Koichi Wakata

Six Months Later, Expedition 39 Safely Returns to Earth

Expedition 39 successfully ended last night with the safe return to Earth of Koichi Wakata, Mikhail Tyurin and Rick Mastracchio. Now Expedition 40 begins with the trio of astronauts still on the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-11M coming in for a soft-enough landing. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls Expedition 39 consisted of Commander Koichi Wakata of…

Tech News Mika McKinnon May 14

An Astronaut And His Robot Companion Are Photobombed By A Watery Planet

Commander Koichi Wakata poses before a Cupola window aboard the International Space Station. The Canadarm2’s Latching End Effector looks on from the other side of the glass. Meanwhile, in the background, Earth hangs almost modestly, all but obscured by the photo’s fore- and middleground subjects. Don’t worry Earth, we see you. [NASA via APOD]

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Apr 2

The Moon sets behind Earth as a storm of light roars in Australia

Koichi Wakata—a Japanese astronaut now on board the International Space Station—just shared this incredible photo of the “Moon setting on the blue Earth atmosphere.” He just snapped these two awesome shots of auroras over Australia. “It looked like a storm of light,” he said. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Feb 24

Japanese “Spiral Top” makes zero-gravity light paintings aboard the ISS

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata is using some of his time aboard the International Space Station to create art, namely spiral light paintings made utilizing the station’s microgravity and a spinning top. Wakata has been tweeting his most recent light paintings. First, he showed off the “Spiral Top” designed by light artist Takuro Osaka. The top…

io9 Lauren Davis Jan 7

Watch the cute first conversation between a human and a robot in space

Kirobo became the first talking robot in space when it arrived on the International Space Station earlier this year. In this video, we can see the adorable artificial astronaut undertake its mission through a conversation with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata. https://observationdeck.kinja.com/the-japanese-have-launched-a-talking-robot-into-space-1016078546 This conversation is part of the Kibo Robot Project, which…

io9 Lauren Davis Dec 21

Astronaut Koichi Wakata Still Looking for His Magic Lamp

Once upon a time, Ali Baba-wannabe and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata put on his deodorizing underpants and flew a magic carpet in space. You can see it all in this video, except the underpants. [JAXA] https://gizmodo.com/astronaut-to-fly-magic-carpet-in-space-plus-perform-ot-5164864

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz May 20

NASA Astronaut Currently Testing Magic Odor-Eating Underpants

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata is a lucky man. He’s one of the few humans who’s been launched into space. He’s on the ISS. And, perhaps most importantly, he’s helping test a pair of magic underpants. And magic they certainly are, once you hear about what these space-borne underoos hope to accomplish. Made of state-of-the-art odor-fighting…

Space & Spaceflight Jack Loftus Mar 22

Astronaut to Fly Magic Carpet In Space, Plus Perform Other Civilian Requests

If I were ever so blessed to copulate with Scarlett Johansson, I might try some strange things, things I wasn’t even generally comfortable with, just for the vicarious accomplishment of all mankind. Koichi Wakata, a Japanese astronaut, is working under a similar philosophy. He’s promised to perform 16 tasks in ISS laboratories that have been…

Space & Spaceflight Mark Wilson Mar 5

Six Months Later, Expedition 39 Safely Returns to Earth

An Astronaut And His Robot Companion Are Photobombed By A Watery Planet

The Moon sets behind Earth as a storm of light roars in Australia

Japanese “Spiral Top” makes zero-gravity light paintings aboard the ISS

Watch the cute first conversation between a human and a robot in space

Astronaut Koichi Wakata Still Looking for His Magic Lamp

NASA Astronaut Currently Testing Magic Odor-Eating Underpants

Astronaut to Fly Magic Carpet In Space, Plus Perform Other Civilian Requests

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