André in Sokol suit (credit: ESA/NASA)
André is set to remain on board the ISS until Sunday 1 July, when he is scheduled to return to Earth with the Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft together with NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko. At the end of the mission he will have spent 193 days in space for the PromISSe mission.
Read more about space records in a previous blog entry: Fifty days in space
André Kuipers on board ISS
During long stays on the International Space Station, many astronauts take music with them for listening in off-duty hours. They say it is very important for the morale and psychological support of the crew. For his six-month mission, André included several versions of Rocket Man, one of his all-time favourites, in his playlist.
Released the day after Apollo 16 lifted off for the Moon on 16 April 1972, this song has had a special connection with generations of astronauts and many others in the space industry ever since, as well as inspiring and entertaining millions more people around the world.
Rocket Man was composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and appeared on John’s album Honky Château, released in May 1972. It became a hit single, rising to Number 2 in the UK charts and Number 6 in the US. It is included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank recently recorded this tour of the US segment of the International Space Station, highlighting some of the science facilities and equipment on board the orbiting laboratory. The tour starts in the Japanese Kibo laboratory, moves onto the European Columbus laboratory and finally to the US Destiny laboratory.
The International Space Station (ISS) is once again visible in the evening skies over Europe. For several weeks the orbital outpost has only been visible from Europe early in the morning - too early for most!
Under a clear sky, the ISS is visible from the ground when it is still in the sunlight and it is dark down below - either in the dusk, shortly after sunset, or in the dawn, before sunrise. This is illustrated well in this photograph recently posted by ESA astronaut André Kuipers. From the ground the ISS appears as a star-like object moving across the nightsky.
ISS visible in sunlight when it is dark down below (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Use one of the following websites to find out when the ISS is visible from your location and where to look:
heavens-above.com
NASA's sighting opportunities website
Or on Twitter register with @Twisst to receive an alert.
Read more in a previous blog post: Where is the ISS & how to see it
International Space Station
PromISSe mission logo
It's official... ESA astronaut André Kuipers will stay on ISS for a few weeks longer than originally planned. Following the delay to the launch of the next Soyuz spacecraft, the Station partners have agreed that Don Pettit, Oleg Kononenko and André will return to Earth on 1 July.
Read more on the ESA Portal:
André’s PromISSe mission extended on Space Station
International Space Station
After a break of several weeks, from today and for the coming days, the International Space Station is once again visible in the evening skies over Europe.
For a number of weeks the orbit of the ISS has been such that it was only visible in Europe early in the morning. From this evening's pass around 19:40 CET, the ISS will once again be visible from locations in Europe (assuming there are no clouds) as a bright star moving across the sky after sunset.
Use one of the following websites to find out when the ISS is visible from your location and where to look:
heavens-above.com
NASA's sighting opportunities website
Or on Twitter register with @Twisst to receive an alert.
Read more in a previous blog post: Where is the ISS & how to see it
André Kuipers recently tweeted this picture along with the text "We also measure our body mass in the Columbus module. Also using the motion of a spring."
André Kuipers uses the SLAMMD device in Columbus
We also measure our body mass in the Columbus module. Also using the motion of a spring. flic.kr/p/bppnWe
— André Kuipers (@astro_andre) February 9, 2012
The device André is using is called the Space Linear Acceleration Measurement Device, or SLAMMD (pronounced "slam-dee") for short. Why is measuring body mass needed in space? What exactly is SLAMMD and how does it work?
One of the side effects of a long stay in space is the loss of bone density and muscle mass because astonauts don't have to work against gravity like we do here on Earth. Over time, if no countermeasures are taken, the loss of bone and muscle mass means that the astronauts will experience problems on their return to Earth's gravity.
To go someway to counteract these effects, the International Space Station crewmembers are prescribed two hours of exercise every day. Research has also shown that there are dietary changes that can help with the bone loss.
The exact mechanisms are still not known and scientists are still conducting this research in space today - André and his fellow Expedition 30 crewmate Dan Burbank have for example been following a strict diet for the past couple of weeks for ESA's SOLO experiment. SOLO looks at reducing the amount of salt in their diet to see if this helps prevent bone loss.
But how do you know if such interventions are having the desired effect? One measurement to check the physical condition of the astronauts is to weight them, but in space you can't simply stand on the weighing scales like we do on Earth. That's where SLAMMD comes in.
Using SLAMMD astronauts can accurately measure body mass with the help of Newton's Second Law of Motion, F=ma (force is equal to mass times acceleration).
Firstly the astronaut has to wrap their legs and body around the device (as seen in André's photo). SLAMMD contains two springs which generate a known force (F) against the mass (m) of the astronaut. Optical sensors measure the acceleration (a) of the movement. Puttings these value for force and acceleration into the equation, SLAMMD outputs the astonaut's mass.
NASA astonaut Mike Barratt and Japan's Koichi Wakata explain how SLAMMD works in the following video:
embedded by Embedded Video
André Kuipers during a call with Prime Minister Rutte
Seeing ESA astronaut André Kuipers on the International Space Station is a regular occurrence these days. You turn on your TV or check Twitter and there he is. Since there are no cables trailing from the Station to Earth, just how does this happen?
The answer, of course, is via satellite. While the answer may be simple, the process is more complicated.
Find out more on the ESA Portal
André launched to ISS on 21 December
Shortly after two o'clock Central European Time today André Kuipers will have spent 50 days in space during the PromISSe mission. Together with NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, André launched to space at 14:15 CET on 21 December.
Added to the 10 days 20 hours that André spent in space during his first visit to the International Space Station for the DELTA mission, his total time in space will stand at nearly 61 days.
How does this total compare to his colleague astronauts and cosmonauts?
Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev holds the all time record for the most amount of time spent in space in total. During his six spaceflights between November 1988 and October 2005, Krikalev has spent a total of just over 803 days in space.
There is also the incredible 437 days and 18 hours spent in space during one mission by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov.
André also has a long way to go to catch up with any records set by his European Astronaut Corps colleagues.
Thomas Reiter has spent 350 days in space
The record for the most time spent in space in total by an ESA astronaut is held by Thomas Reiter and stands at 350 days - that is also the most amount of time spent in space by any non-American or non-Russian.
Today's milestone places André fourth in the table of longest stays on the International Space Station by ESA astronauts
- Frank De Winne - 187 days 20 hours
- Thomas Reiter - 171 days 3 hours
- Paolo Nespoli - 159 days 7 hours
- André Kuipers - 50 days and counting
- Leopold Eyharts - 48 days 4 hours
