NASA Shuttle Endeavour: Coming Home

This view of the port side of space shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay was recorded after separation from the International Space Station on Feb. 19, 2010, as the STS-130 astronauts prepared for a Feb. 21 landing, after spending over a week working in tandem with the Expedition 22 crew members aboard the station.

Other than the docking system hardware, the cargo bay is empty after delivering the Tranquility node and the new cupola to the orbital outpost.

Image Credit: NASA

NASA Tranquility and Cupola Opening Ceremony: A Window on the Earth

A simple ceremony to open the Tranquility and Cupola for business. They took the opportunity to make a moving tribute to astronaut Charles Lacey Veitch and the others responsible for it's construction.

NASA: Astronauts instal Node 3, Cupola and Tranquility Module

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick conducted the STS-130 mission's first spacewalk on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010.

The spacewalking pair finished all their assigned work and some get-ahead tasks.

The Tranquility node and cupola were robotically maneuvered from Endeavour's payload bay, and then installed onto the port side of the Unity node.

This was the first of three planned spacewalks for the STS-130 mission.

Image Credit: NASA

NASA Shuttle Endeavour Brings Tranquility, Node 3 and Cupola

Shuttle Endeavour Brings Tranquility, including ESA's Node 3 and Cupola.

Backdropped by the blackness of space, space shuttle Endeavour was photographed by the Expedition 22 crew as the shuttle approached the International Space Station during STS-130 rendezvous and docking operations on Feb. 9, 2010.

The Tranquility node including the ESA Node 3 and Cupola, can be seen in the shuttle's payload bay.

The Cupola observation window can be seen on the righ hand side of the module, inside the shuttle's cargo bay.
Image Credit: NASA

Matthieu Ricard: Meditate yourself better

Matthieu Ricard: Meditate yourself better - New Scientist

How did you become involved in the science of meditation?

The Dalai Lama often describes Buddhism as being, above all, a science of the mind. That is not surprising, because the Buddhist texts put particular emphasis on the fact that all spiritual practices - whether mental, physical or oral - are directly or indirectly intended to transform the mind.

So it wasn't surprising that when a meeting was held in 2000 with some of the leading specialists in human emotions - psychologists, neuroscientists and philosophers - they spent an entire week in discussion with the Dalai Lama at his home in Dharamsala, India. Later we agreed to launch a research programme on the short and long-term effects of mind training - "meditation" in other words.

What have we discovered about meditation and the human brain?

Experiments have indicated that the region of the brain associated with emotions such as compassion shows considerably higher activity in those with long-term meditative experience. These discoveries suggest that basic human qualities can be deliberately cultivated through mental training. The study of the influence of mental states on health, which was once considered fanciful, is now an increasing part of the scientific research agenda.

Do you have to be highly skilled to experience the benefits of meditation?

No, one does not have to be a highly trained: 20 minutes of daily practice can contribute significantly to a reduction of anxiety and stress, the tendency to become angry and the risk of relapse in cases of severe depression. Thirty minutes a day over the course of eight weeks results in a considerable strengthening of the immune system and of one's capacity for concentration. It also speeds up the healing of psoriasis and decreases arterial tension in people suffering from hypertension.

Space Shuttle Endeavour to deliver Tranquility module incl. ESA Cupola

Space Shuttle Endeavour is to deliver on February 9 a new technological module, Tranquility, to the International Space Station for its U.S. segment, a NASA expert said Friday.

This picture gives you a very good artist's impression of the module which includes the Cupola observation windows developed and manufactured by ESA, as part of a barter agreement with NASA.

Click here for further information on ESA's Node 3 and Cupola

Members of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, stepped down from the lunar lander onto the moon's Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969. The Tranquility module was named in honor of this event's 40th anniversary.

Tranquility will make waste water recycling and oxygen regeneration easier.

The shuttle, to be launched February 7, will carry six astronauts who are to hook Tranquility up during spacewalks. The shuttle fleet is to sated to be mothballed in the autumn of 2010, unless it's replacement is not ready.

Without the Shuttle vehicles the US Space Agency, ESA and its partners are dependent on Russia's RSA to uplift astronauts and large components to the ISS.