Kloeris, the Subsystem Manager for Shuttle and ISS Food Systems—NASA's head chef—and she walked me through exactly what goes into the vittles consumed in orbit by our astronauts.

Essentially, NASA does exactly what the army does with its MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), with a few exceptions: MREs are designed to keep an 18- to 22-year-old, extremely active soldier fueled and ready, whereas space food must be nutritionally tailored to older and less-active adults, so in general, space food is lower in fat, calories and salt.

For space food, the main criteria are spoilage resistance, easy preparation and consumption in microgravity (ie no potato chips), plus storage-space considerations. There are five classifications of space foods: rehydrateable (just add water), thermostabilized (already wet, heat in its metallic/plastic pouch and eat), irradiated (cooked irradiated meats ready to eat), intermediate moisture (meaning dried fruits, jerky, and such) and natural form (better known as junk food—ready to eat without any prep or storage concerns).

On the Space Station, there is a food prep area in the Russian half that has a fold-down dining table along with food package heaters. But soon, as the station is expanded to accommodate a crew of six later this month, a second, smaller food prep area will be added—this time equipped with a chiller, which is a first for the station—refrigeration specifically for food products. Cold drinks in space!

Vickie was kind enough to ship out a batch of goodies that didn't make it into orbit from the last ISS mission, and we dined on them for lunch. We didn't have a specialized thermostabilized pouch heater—and you can't microwave these puppies—so we just dunked them in boiling water for a while until they heated through. We made it through six courses including dessert:

Here, our menu in detail:

First Course: Southwestern Corn, Potato Medley
While it may have looked a little rough in the thermostabilized packet, corn was actually pretty tasty, and had the correct consistency. The Southwest was apparently represented by flecks of red and green pepper and a mild spiciness.

But the potato medley—oh the potato medley. Don't know what to say—there was a really strange chemical bitterness, from where it came I do not know. But not good.
Rating: Two Stars

Second Course: Breakfast Sausage Links, Curry Sauce w/ Vegetables
Awesome. Fingering pork sausage links inside a packet is not super pleasant, let me tell you, but out of the packet they were perfectly edible—fairly salty and a little stringy and dry, but with good taste. And dipped in the curry sauce? Yes. Sausages and curry go incredibly well together here on earth, and in space it's no different.
Rating: Four Stars

Third Course: Beef Enchiladas, Baked Beans, Tortillas
Wow. Delicious. As the busted enchiladas slid out of the packet, we were scared. But the flavor was right on—equal to if not better than any frozen enchilada you can get at the store. And the baked beans—oh my—Adam had three helpings. Taste was great, consistency perfect—and wrapped in a tortilla, which Kloeris says is one of the most versatile space foods (understandable), the combination was fantastic. I could fuel my spacewalks with this combo for months.
Rating: Five Stars

Fourth Course: Chicken Teriyaki, Creamed Spinach
Yikes. As you saw in the video, the chicken teriyaki was nasty. I don't know if we got a bad pouch or what, but the chicken was mushy to the point of being hardly recognizable as chicken. And the smell. Oh the smell. Not sure what went wrong here, but this was more akin to dog food than teriyaki. AVOID!

As for the creamed spinach, that was our only freeze-dried food item. In space, you would use the small tube opening to inject hot water with a syringe and smush it around in the package until it was done, but we reconstituted it in a bowl, and it came out alright. Kind of bland, but edible. We didn't spend long on it though because we wanted that chicken teriyaki out of our sight as soon as possible.
Rating: Zero Stars

Fifth Course: Chicken w/ Peanut Sauce, Green Beans w/ Potatoes
Definitely an improvement. The chicken here was in more recognizable texture and shape, and the peanut sauce, while not particularly delicious, was certainly more edible than the teriyaki sauce. And the green beans and potatoes were pretty much the same as your typical canned fare, so not bad at all.
Rating: Three stars

Dessert: Brownies, Cocoa, Kona Coffee
The brownies were basically Little Debbie brownies—in fact, they may have been exactly that, as NASA does purchase off-the-shelf snacks to send up after they're evaluated and repackaged. And the drinks were essentially the same as their earthly equivalents—only in space, you rehydrate with the same syringe-in-bag technique. Both were tasty.
Rating: Four Stars

You may be surprised to see no freeze-dried ice cream here for dessert—the item most commonly associated with "space food." Well, that's because actual freeze-dried ice cream was only eaten on one Apollo mission—its flavor is just too unlike ice cream to be enjoyed, and its excessive crumbliness made it especially difficult to eat and clean up in microgravity. Thus, its relegation to museum gift shops and novelty stores everywhere.

So in conclusion, I'd say our lunch was highly enjoyable. We went through what every astronaut does before their missions—a sampling of the available foods to see what they like. If Adam and I were going up, you can guess our containers would be full of beef enchiladas, baked beans, sausages and curry sauce, and there wouldn't be any chicken teriyaki in sight.

Now I want to try everything on the menu:

The subject of nonhuman space travel is a bittersweet one. It was an obvious—if occasionally cruel—way to sort out many of our functional uncertainties about leaving earth. In order to help humans avoid future space tragedies, these animals sometimes burned up in fiery crashes, though they generally were not, as is the preconception, often left for dead in the cold reaches of space. The various space programs' use of animals held another sort of tragedy as well: The first creatures to slip the surly bonds were sadly unable to fathom the pure awesomeness of what they were doing.

Here are some of the best, brightest, adorablest creatures never to know that they'd been to space.

Ham, Albert and Spacebat images courtesy of NASA and JamesDuncan. Laika images from the Guardian and Thinkquest. Felix images taken from Purr-n-Furr.

Like most kids in 1969, Leroy sat enthralled in his Danville, California living room in front of a black-and-white television, watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. He was eight years old, the perfect age to decide that he would one day be an astronaut.

So how did it actually happen? Well, Chiao's high-level degrees in chemical engineering, experience developing advanced aerospace materials, job at the Lawrence Livermore laboratory in California, and over 2500 hours as an instrument-rated pilot certainly made for a convincing astronaut CV. But in the end, it all comes down to a standard application for federal employment, which Chiao got a hold of in 1989. It's the same one used by every federal employee, from the IRS on up.

On the blank line for "Job Applying For," he wrote "Astronaut."

And 7 months later in the summer of 1990, he was accepted with 22 others into the 13th class of US astronauts. After training, two years later he was assigned to STS-65 on the shuttle Columbia, which took off in July of 1994. Since then, Chiao flew on two more shuttle missions (STS-72 and STS-92) and commanded Expedition 10 on the International Space Station, spending more than half a year in orbit.

So what does being one of just a few dozen people who have spent such a long time in space feel like? What does it to do your life? That's what we aim to find out.

"There are only around 400 people worldwide [who have been in space], and even fewer for long durations," Chiao told me. "Six and a half months is a lot of time to reflect, think about life and what's important. The best thing you can do is just look at the Earth—it's beautiful, and every part is different, beautiful in its own way, and yet the same. It's pretty profound, as you would imagine. It gives you a much bigger view on life—small things that used to bother me seem so insignificant."

But in addition to attempting to articulate the massive hugeness of all that, Leroy's going to be blogging mostly about the small stuff—the daily tasks like brushing your teeth, taking a leak, and yes, reporting to work in the cold vacuum of space.

"You can't simulate life in microgravity," he says, "so when you get up there, the first interesting thing is seeing what life is like, familiarizing yourself with things like cutting your fingernails, brushing your teeth. How do you do that?"

Those are the questions Chiao's going to be answering this week, helping us lowly earth-anchored souls attempt to wrap our gravity-addled brains around what life must be like in space. I can't wait.

Stay tuned for Gizmodo's Astroblogger column with Leroy Chiao

It's the 12th annual Space Day, even, which is held every year by NASA and Lockheed Martin. The theme this year is "Celebrating Human Space Flight: Past, Present and Future." I think that theme is pretty discriminatory actually, since it's clearly designed to gloss over the animals that have made for our swashbuckling space glory possible. And of course, the greatest animal hero of them all, Spacebat.

But if you're okay with leaving them out, you can join NASA's prejudiced, self-congratulatory celebration at the Smithsonian, which will have a live broadcast from the International Space Station. [Space Day via io9]

The Mercury Seven were chosen in Washington, DC from a body of 69 candidates. The name comes from Mercury, a Roman mythological god who is seen as a symbol of speed. Because of the small space inside the Mercury capsule, candidates could be no taller than 5 feet 11 inches and weigh no more than 180 pounds. The initial flights took off throughout the early 1960s, though some astronauts were active in later decades. Here are the guys:

Malcolm Scott Carpenter (born 1925) was a US Navy piolot aviation cadet who flew missions during the Korean War. He was on board the MA-7 (Aurora 7) and was the first American astronaut to eat solid food in space. He successfully overcame an overexpenditure of fuel due to hardware problems on his one and only mission. Carpenter was forced to retire from spaceflight after sustaining a motorbike accident. After retiring from the Navy, he founded Sea Sciences Inc., a corporation for developing programs for utilizing ocean resources and improving environmental health.

Leroy Gordon (Gordo) Cooper Jr. (1927 – 2004) was very active in the Boy Scouts of America and achieved the second highest rank of Life Scout. Prior to joining NASA, Cooper also served in the US Air Force and Marine Corps. He was on board the MA-9 (Faith 7) and Gemini 5, and developed a personal survival knife for astronauts to carry. Cooper was the first American to sleep in orbit. Interestingly, he took photos of and reported UFO sightings to the Pentagon, but they swept the incident under the rug.

John Herschel Glenn Jr. (born 1921) began his career as a US Marine Corps fighter pilot. He was on board the MA-6 (Friendship 7) and STS-95. Noticed for his heroics in space, Glenn became friendly with the Kennedys and a prominent public figure. After retiring from NASA, he ran as a Democrat and represented the state of Ohio in the United States Senate from 1974 to 1999.

Virgil Ivan (Gus) Grissom (1926 – 1967) was a US Air Force pilot before joining NASA. He was on board the MR-4 (Liberty Bell 7), Gemini 3, and Apollo 1. Grissom was tragically killed along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission. After death, his family was involved in a spacesuit controversy: NASA insisted Grissom got authorization to use his spacesuit for a show and tell at his son's school and never returned it, but his family claimed the he had rescued the spacesuit from a scrap heap and that it rightfully belonged to them.

Walter Marty (Wally) Schirra Jr. (1923 – 2007)'s father was a pilot, and his mother performed wing walking stunts when he was on duty. Schirra served as an officer in the US Navy, and was later dispatched to South Korea as a pilot on loan to the US Air Force. On board the MA-8 (Sigma 7), Gemini 6A, and Apollo 7, he was the only person to fly in all of America's first three space programs. Schirra gained notoriety for playing "Jingle Bells" on a harmonica he smuggled on board Gemini.

Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (1923 – 1998) began as a US Navy as test pilot. He was the first American in space, and flew on board the MR-3 (Freedom 7) and Apollo 14. It's said that shortly before one launch, Shepard blurted out "Please, dear God, don't let me fuck up." This has since become known among aviators as "Shepard's Prayer." A successful businessman, Shepard was the first astronaut to become a millionaire while still in the program. His hometown of Derry, NH almost changed its name to "Spacetown" in honor of Schirra's career.

Donald Kent (Deke) Slayton (1924 – 1993) was also a US Air Force pilot before joining NASA. He was grounded from space flight by a heart condition, but served as NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations. Slayton served as head of Astronaut selection. In 1972 he was granted medical clearance to fly as docking module pilot of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. At the time of the flight, he became the oldest person to fly into space. [NASA and Wikipedia]

Unlike the Bowflex's rubber bands (which, coincidentally, were used by the machine being replaced, the iRED), the aRED uses piston-driven vacuum cylinders that provide adjustable resistance as the piston is pulled in or out. A flywheel system counteracts the force of the pistons to simulate the response of free weights in normal gravity.

While astronauts have been just fine with their cardio, studies detailing the damaging effects of muscle lost after a long-term space mission are still coming in. A recent report stated that without exercises like those possible on the aRED, astronauts could lose up to 15% of their muscle volume, which could be difficult or even impossible to regain back on earth. So the aRED's goal is not to build muscle but simply to maintain it.

With a voyage to Mars expected to take at least six months, this is a problem that needs to be solved. Thankfully, the aRED is well on its way to keeping astronauts buffed enough for the job. [Wired Science]

First, a primer. Fire in microgravity isn't the flickering kind that happened when you set the house ablaze with your chemistry set as a kid. It's actually spherical (see image), and spreads around space stations, space shuttles or special projects like Orion faster than you can say "Hey, I didn't know NASA let us smoke on the space shuttle?"

NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger got to experience space fire first hand in 1997, when an oxygen candle aboard Mir caught fire and filled the space station with smoke. "I did not expect smoke to spread so quickly," Linenger said in an interview with Discovery. "(It) was about 10 times faster than I would expect a fire to spread on a space station."

So NASA, not wanting to roast its astronauts alive, has continued to research and fine tune a variety of next generation space fire-fighting systems. A few prototypes work well, but they're messy, coating the fire spheres and pretty much everything else in the vicinity with a fine mist, fog or "water foam" made up of a non-toxic oxygen-nitrogen mix.

The special extinguishers have actually been around for about a decade, but only recently has NASA noticed them, funded them, and started testing in microgravity experiments. Previously, NASA's main advice for astronauts in a dangerous fire-related situation was "abandon ship" (seriously)— an option which would be, obviously unavailable to an Orion crew on a Mars or Moon mission.

I say bring on the mess so long as the "Go Directly to Earth" autopilot button stays dry. If I were in a tin can millions of miles from home, I'd take soggy, foamy clothes over the other option any day of the week. Better messy than dead, says I. [MSNBC]

Magnus has to make do with preparing mixing meals in plastic bags and cooking ingredients over low heat burners (simple sauteed garlic and onions is a several hour venture on ISS burners that operate on 30-minute safety timers).

Her flavors consist of spicing up standard space rations with fresh ingredients brought on board by new crewmates. Her Superbowl spinach dip, for instance, is a combination of rehydrated cream of mushroom soup, canned Russian cheese and creamed spinach. But as comforting as a good meal can be, I can't imagine being stuck in the ISS without any fresh air only to look over at Magnus, who is cooking pungent aromatics with a smile.

Lots more on the topic at these two links: [Discovery and Discovery]