ESA ATV production terminated: Executive Decision on follow-on under review

The cargo carrier pictured will fly on the ATV 4 mission, dubbed Albert Einstein. It has been delivered to an integration site in Bremen, Germany, for final assembly and testing before shipping to the launch site in French Guiana for liftoff in early 2013. Credit: ESA

Five ATV flights pay off ESA's operating cost burden until 2017. With the space station program extended until the end of the decade, ESA now owes approximately 450 million euros, or about $600 million, to meet its commitments between 2017 and 2020.

Confronted by parts obsolescence and waning political support, the European Space Agency has shut down subsystem production lines for the Automated Transfer Vehicle as member states debate how they will contribute to future international space exploration efforts, according to industry officials.

The huge cargo freighters, weighing more than 20 tons fully loaded, will stop flying in 2014 when the fifth resupply craft delivers equipment to the International Space Station.

ESA member states decided to discontinue the program after briefly considering redesigning the throwaway cargo craft to return hardware in a hardened re-entry capsule.

Three ATVs have launched since 2008, including a spacecraft now docked to the orbiting outpost. Two more spacecraft are due to launch in 2013 and 2014, and assembly of those vehicles has progressed enough to allow officials to shut down vendor production of the ATV's subsystems, according to UK's Bob Chesson, Program Manager of ESA's human spaceflight directorate.

The parts for the two remaining ATVs are mostly delivered to assembly plants in Italy and Germany, where the spacecraft's two main components are integrated.

"If we wanted to reopen production lines, there is a significant obsolescence problem at the equipment [and] component level," Chesson told reporters.

ESA launched the $2 billion development of the Automated Transfer Vehicle to pay the agency's share of the space station's common operating costs.

Instead of exchanging money, the space station's partners prefer to arrange barter agreements to pay debts for operating costs and launch services. Each ATV mission costs about $600 million.

ESA managers are consulting the agency's member states on the alternatives to pay their share of the station's operating costs. Officials expect representatives of the member states to decide on an option, or barter element, at a ministerial council meeting in November.

One option, tentatively favoured by Germany but dismissed by Italian and French space officials, is to sign an agreement with NASA to supply a service module to the Orion crew capsule, or multipurpose crew vehicle. The service module would be based on the ATV's propulsion section.

Germany is Europe's largest contributor to the space station program, followed by France and Italy.
Engineers in the United States and Europe are studying the scenario. Lockheed Martin Corp., the Orion spacecraft's manufacturer, is currently on contract to build the vehicle's service module.

The ATV service vehicle is built by EADS' Astrium Space Transportation.

Chesson said any derivative of the ATV will require major upgrades and a redesign of the avionics system to ensure modern components are commercially available. Such changes could put upward pressure on the cost of a follow-on to the ATV.

Instrumentation, cables and avionics being built up for the ATV 4 mission. Credit: ESA

The ATV consists of the service module and a pressurized cargo carrier, built in Italy by Thales Alenia Space, to uplift supplies, propellant, water and breathing air to the space station.

The automated spacecraft is now the largest resupply vehicle flying to the space station, following the retirement of the NASA Space Shuttle.

It is capable of transferring tons of rocket fuel into the outpost's Russian segment, reboosting the lab's orbit, and delivering hundreds of bags of food, clothing, experiments and other gear.

Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said the space station's demand for propellant will decrease in the next few years, curtailing the program's need for a large fuel-carrying freighter like the ATV.

"That's allowed us to essentially fill up the propellant tanks aboard the space station, so at this point, the unique capability of the Automated Transfer Vehicle to carry propellant is not needed," Gerstenmaier said in the March 28 testimony to the House Science Committee.

Commercial flights by U.S. spacecraft are expected to make up the rest of the lost capacity when the ATV program ends.

Acting as the space station program's chief integrator, NASA plans to request the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to order more H-2 Transfer Vehicles to cover that country's slice of the lab's operating costs.

JAXA is developing a returnable version of the HTV to fly as soon as late 2017, assuming funding to develop the modified spacecraft clears Japanese government budget-writers.

If approved, the re-entry upgrade, called HTV-R, could enter service before the end of the decade, bringing back to Earth up to 3,500 pounds of cargo on each flight.

"HTV provides a unique capability," Gerstenmaier said. "It can carry external cargo, which is important to us. It also has a large hatch where you can carry full research racks across to the space station."

Gerstenmaier told lawmakers NASA would like to have four HTVs fly after 2015. The last of seven HTVs currently on contract would launch in 2016, so two or three additional missions may be required through 2020.

ESA ATV-s, Edoardo Amaldi: Unloading the Automated Transfer Vehicle, ATV3

Unloading the Automated Transfer Vehicle, ATV3. in near Zero Gravity.

The future for Space Tourists and their Food

Space tourism is just around the corner. Some people are worried about the costs, others the safety. But for foodies on board, there might be an altogether more pressing question: what’s for dinner?

Eating in space is a notoriously difficult problem - not only is it hard to get the food into astronauts’ mouths in the first place, but the sense of taste is severely limited at zero gravity.

Traditionally then, astronauts have had to make do with foil-packed and dehydrated goods that do little to tickle the taste buds.

Of course, astronauts are in space to work, so they can’t complain too much. Space tourists, on the other hand, are paying well for the experience and, as such, are likely to be fussier customers. So what might they expect?

In anticipation of this year's National Science and Engineering Week in the UK, artistic food designers The Robin Collective joined forces with space nutrition specialist Brian Ratcliffe from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland, and astronaut Helen Sharman, who was the first Briton in space.

Their challenge was to see if they could overcome some of the culinary obstacles that dining in orbit, or on a really long space mission, would present.

At the venue, the Futures Gallery in London’s Science Museum, we were handed a sludgy green 'Cosmic Cocktail’ which turned out to be a spirulina caipirinha.

Spirulina is a microalgae normally available in health shops. Normally disgusting, when jazzed up as a Brazilian cocktail, it can taste surprisingly delicious.

Astronauts don’t drink alcohol in space, but space tourists are surely going to want to let their hair down on the trip, especially if it takes years to reach their destination.

Packed with protein, micronutrients, and antioxidants a spirulina caipirinha could be just the ticket.

 

(Credit: Nasa)

Other than the ensuing hangovers, one unpleasant experience space tourists might complain of is what’s known as the ‘Charlie Brown’ effect.

That’s when body fluids, in the absence of gravity, travel up instead of down. This can cause swelling which blocks the sinuses, and like a bad head cold, limits sense of smell and therefore taste.

That means foods need to pack in more flavour than they do back on earth.

The dehydrated Mars Breakfast Bar the team serves up promises to deliver all the flavour of a full English breakfast in a few bites. After taking the tiniest bite, the overwhelming taste of bacon and salt makes you wonder if you would enjoy it more if you really were suffering from the Charlie Brown effect.

Concentrating flavours into tiny packages isn't only down to the need to pack light, there is very little to cook with in space.

For a start, there’s no convection, heat doesn’t rise, so traditional cooking methods are very limited.

The now popular culinary technique of freeze-drying was first developed by NASA, and has become essential to creating astronaut entrées.

Water heated over hot pipes can be used to rehydrate dishes like ramen noodles, and of course no space meal would be complete without freeze dried ‘astronaut’ ice cream.

Less delicious though were the freeze-dried noodles that were supposed to taste like a roast dinner. The “Big Dipper Dab” freeze-dried raspberries and sherbet were also mouth-wincingly sour.

Crumbs
Crumbs are an issue in space, as they float off and can get stuck in undesirable places, so tortillas are a carb of choice for astronauts.

Our next dish was a twist on a US tradition, peanut butter and jam on tiny tortillas. That might not sound revolutionary, but eating familiar foods is really important when you’re so far from home comforts, says Sharman: “It flies you back to where you were on earth.”

One of the problems will be trying to get space tourists to consume enough nutrients (especially when food tastes duller than it does on earth), without the availability of fresh foods.

That challenge is a bit like trying to get to kids to eat a healthy packed lunch: you have to make it more fun.

According to Sharman, any food you can throw into your peers’ mouths will be a hit in space.

‘Martianmallows’ then should be a hot commodity. The tiny treats were fortified with nutrients, and some came coated with coffee for a space-friendly caffeine fix. They were delicious and light, and seemed like they would be perfect for playing with in zero gravity.

If the future of space food tastes as good as those poppable marshmallows, the challenge won’t be getting tourists to eat enough, it will be making sure they can still fit into their space suits for the journey back home.

Antispila oinophylla: New moth species invades Italy's Chardonnay vineyards

Antispila oinophylla: A moth with a taste for Chardonnay leaves, which has infested vineyards across northern Italy, is a new species of leafminer, scientists say. 

The pest was first discovered by Italian scientists in 2006, but they were unable to identify it.

Now, by examining a snippet of the moth's genetic code, researchers have confirmed that it is a previously unnamed species.

The team published their findings in the journal ZooKeys.

The Italian team enlisted the help of insect expert Erik van Nieukerken from the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity in Leiden.

"We first turned to the [scientific] literature to find out what was already known, which was appallingly little for this group [of moths]," Dr van Nieukerken said.

He and his colleagues used a method known as DNA barcoding to examine a section of the insect's genetic code.

New Species
The new species, which now bears the name Antispila oinophylla, had previously been confused with a North American species (Antispila ampelopsifoliella), which feeds on Virginia creeper.

Only the genetic studies revealed it to be a different species with a taste for grapevines. Its native range is across eastern North America, where it feeds on several species of wild grapes.

So far, the species has been found in vineyards in Italy's Trento and Veneto regions, spreading and increasing in population since it was first recorded.


Read More here : New moth species invades Italy's vineyards

NASA Space food: Astronauts' Breakfast

Breakfast: Experimental space diet. Cheese grits, eggs, corn flakes, coffee!

NASA ISS: Storage and Preparation of Dehydrated Food

Dehydrated Food in a bag



ISS on board multi-purpose incubator, fridge and freezer.

US Food Heater for ISS Crew

Hot dog! Ready-to-eat meat contains few cancerous compounds

If given the choice between eating a hot dog or enjoying some rotisserie chicken, consider the hot dog.

That’s because hot dogs, as well as pepperoni and deli meats, are relatively free of carcinogenic compounds, according to Kansas State University research. But it’s a not-so-happy ending for bacon and rotisserie chicken — especially chicken skin — because both have higher levels of cancerous material.

J. Scott Smith, professor of food chemistry, and a K-State research team have been looking at such ready-to-eat meat products to determine their levels of heterocyclic amines, or HCAs.

These are carcinogenic compounds found in meat that is fried, grilled or cooked at high temperatures. Studies have shown that humans who consume large amounts of HCAs in meat products have increased risk of stomach, colon and breast cancers.

Ready-to-eat meat products are meat or poultry products that come in edible forms and don’t need additional preparation or cooking. Smith has already researched HCA levels in cooked meat and found that adding certain spices and marinades before cooking can reduce HCA content in the meat.

The ready-to-eat product project was a collaboration with several other K-State researchers, including Terry Houser, assistant professor of meat science; Melvin Hunt, professor of animal sciences and industry; Kanithaporn Puangsombat, December 2010 doctoral graduate in food science, Bangkok, Thailand; and Priyadarshini Gadgil, a K-State graduate who now works as a research scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Grain and Animal Health Research in Manhattan. Their research appears in a recent issue of Meat Science, the journal of the American Meat Science Association.

The study focuses on eight types of ready-to-eat meat products: beef hot dogs, beef-pork-turkey hot dogs, deli roast beef, deli ham, deli turkey, fully cooked bacon, pepperoni and rotisserie chicken.

“These are the most common types of ready-to-eat products, and their use has increased in recent years because of convenience,” Smith said. “For this research, we took each of these products and prepared them as a consumer would.”

The researchers heated up the hot dogs and bacon in a microwave, cooked the pepperoni on a pizza either in the oven or a microwave and used the chicken and deli meat as obtained. After doing so, they studied the meat to determine whether it contained five different types of HCAs according to nanograms per gram, ng/g.

Pepperoni had the least HCA content, 0.05 ng/g, followed by hot dogs and deli meat, 0.5 ng/g). Such amounts are low, and the researchers concluded that consuming such ready-to-eat meat products contributes very little to HCA intake.

Fully cooked bacon, with 1.1 ng/g, and rotisserie chicken meat, with 1.9 ng/g, contained all five types of HCAs tested. Rotisserie chicken skin had significantly higher HCA levels, with 16.3 ng/g. This is because chicken skin contains more fat and protein and less moisture, and HCA levels tend to increase as moisture decreases, Smith said.

“Based on this research, HCA consumption can be reduced by not eating chicken skin,” he said.

The reasons for lower HCA content in some of the other ready-to-eat products may be because of the higher water content in the ready-to-eat products. More moisture prevents many HCAs from forming. Ready-to-eat products are often enhanced products, meaning they have a water solution with flavoring added to them.

“Hot dogs and deli meat may have low HCA levels because they are manufactured at low temperatures,” Smith said. “The low HCA levels may also be from ingredients that are added to the meat and prevent HCAs from forming while the meat is cooking.”

ESA Astronaut Paolo Nespoli at the ISS food warmer!

ESA Astronaut Paolo Nespoli using the ISS Food Warmer, in the ISS 'kitchen'

Argentine soya boom a blow to corn growers

Argentine soya boom a blow to corn growers

Argentina's record crops of soybean have caused dismay among corn and sunflower growers who see the government's emphasis on lucrative soybean exports as a potential blow to their agricultural crops, essential to food security.

Last year Argentina earned about $24 billion from soybean exports, which are now seen by many growers as a good money spinner when compared with conventional crops such as corn.

The farmers' protests are having little effect on soybean enthusiasts, who were drawn to this year's forecasts of a record bumper crop likely to exceed 50 million tons -- 5 million tons more than last year. The soybean is now commonly called "green gold" -- a reference to its high earning potential.

The Rosario Chamber of Commerce said the soybean crop yield was likely to reach the record level despite a chronic drought and disincentives such as unpopular government export taxes.

Britain (UK) Throws Away $20 Billions of Food

A new report from Britain has found that more than $20 billion of consumable food and drink is throw away in the country each year.

The study by the Waste and Resources Action Program, or WRAP — a group created by the British government to investigate waste and packaging — found Britain’s food waste amounts to an estimated 6.6 million tons per year.

“We throw away a staggering $20 billion of food and drink that could have been consumed, either because we cook or prepare too much, or because we let it go off,” said Dr. Richard Swannell, the director of retail and organics for WRAP, in an e-mail message.

“Research in both Australia and the U.S.A. shows that significant amounts of food are also wasted by households,” Dr. Swannell added.

The WRAP report is the first of its kind in Britain to include liquid waste. The report found that British consumers throw away abouit $460 million of milk, $417 million of soft drinks and $180 million of tea every year.

“If we stopped wasting food that could have been eaten, we could prevent at least 15 million tons of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions each year,” the report concluded. “The majority of these emissions are associated with embedded energy, but a significant proportion arises as a result of food waste going to landfill sites.”

Once placed in a landfill, the organic breakdown of food, along with other wastes, produces methane, a substantially more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Britain’s Food Climate Research Network estimates that 20 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food production, distribution and storage.

Britain’s 2009 budget indicates that landfill taxes are set to increase. The budget estimates landfill tax revenues in excess of $1.6 billion over the next several years.

WRAP said it aims to reduce consumer food waste by 250,000 tons by March 2011, which the group says would save 1.1 million tons of carbon-dioxide emissions.

Healthy Foods That May Help Fight Against Prostate Cancer

Are we wholly convinced that eating a healthy diet helps protect us from all sorts of ailments, or are we only half convinced?

Some of us think that green apples are better for us and some prefer red but most of the time we are just looking at the skin. The real nutritional value is on the inside. Let's look deeper.

Some foods are healthier than others and some may even help protect you from, or reduce the risk of, developing chronic conditions e.g. cancer, primarily bowel and intestinal cancers.

However, knowing exactly which foods are beneficial and which ones are harmful can help to shape a diet to achieve its maximum health potential.

Prostrate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and although not every man dies of prostrate cancer, a very large proportion of elderly men do develop it, late in life. Even men who die of heart conditions, and other chronic diseases will also have a certain level of prostrate cancer.

So, let us take a good hard look at foods that may help protect you against prostate cancer or at least reduce the risk of developing it, until very late in life. Here are a few.

1. Tomatoes

The Active ingredient(s) we like here is; Lycopene, an antioxidant

Lycopene is an antioxidant compound, a carotenoid, which gives tomatoes their red colouring. It is also one of the most widely studied anti-cancer agents. A 2004 review of all the studies to date on tomatoes found a slight reduction in the risk of developing prostate cancer in men with high blood levels of lycopene or with diets rich in tomatoes. In 2007, however, the largest study of its kind disputed these results.

Fortunately, further studies of greater quality are currently underway that will hopefully clarify the situation. Whilst waiting on those results, it is well to note that tomatoes are still chock-full of other beneficial vitamins and antioxidants and, therefore, this little red fruit should be a part of any healthy diet.

How best to prepare them? When it comes to tomatoes, the general rule of thumb is to add heat and low cholesterol fats, whenever possible. The more processed the tomatoes and the longer you cook them, the more lycopene is released. Adding fat in the way of oils or meats will also improve lycopene absorption. So, a long slow cook that produces a delicious pasta sauce, is just what the doctors order.

2. Broccoli

The Active ingredient(s) here is; Sulforaphane, among others

You should always eat your broccoli. In fact, all cruciferous vegetables, like cauliflower, kale and brussels sprouts, appear to offer good anti-cancer benefits. Although it’s still not clear which of the many beneficial chemicals or compounds found in broccoli is most responsible for protecting your health, sulforaphane has been the most widely investigated.

Just how does it prevent cancer? Well, sulforaphane might act as an antioxidant itself or it may instead boost detoxifying enzymes in the body. Regardless of how broccoli helps, it’s clear that it is a potent anti-prostate cancer vegetable. Some experts even suggest that it’s one of the strongest anti-cancer fighters we have. The Chinese are certainly big fans.

How best should you prepare it? When it comes to the method of preparing your broccoli, there is no clear-cut champion, so try to mix things up each time you dine. Eat it raw sometimes, steamed others, and if you boil it, try not to overcook it. Mixing it with other anti-prostate cancer foods such as tomatoes may even enhance anti-cancer effects according to one study done on mice.

3. Soy

The Active ingredient(s) here is; Isoflavones, such as genistein, daidzein and glycitein

Soy refers to the soybean, a high-protein legume that comes in many consumer-friendly forms including soy milk, tofu and protein powder. Soy is promoted for its protective properties against many cancers, among them prostate cancer. The effects of soy are thought to be due to isoflavones, compounds that are sometimes called plant estrogens because they mimic the actions of human estrogen, but in plants.

A number of laboratory, animal and population-based studies have shown soy to be an anti-prostate cancer food. However, these results still need to be confirmed in clinical trials. Even without those results, simply using soy as a replacement for meat or dairy may be beneficial on its own, since diets high in meats and dairy tend to increase the risk of certain cancers.

How best should you prepare it? The amount of isoflavone varies by type of soy product and there is generally no rule to help you pick one product over another. Until there is, just keep meals varied and opt for soy products instead of meats and dairy from time to time.

4. Flax

The Active ingredient(s) here is; Lignans, and alpha linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid)

Flax is an annual plant used in making the fabric known as linen. Although flaxseed is high in omega-3, it is also rich in lignans, a class of phytoestrogen that may act as an antioxidant. Both flaxseed and its oil have been promoted as anti-cancer substances since the early 1950s, but only recently has any solid evidence emerged.

Unfortunately, only a handful of small studies have investigated the link between flax and prostate cancer in humans, but the results all look promising. Of course, further studies will be needed to definitively close the chapter on flax and cancer, but that shouldn’t keep you from getting your flax fix.

How best should you prepare it? As far as versatility is concerned, flaxseed is certainly the most flexible of the anti-prostate cancer foods. Flaxseed is available in flour, meal and seed form and can be found in multigrain breads, cereals, breakfast bars, and even muffins. Flaxseed oil can also be found in pure liquid form or as capsules.

You Are What You Eat
Rigorous research takes time, money and effort, unfortunately, one, if not two, may be lacking. There are simply so many foods and supplements available that researching them all is not only impractical, but likely impossible.

Having said that, the key to preventing prostate cancer via diet is to eat a well-balanced meal, including all of the above foods, along with a hearty serving of other fruits and vegetables. You can dabble in meats and dairy, but if possible, keep your dabbling to a minimum.

Don't go Hungry, Eat Your Cotton Socks!

It's as true in today's world as it was in the antebellum South: cotton is king.

The plant has been cultivated for its fiber for over 7,000 years, and today it's grown by more than 20 million farmers in some 80 countries.

But while cotton accounts for nearly 40% of the fiber used worldwide to make clothing, there's one thing the plant has never been able to do well: feed people.

Cottonseeds are a rich source of protein--the current cotton crop produces enough seeds to meet the daily requirements of half a billion people a year. But the seeds can be consumed only after an extensive refining process removes the gossypol, a toxic chemical that helps protect the plant from insect and microbe infestation.

"People, pigs, chickens--none of us can stomach gossypol," says Kater Hake, vice president of agricultural research for the industry group Cotton Inc. Only cows and other ruminants can handle it.

Remove the gossypol, however, and you'd have a cheap and abundant form of protein for everyone. But get rid of all the gossypol, as plant breeders did in the 1950s, and insects will devour the defenseless cotton. Enter Keerti Rathore, a professor at Texas A&M University, who found a way around the problem through genetic engineering.

In new field-trial data, Rathore's team demonstrated that it can turn off the genes that stimulate the production of gossypol in the cottonseeds while the rest of the plant keeps its natural defenses. "This research potentially opens the door to utilizing safely the more than 40 million tons of cottonseed produced annually as a large, valuable protein source," says Norman Borlaug, an American agronomist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for developing high-yield wheat varieties that have helped increase the world's food supply.

Rathore used a new technique, called RNA interference, to construct a genetic sequence that blocked the gossypol-producing enzyme in the seeds only. After succeeding in the lab, he began a test in a greenhouse to see if the genetically modified cotton plant would survive and pass on its new trait.

Rathore's just-compiled data show that the modified cotton appears to be normal in every way other than the fact that it has instantly edible seeds. "What works in the greenhouse should hold true in the fields," he says. By the way he also says "It takes like chick peas!"