Space Station Astronauts Grow a Water Bubble in Space

During Expedition 40 in the summer of 2014, NASA astronauts Steve Swanson and Reid Wiseman, along with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst, explored the phenomenon of water surface tension in microgravity on the International Space Station.

The crew "submerged" a sealed GoPro camera into a floating ball of water the size of a softball and recorded the activity with a 3-D camera. (Video: NASA)

Note: You will need red-blue stereoscopic 3D vision glasses to view the video.

NASA Contest: Name a Space Station Droid

This scenario shows NASA's free-flying robot in action. 

The space agency has teamed up with TopCoder in a contest to name the new space robot.

Credit: NASA /Topcoder

NASA needs your help to name a new space robot, and you could win some cash doing it.

NASA officials are asking space fans around the world to help name, and design a mission patch for, a new free-flying robot expected to launch to the International Space Station in 2017.

The first-place winner of the challenge will receive $1,000. Officials with the space agency put out the call to any interested space fans during a packed session here at New York Comic Con on Saturday (Oct. 11).

"We have this new free-flying robot that we're building," Jason Crusan, director of NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems division, told a full house at Comic Con. "We don't know what to call it.

'Free-flying robot' sounds kind of boring and not all that exciting, so we're asking you to actually name the robot for us."

Second, third and fourth place also come with cash prizes. Second place will win $500, with third and fourth prize taking home $250 each. NASA has teamed up with Topcoder to organize the contest.

If an artist's depiction of the new space automaton is any indication, the new robot may look like something out of "Star Wars."

In the artist's concept, the robot could appear as a small, ball-shaped droid that will use fans to move itself around the interior of the International Space Station. It is expected to be able to fly itself, or be operated by remote control.

The new free-flying bot would join a group of other free-fliers already on the station. NASA's SPHERES robots (the name is short for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) are already used on the orbiting outpost.

The program has been running for seven years, and is designed to help scientists test robotics hardware and software in microgravity.

The SPHERES robots and the new robot should be able to move around autonomously, but humans living and working on the orbiting outpost can also control the satellites.

"As the push for manned and automated exploration of the solar system expands, NASA and the NASA Ames Research Center are creating controlled and autonomous robotic devices capable of supplementing flight crew," officials wrote in a description of the challenge on the Topcoder website.

"These 'free-flying robots' will eventually extend the research and exploration capabilities of astronauts, as they are capable of working during off-hours and (eventually) in extreme environments."

To participate in the NASA challenge to name the new robot, space fans need to register with Topcoder. Participants will reach a checkpoint where they will receive feedback on their initial designs on Oct. 22, and the challenge ends on Oct. 27. Officials will announce the winners of the competition on Nov. 2.

ISS Astronauts broadcast multimedia experience from Space Station - Video

Nasa's Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) and ESA's Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) posting incredible content captured from the International Space Station on their Twitter feeds.

In between conducting ISS experiments and research, the astronauts are taking videos, timelapses, Vines, photos and panoramas on the ISS.

The pair have so far shown off the Earth's beauty like never before, posting some fascinating demonstrations of zero gravity, inserting cameras into water bubbles and giving insight into daily life at the station.



This timelapse video from space was taken by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst from the Cupola observatory module on the International Space Station as it orbited Earth at around 400 km altitude.

As the Space Station passes over Earth at night we can see city lights and lightning.

Below is a Vine clip of the spectacular Aurora Borealis taken from the ISS.

Newly Expanded Space Station Crew Tackles Research and EVA Spacewalk Preparation

NASA Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman photo showing Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore (left) and ESA's Alexander Gerst at work in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA

The International Space Station’s Expedition 41 crew, which doubled the number of humans in space when three new crew members arrived last week, began its first full work week schedule as a six-person crew Monday with biological research and preparations for a pair of U.S. spacewalks.

Alex Samokutyaev

Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova joined their Expedition 41 crewmates on the station early Friday following a six-hour, four-orbit trek aboard their Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft from the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova are slated to spend 5 ½ months aboard the station.

Max Suraev

Commander Max Suraev and Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst, who arrived on May 28, will return to Earth in November.

Shortly after the usual 2 a.m. EDT reveille, the entire crew conducted body mass measurements, inspected their orbital home and participated in a daily planning conference with the flight control teams around the world to review the day’s activities.

Yelena Serova

For Wiseman, Gerst and Wilmore, most of those activities were centered primarily on gearing up for their upcoming spacewalks.

During an Oct. 7 excursion outside the station, Wiseman and Gerst will transfer a previously uninstalled pump module from its temporary stowage location to the External Stowage Platform-2.

The two spacewalkers also will install the Mobile Transporter Relay Assembly (MTRA) that adds the capability to provide “keep-alive” power to the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) when the Mobile Transporter is moving between worksites.

Wiseman and Gerst spent some time reviewing the procedures for that spacewalk and later participated in a conference call with spacewalk specialists on the ground.

Wilmore meanwhile began “scrubbing” the cooling loops of the U.S. spacesuits, including the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment that he will wear under his own spacesuit when he joins Wiseman for the second Expedition 41 spacewalk on Oct. 15.

Wiseman completed the spacesuit water recharge in the afternoon and Gerst checked in on the Zebrafish Muscle study.

Zebra Danios

He assessed the water condition inside the Aquatic Habitat, which is housing a school of spacefaring fish popularly known in the aquarium trade as Zebra Danios.

ISS Re-supply Missions: Five spaceships parked at the Space Station

Five spacecraft are parked at the International Space Station including the Soyuz TMA-14M and Dragon which docked this week. 

Credit: NASA

Mars isn't the only place in the Solar System that was busy this week with arriving spacecraft.

This week the International Space Station welcomed two arriving spacecraft, bringing the total of docked ships at the ISS to five.

Last night, the Expedition 41/42 crew arrived—peeling in on one solar panel on their Soyuz TMA-14M, with the first female cosmonaut to be part of an ISS crew,

Elena Serova along with her crewmates cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev, and NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore.

They took the Soyuz "fast track," arriving at the station in just under six hours after launch.

One of the craft's solar panels jammed and couldn't deploy, but the crew docked to Poisk docking compartment without indecent.

The arrival of Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova returns the station's crew complement to six.

Already on board are Commander Max Suraev of Roscosmos, Reid Wiseman of NASA and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency. They have been aboard the complex since May.

Earlier this week, on September 23, the SpaceX Dragon capsule arrived with over 2.5 tons of science experiments and supplies for the crew.

Also docked to the space station is the Soyuz ship that will take Suraev, Wiseman and Gerst home, a Progress resupply ship and the European ATV-5 supply ship.

There are two more cargo missions targeted to launch to the space station before the end of the year.

Orbital Sciences just announced October 20 as the next launch date for their Cygnus commercial space freighter.

It will occupy the same Harmony node port as Dragon when it leaves in a few weeks. When Cygnus vacates the Harmony node port, SpaceX CRS-5 will replace it in December.

New Space Station Crew Docks with Stuck Solar Array - Video

The Soyuz TMA-14M failed to deploy one of its solar arrays en-route to the International Space Station. The power aboard the spacecraft was not interrupted. They docked about 6 hours after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

ESA Space Station Astronaut 90 Minute Orbit Time-Lapse into 51 seconds Video

ISS crew member ESA's Alexander Gerst captured a complete orbit of Earth.

The station orbits the Earth roughly every 90 minutes and therefore passes from day to night, back to day in that time-period.

An Aurora Borealis can be seen in the night time portion of the video.

Expedition 41 Astronauts Welcomed Aboard Space Station

The new six-member Expedition 41 crew gathers in the Zvezda service module for a welcoming ceremony with family and friends in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Image Credit: NASA TV

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova joined their Expedition 41 crewmates when the hatches between the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft and the International Space Station officially opened at 1:06 a.m. EDT.

Expedition 41 Commander Max Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman of NASA and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, who arrived at the station in May, welcomed the new crew members aboard their orbital home.

Shortly after docking with the International Space Station, the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft's port solar array deployed successfully.

Earlier, the solar array had failed to deploy when the Soyuz reached orbit.

The image of the spacecraft's approach, taken from the ISS, clearly shows only one solar array has been deployed.

NASA and Roscosmos officials have confirmed that the array poses no long term issue to either standard operations at the station for Expedition 41-42, or for the landing of Barry Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova at the conclusion of their mission in March.

ESA’s “Georges Lemaître” ATV-5 docked at the ISS.

Credit: ESA

There are now five spacecraft docked to the station its maximum visiting vehicle capacity.

There are two Soyuz vehicles, one Progress 56 resupply ship, Europe’s “Georges Lemaître” ATV-5 and the SpaceX Dragon commercial space freighter which arrived Tuesday morning.

The new crew floated into their new home for a welcoming ceremony and congratulatory calls from family, friends and mission officials in Baikonur.

After the ceremony ended the new crew will underwent a mandatory safety orientation to familiarize themselves with escape paths and procedures and locations of safety gear.

Russian Soyuz TMA-14M Capsule Reaches Space Station - Solar Array Deployment Issue

A Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft, with only one of its two solar arrays deployed, is seen nearing the International Space Station on Sept. 25, 2014 (Eastern Time) to deliver three new members of the Expedition 41 crew. 

The stuck solar array did not hinder the Soyuz capsule's single-day trip to the space station.

Credit: NASA TV

A Russian-built Soyuz capsule carrying a crew of three reached the International Space Station late Thursday (Sept. 25), despite a stuck solar array that failed to deploy just after its launch six hours earlier.

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft linked up with the station at 10:11 p.m. EDT (0211 GMT) as the two spacecraft sailed high over the Pacific Ocean.

The Soyuz arrived at the space station with American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts, including Elena Serova, the first female cosmonaut ever to visit the International Space Station.

Russia's Soyuz vehicles are three-person spacecraft made up of a crew capsule, orbital module and service module powered by two winglike solar arrays.

Initially, Russian engineers were concerned the stuck solar array would block a radiator and lead to hotter temperatures inside the Soyuz, but the capsule's crew reported all was well, NASA officials said.



The Soyuz clearly had enough power for a smooth docking, despite being at half-capacity.

"The port solar array isn't deployed but the power situation is fine. It just doesn't look good from the point of view of photographs," one of the Soyuz crew said during the docking.

"We're eating and drinking, and we're in good spirits. Everything is as it should be."

The docking occurred just hours after a flawless launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where Serova and her crewmates, NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore and cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev, bid farewell to Earth to begin a nearly six-month space mission.

Trio joined three other space travelers already aboard the station: astronaut Reid Wiseman of NASA; Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency; and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suarev, who commands the station's Expedition 41 crew.

That little red streak hidden behind the SpaceX Dragon solar array is the Soyuz launching.

SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft arrival at Space Station - Video

The private space company's cargo spacecraft delivered supplies, a 3-D printer and more to the International Space Station on September 23rd, 2014.

A private Dragon cargo ship built by SpaceX arrived at the International Space Station today (Sept. 23) to deliver more than 2 tons of astronaut supplies and experiments for NASA, including the first 3D printer in space and an intrepid crew of 20 lab mice.

After a two-day chase, the Dragon spacecraft caught up to the orbiting laboratory at 6:52 a.m. EDT (1052GMT).

European astronaut Alexander Gerst used the space station's huge robotic arm to grab the capsule with help from NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman.

The spacecraft is packed with 5,000 lbs. (2,268 kilograms) of experiments and supplies.

NASA's Robonaut 2 Droid Gets Its Legs on Space Station

NASA astronaut Steve Swanson poses with the robot Robonaut 2 on the International Space Station after completing an upgrade that gave the robot legs.

Credit: NASA/Steve Swanson

Look out, astronauts, your companion robot on the International Space Station is now mobile!

NASA's Robonaut 2 has received a set of legs that will help it move around the station, and will eventually enable the bot to work on repairs both inside and outside the orbiting outpost.

NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, who commanded the station's Expedition 40 crew, helped attach the appendages to the humanoid robot in late August before returning to Earth last week.

The legs will help the robot move around the space station to complete simple tasks.

Later this year, after a few changes to its upper body, later this year, Robonaut 2 will use its new legs to venture outside for its first spacewalk as well.

"You can only do so much if you're fixed on a stanchion, which is what we've been on for the past couple of years," Ron Diftler, principal investigator for the Robonaut project, said in a televised interview on NASA Television. "With the addition of legs, we'll be able to go mobile."



While the upper half of Robonaut looks a lot like a human, the legs don't resemble a person's legs very much.

Instead of feet, the robot has clamps that allow it to latch onto and climb up on objects.

The legs are also longer than human legs, a span of 9 feet (2.7 meters), and are more flexible, giving the robot more ways to cling to things inside or outside the station.

"In space, you don't use your human legs in the way you use them on the ground," Diftler said. "We didn't adhere to the human form because it didn't make any sense."

"NASA researchers did not even have legs in mind when they sent Robonaut 2 to the space station in 2011, but it was possible to add the appendages with some upgrades to the robot's wiring and computer systems."



The legs were flown to the space station aboard a cargo ship in April.Yet, even while it was fixed in place, Robonaut 2 was occasionally used by space station crews.

In February 2012, Robonaut shook hands with Expedition 30 commander Dan Burbank, and earlier this year, the bot used a "task board" to test its ability to manipulate knobs, switches and buttons.

More recently, Robonaut has been put to work moving "soft goods," such as covers that provide thermal protection for space station components.

Last year, astronaut Tom Marshburn tested teleoperating Robonaut, using virtual reality gear to control the robot and have it catch a free-floating object.

Space Station to welcome 1st Female Russian Crewmember This Month

A Russian cosmonaut is poised to make a bit of history this when she launches to the International Space Station this month, even if she considers the mission a routine spaceflight.

When cosmonaut Elena Serova launches to the station on Sept. 25 with two other crew mates, she will become the International Space Station's first-ever female Russian crew member and only the fourth female cosmonaut to reach space.

She'll also be the first female Russian cosmonaut to fly in the 17 years since cosmonaut Yelena Kondakova's STS-84 space shuttle mission in May 1997 but Serova, 38, said she doesn't see her mission any differently than that of a male cosmonaut.

"I wouldn't say I am doing more ... than what my colleagues are doing," she said in translated remarks during a preflight briefing at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in July.

Elena Serova will be the fourth female cosmonaut to fly in space during Expedition 41/42 in 2014.

Credit: NASA

Serova pointed out that women have gone into space before, and that her focus is on fulfilling her assigned duties as a flight engineer.

"I want to perform my job really well," she said.

In 1963, Russia (then part of the Soviet Union) was the first nation to fly a woman in space, sending Valentina Tereshkova aloft in June of that year on a mission that lasted nearly three days in Earth orbit.

The Expedition 41/42 crew includes, from left, Barry Wilmore (NASA), Alexander Samokutyaev (Roscosmos) and Elena Serova (Roscosmos).

Credit: NASA

Svetlana Savitskaya was the second Soviet female cosmonaut, making two flights into space in 1982 and 1984 and staying aboard the Salyut 7 space station.

She also was the first female to peform a spacewalk.

The United States didn't send its first woman to space until 1983, when Sally Ride blasted off.

Dozens of women from the United States and other nations have flown since, but only one other from Russia: Kondakova.

She made two trips to the Mir space station, in 1994 (on a Soyuz capsule) and 1997 (on a space shuttle).

Serova has said she's been fascinated by space since childhood, and that she always felt visiting the final frontier was possible.

"The door to space was opened to all women by Valentina Tereshkova," she said in a NASA interview.

Space Station: NanoRack’s CubeSat deployer suffers technical issues

In the grasp of the Japanese robotic arm, NanoRack’s CubeSat deployer releases a pair of miniature satellites last month.

Credit: NASA

Last week, two more of Planet Labs's shoebox-sized Earth imaging satellites launched themselves from aboard the International Space Station, the latest in a series of technical mysteries involving a commercially owned CubeSat deployer located outside Japan’s Kibo laboratory module.

Station commander Steve Swanson was storing some blood samples in one of the station’s freezers Friday morning when he noticed that the doors on NanoRack's cubesat deployer were open, said NASA mission commentator Pat Ryan.

Flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston determined that two CubeSats had been inadvertently released.

"No crew members or ground controllers saw the deployment. They reviewed all the camera footage and there was no views of it there either," Ryan said.

The satellites, owned by San Francisco-based Planet Labs, are part of a planned 100-member network designed to collect images of the entire Earth every 24 hours.

So far, 12 of 32 CubeSats delivered to the space station aboard a Cygnus cargo ship in July have been deployed, including four launched inadvertently, said NanoRacks spokeswoman Abby Dickes.

Satellite 'Flock' Launched From ISS Cubesat Cannon

Credit: NASA

In addition to the two Planet Labs satellites launched Thursday night, two more of the company’s satellites were released accidentally Aug. 23, a NASA status report shows.

The latest inadvertent deployment followed unsuccessful attempts Wednesday night to return NanoRack's CubeSat dispenser to service.

Troubleshooting efforts included jiggling the small robotic arm holding the dispenser in an attempt to get its doors to open, Ryan added.

Flight control teams are assessing whether to bring the deployer back inside the station or to try to release the remaining CubeSats still awaiting launch.

Space Station Crew Wraps Up Week With Medical Research

Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst enjoys the view of Earth from the windows in the cupola of the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA

The six-person Expedition 40 crew of the International Space Station wrapped up another workweek in space Friday supporting medical and physics research, maintaining station systems and gearing up for next week’s spacewalk.

Following the crew’s normal 2 a.m. EDT reveille, Commander Steve Swanson and Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst participated in a variety of experiments aimed at understanding the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body and developing countermeasures to mitigate the health risks.

This research is vitally important as NASA works toward sending humans on longer voyages beyond low Earth orbit.

Swanson began his day with the Sprint investigation, which measures the effectiveness of high-intensity, low-volume exercise training in minimizing the loss of muscle mass and bone density that occurs during spaceflight.

Station crew members currently work out around 2 ½-hours every day, and the researchers behind Sprint aim to reduce that total exercise time while maintaining crew fitness.

Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman, equipped with a bungee harness, exercises on the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT) in the Tranquility node of the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA

Wiseman meanwhile served as the subject for a session of the Cardio Ox study, which is investigating the risks of cardiovascular disease related to long-duration spaceflight.

With guidance from the ground team, Gerst performed an ultrasound scan on Wiseman and measured his blood pressure.

Results from this experiment will help researchers determine if biological markers of oxidative and inflammatory stress are elevated during and after spaceflight, and how those markers correlate with the long-term health changes in astronauts.

Wiseman also logged his meals and followed a prescribed diet for the Pro K study as nutritionists monitor how dietary changes may affect spaceflight-related bone loss.

For the Circadian Rhythms investigation, Gerst donned sensors and an armband monitor to track his body’s core temperature over a 36-hour period.

Since the station orbits the Earth 16 times a day, an astronaut’s body clock can get disrupted from experiencing a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes.

Results from this investigation will provide insights into the adaptations of the human autonomic nervous system in space and will help optimize crew schedules and workplace illumination.

Decontamination system to up research on space station

The in-orbit decontamination system inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) will enable advances in life science research aboard the International Space Station. 

Credit: NASA

Just like eating, drinking and even trying to wash your hair aboard the International Space Station, conducting science experiments in space is not a simple task for astronauts.

There are so many more factors for crews to consider than scientists on Earth have to worry about. If not contained, microgravity can turn gasses, dust, fluids and sharp objects into a floating nightmare.

Thanks to the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG), those aboard the space station have safely performed science experiments since 2002 without these worries.

They conducted hundreds of studies within the sealed, negative pressured, nine-cubic-foot work area, developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the European Space Agency.

The crew members put the MSG to good use for a wide range of microgravity research, including fluid physics, combustion science, materials science, biotechnology, fundamental physics and other investigations.

This helps researchers looking to understand the role of gravity in basic physical and chemical interactions.

Now NASA will add even more studies to the growing list of MSG participants. With the recent installation of a decontamination system, the facility gains the capability to host an entire additional research discipline—life science.

This upgrade was designed and manufactured by Huntsville's Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. in partnership with Marshall.

"We are really excited to be able to provide this new system that will enable astronauts aboard the space station the ability to conduct important life science research," said Lee Jordan, project manager of the MSG at Marshall.

"For example, with this system, crews can conduct experiments related to non-human cell biology that we couldn't do before in the MSG. The work we do aboard the space station is so vital because it helps us discover technologies that can lead to bettering our lives on Earth."

The decontamination system was designed with crew members' safety in mind by using high-power, ultraviolet, light-emitting diodes (UV LEDs) to sanitize surfaces inside the MSG.

This cleaning process takes only a matter of minutes before and after the crew conducts the experiments.

The sanitation process also removes airborne contaminants, such as biological and chemical impurities, and cleans up spills inside the glovebox, providing optimal accommodations for cell science and life science research.

It also has an exchangeable glove system that was redesigned to be better suited for these types of studies.

The system is based on the Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) method of disinfection where UV light, at sufficiently short wavelengths, is used to kill microorganisms.

NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, Expedition 38 flight engineer, prepares to test the ultraviolet light decontamination hardware, which will be used for life science experiments inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. 

Credit: NASA

"This application of UV has been an accepted practice for disinfection since the mid-20th century," said Lee.

"The DNA of the microorganism is disrupted by the UV radiation, leaving them unable to grow or reproduce. With this technology, it is possible to destroy more than 99.99 percent of all pathogens within seconds, without addition of chemicals, without harmful side effects, inexpensively, highly efficiently and absolutely reliably."

The UV LEDs incorporated in the system are manufactured by Sensor Electronic Technology Inc. of Columbia, South Carolina, and were developed in part through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Compact Mid-Ultraviolet Technology program in Arlington, Virginia.

Venice Lagoon from ISS Space Station

Credit: NASA

A narrow barrier island protects the Lagoon of Venice from storm waves in the northern Adriatic Sea, and breakwaters protect inlets to the lagoon. 

Red tiles on the roofs of Venice contrast with the grays of the sister city of Mestre, and the cities are joined by a prominent causeway. 

What appears to be another causeway joining the island to the airport (top right) is actually the combined wakes of many boats and water taxis shuttling between them. 

Palazzo Podestarile. City Hall from Mestre

Small, bright agricultural fields on well-drained soils (top left) contrast with the darker vegetation of back-bay swamps, where fishing is a popular pastime.

The water is turbid in the northern half of the lagoon, the result of heavy use by watercraft and of dense urban populations on the shores.

This turbidity and other issues of environmental concern led to the creation in 2002 of the Atlas of the Lagoon (Atlante della laguna), which was set up to document environmental conditions and to track changes. 

Today, the Atlante della laguna is available online (in Italian) and provides a comprehensive collection of interpretive maps and imagery, including astronaut photographs from the International Space Station. 

A detailed view of Venice in 2007 can be viewed here. A more detailed article on the use of astronaut photography to monitor environmental change in the Lagoon of Venice is available here.

The image was taken by the Expedition 39 crew. 

It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed.

NASA Space to Ground Video Update: New ISS Crew arrive at Space Station

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA

Russia to abandon Manned Space Station in 2020

Man in orbit might become history after 2020, as Russia sees no need to keep the ISS operating, announced Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. Manned flights make little profit for Russia's space agency, which might focus on other projects.

Russia's Roskosmos space corporation gets little commercial payback from the International Space Station despite spending up to 30 percent of its annual budget on the project, said Rogozin, who is also responsible for the defence industry.

"Our profit is flat low... so we see no business interest in it [going on with the ISS]. Would there be other commercial proposals [we'd consider them]," Rogozin said.

"There are rumors about Russia leaving the ISS project. We will not, the program is set to run until 2020 and we will stick to our international obligations. As for prolonging it till 2024 - that's what we are really doubtful of," Rogozin stressed.

"Simply circling the earth's orbit and earning something on cosmonaut delivery to space - that's not enough for this great space country [Russia]," Rogozin said, adding that Roskosmos needs an innovative space exploration plan that would imply a technological breakthrough from the technologies of the last century.

Roskosmos is due to deliver a preliminary plan by June 15, according to Rogozin.

"As for our manned flights plans beyond 2020 - we would probably have new projects with an expanded number of partners," he said, specifying that a general agreement has been reached with China and that negotiations of further Russia-China space cooperation are due to start in late June. India has also expressed interest in joint space exploration programs, he said.

The Chinese are making great progress in space exploration but it does not mean Moscow and Beijing are necessarily discussing development of a joint space station, Rogozin stressed.

Moscow to close US GPS Stations
Rogozin once again confirmed that Moscow is firmly set to shut down 11 American correctional GPS stations situated in Russia's 10 regions on June 1 if Washington continues to ignore Moscow's requests on deployment of similar stations on US territory.

If there is no reaction from the US by May 31, the GPS stations will suspend operation for the next three months.

If that does not help either, the operation of GPS stations in Russia will cease to exist by August 31, Rogozin promised, adding that this will not interfere with ordinary users of the system in Russia, because the information collected by these stations is being used primarily by the US military and national security agencies.

"These [GPS] stations are situated primarily alongside the Northern Sea Route and it is a big question why they were deployed on our territory in the mid-1990s and for what purpose," the Deputy PM said, stressing that once the stations are gone, "the American military would feel the difference, whereas Russian GPS users would not."

Russia to abandon ISS and develop a new Space Station with China

Russia is developing a national program of manned space explorations which will replace the International Space Station (ISS) program after 2020, the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, said Thursday.

"The development of the national strategy of manned spaceflight is underway now."

"Along with the Russian Academy of Sciences and the industrial sector we are preparing a certain concept beyond the ISS," Roscosmos Deputy Chief Sergei Savelyev told reporters at the 18th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

China and the European Space Agency (ESA), he added, were seen as the potential partners in the new strategy, but the key role will belong to Russia.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is in charge of space and defense sectors, said earlier in the week that Moscow had no plans to extend the operation of the ISS beyond 2020, though the United States had proposed to extend ISS cooperation after that year.

On Tuesday, Rogozin also threatened that from June 1 Moscow would shut down 11 U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) base stations on Russian territory in response to Washington's anti-Russia sanctions and its refusal to plant Russian Glonass ground base stations on U.S. territory.

Meanwhile, Roscosmos plans to resume talks over the placement of Glonass stations in the United States over the next few weeks, Savelyev said.

"I think it will happen in the very near future, over the next two or three weeks. It would still give us a chance to walk away from the unpleasant situation over sanctions and continue cooperation," the Interfax news agency quoted the official as saying.

CSA DEXTRE: Space Station Robotic Handyman To Replace Canadarm2 Camera - Video

Dextre, the Canadian robotic handyman on board the International Space Station, has done several repair and maintenance jobs to date, as well as the Robotic Refueling Mission technology demonstration, when he became the first robot to refuel a mock satellite in space.

The space bot is now poised to claim a first for robotkind: self-repair. This animation shows how Dextre will swap two cameras on Canadarm2 and the mobile base, which together form the three main components of Canada's Mobile Servicing System.

Dextre will start by retrieving a faulty camera located near Canadarm2's elbow joint. Since the camera is functional, but produces hazy images, Dextre will move it to a less critical location on the mobile base.

Dextre will then head over to Japan's Kibo module to fetch a camera from the module's transfer airlock, a type of sliding drawer that can be depressurized, where the station's crew will place it for Dextre to retrieve.

Dextre will install the new camera on Canadarm2's elbow joint, where it will provide critical views of the robotic arm's movements.

In addition to repairing and replacing two valuable cameras used for robotic operations, Dextre's task has far-reaching implications for what robots could do in the future.

Technologies for on-orbit robotic servicing, repairing and refueling satellites in space, hold great potential for addressing the issue of space debris, a growing concern for the world's space agencies.

The work done by Dextre today is laying the foundation for the future when one day, robots will be sent to repair, refuel and reposition orbiting satellites.

On-orbit robotic servicing could therefore save satellite operators from the significant costs of building and launching new replacement satellites, and help reduce space debris.