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The NASA Village

Today in the NASA Village… Environmental Monitoring: How Clean is it?

So, the International Space Station has been operating for 16 years now. Do you wonder how clean is the air astronauts breathe or the surfaces that the astronauts touch each day? Are there hazardous levels of bacteria or other toxic components in the drinking water supply? Obviously on this (18+ year) long duration endeavor, we have to monitor the air quality, the microbial content of the air, surfaces, and water, the sound levels we are experiencing, and the radiation doses that we are being exposed to. These data are not only critical for safety of the astronauts while on board, but for long term occupational health monitoring. Future deep space explorers will benefit from lessons we are learning now. 

Needless to say, there are some specialized pieces of hardware that we have to know how to operate in order to perform this environmental monitoring. Elisca Hicks first joined NASA by working in the Education and Outreach Program. She later transitioned to the Space Medicine Training team in 2005. Elisca currently has a dual role in the Space Medicine Training Team. She is an instructor, she teaches the environmental monitoring hardware to Space Station crew members, but she also coordinates multiple medical student and doctor programs at Johnson Space Center. 

This media slide containing mold is what Elisca teaches us to use. This helps us identify if there are issues or areas that need our additional attention.

This picture shows mold found growing on a kit that was being used in an experiment. Inside the kit were tubes that contained a swab and liquid in them. The tubes were damaged (cracked lids) and they leaked, causing the mold to grow on the kit.

Here Elisca is showing me how to place the media tray in the microbial air sampler.

Consider that the lack of gravity means that dust does not collect just on the upper surfaces, but on all the surfaces. The ventilation system moves a lot of the debris to the filters, but electrostatic forces result in the potential for debris to collect pretty much anywhere. The worst air quality can be seen when the callouses of the crew members feet begin to come off about month 2. Remember, we are not using the bottoms of our feet for walking, so we actually get callouses on the tops of our toes from sliding them under handrails!

Next time on the NASA Village… You Need to Experience It.

Do you want more stories? Find our NASA Villagers here!

Comet McNaught.

Saturn’s Moon, Enceladus, Is Our Closest Great Hope For Life Beyond Earth

“Cassini provided scientists with a wealth of data about Enceladus’ surface and the composition of its powerful plumes. This data showed evidence of a deep saltwater ocean with an energy source beneath Enceladus’ surface. The presence of water, warmth, and organic molecules are the necessary requirements for sustaining life as we know it. Water is proven to exist, while the tidal forces from Saturn provide the necessary heat. Based on observations of other bodies in the Solar System, Enceladus likely contains the raw ingredients for life as well. The suspected existence of all three hints at the possible presence of the precursors to amino acids in this vast subsurface ocean. Should we find extraterrestrial life on Enceladus – or in the geyser-like plumes erupting into space – the implications are almost incomprehensible.”

When you think about life beyond Earth, you likely think of it occurring on a somewhat Earth-like planet. A rocky world, with either a past or present liquid ocean atop the surface, seems ideal. But that might not even be where life on Earth originated! Deep beneath the Earth’s surface, geologically active hydrothermal vents currently support diverse colonies of life without any energy from the Sun. Saturn’s icy moon, Enceladus, has a subsurface ocean unlike any other world we’ve yet discovered. The tidal forces of Saturn itself provide the necessary heat, and also create cracks in the Enceladean surface, enabling massive geysers. This subsurface ocean rises hundreds of kilometers high, regularly resurfaces the world with a coat of fresh ice, and even creates the E-ring of Saturn. But most spectacularly, it may house actively living organisms, and could be the next-best world for life, after Earth, in the Solar System today.

Come get the full story on Enceladus, and welcome Starts With A Bang’s newest contributor, the remarkable Jesse Shanahan!

Researchers confirm that mysterious radio waves are actually coming from outer space

The truth is out there — somewhere. Researchers at the Australian National University’s Swinburne University of Technology have confirmed that short bursts of radio waves that had stumped astronomers since their discovery are actually coming from far, far beyond Earth.

The Fast Radio Bursts, or short, intense pulses of radio light, were first picked up at Australia’s Parkes Observatory nearly 10 years ago, according to a statement released Monday by the Swinburne University of Technology. 

According to researchers, the FRBs are “about a billion times more luminous” than anything that’s been observed within our own galaxy.But for a long time, scientists couldn’t determine from where, exactly, the bursts were originating. Read more. (4/4/2017 10:03 AM)

Jupiter and beyond the Infinite…

 An image of the North polar region of Jupiter. 

Taken by NASA’s spacecraft Juno.