Astronaut twins make space history as NASA launches landmark experiment

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (R), and his twin brother Mark pose after a news conference at Baikonur cosmodrome March 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev)

If we are going to fly humans to Mars one day, we’ve got to learn more about how being in space affects astronauts. So Friday, NASA begins a landmark, human experiment.

“That would be me. I think I'm the lab rat,” Mark Kelly told Fox News, during a recent interview in Houston.  His twin brother Scott followed, “he's the controlled lab rat. I'm the other lab rat."

Identical twin astronauts Mark - now retired - and Scott Kelly are embarking on space, and earth, history.

Scott, who’s spent six months living aboard the International Space Station before, is now doubling down.   In a landmark study, he’ll live in space for one year - 342 days, to be exact - all to see what happens.  As in, what happens to HIM.

It’s all about going to Mars and beyond. “To have this unique opportunity to be the first American to do this -- and I do feel grateful and feel like I am in a privileged position -- even though you know it's going to be a tough flight being in space for that long," he said.

To get from Earth to Mars, under current rocket technology, it would take 6 months.  Then there’s the 6 month return trip.  And perhaps you’d spend 3 months on Mars doing research.  That’s about 500 days away from Earth.

We’ve all seen the weakened astronauts being helped into chairs upon landing in Kazakhstan. And that’s after 6 months in space.

Microgravity causes bone loss, muscle loss, vision problems and psychological effects due to the loneliness and isolation in small, space compartments.

So, much more must be learned about the physiological drain, mental effects and health issues caused by near-zero gravity and interstellar radiation.

"My hope is that we discover that the mitigation steps that we came up with for the bone and muscle loss are effective and they work,” said Kelly. “The vision problem we have is much different. I mean we really don't understand why that's happening.”

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will also live the next year in space.  But since Scott Kelly has a genetic replica in Mark, scientists will study him, too.

Scientists from 12 universities will monitor Mark’s blood samples, his exercise and his overall health, comparing it with brother Scott’s data sent 250 miles down from the space station.

Scott will spend about a third of his day exercising at the Station, mandatory to keep the muscle atrophy at bay.  Mark will continue doing his regular exercise routine in Houston.  He says everything the twins do during this year doesn’t have to be exactly the same.  And that includes what they eat and drink, as well, which - for Mark - is fortunate.

“I live about a mile from an In And Out Burger,” he joked.

“It’s a long time, you know, it really is,” said Mark.  “A year of doing anything is a really long time.”

No walks in the park, no restaurants, no beach.  For 12 months. So, what does Scott think that he’ll miss the most?  Well, he knows what it’s like to be gone for 6 months, as he spent a 6 month assignment on the Space Station back in 2010/2011.

"I do miss the weather and the seasons, but the things you miss the most are the human relationships you have with your friends and family and people you love on the ground.”

Scott Kelly and Kornienko will participate in more than 400 scientific experiments during their 12 months in space.

Kelly has a long-term girlfriend, and two kids from a previous marriage. Kornienko has a wife and a grown daughter.   They won’t see their loved ones for a long time, but both will be able to email from the Space Station and make occasional phone calls, all while looking out the porthole as they see “home” revolving beneath them, 16 times a day.

Phil Keating joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in March 2004 and currently serves as FNC's Miami-based correspondent.

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Astronaut Scott Kelly blasts off on yearlong space station mission

U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly, crew member of the mission to the International Space Station (ISS), gestures before the launch of Soyuz-FG rocket at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (REUTERS/Dmitry Lovetsky/Pool)

Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is seen at its launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome. (REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev)

Astronaut Scott Kelly has blasted off on his yearlong mission to the International Space Station.

The capsule carrying Kelly and two Russian cosmonauts was launched into space by a Soyuz-FG booster rocket, lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:42 p.m. ET.

The journey to the International Space Station is expected to take 6 hours.

Of the three-man team, American Scott Kelly and Russian Mikhail Kornienko are to stay at the International Space Station until March 2016. Their trip is NASA's first stab at a one-year spaceflight, anticipating Mars expeditions that would last two-to-three years.

“This is an important step forward to start utilizing ISS more effectively in preparation for human missions to Mars,” Chris Carberry, executive director of Explore Mars, a non-profit organization which aims to advance the goal of sending humans to Mars, told FoxNews.com.  “We look forward to more ambitious missions at ISS and beyond that help achieve human landings on Mars in the 2030s.”

During his year orbiting the earth Kelly will take part in a landmark NASA study into the effects of space on the human body, with scientists comparing his data to that of twin brother Mark, a former astronaut, back on earth. Mark Kelly’s blood samples, exercise, and overall health will be monitored by scientists from 12 universities to gain insight into the impact of the yearlong mission on his brother.

At the end of his mission to the International Space Station, Scott Kelly will become the first American to spend 12 consecutive months in space.

Kelly and his Russian counterpart Kornienko have each already logged about 180 days in space, according to Space.com. Kelly has made three previous missions to space and Kornienko spent 6 months aboard the International Space Station in 2010.

Kornienko is the fifth Russian cosmonaut to undertake a one-year space mission.

The third member of the crew, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, will spend about 6 months on the International Space Station before returning to Earth.

Friday’s mission is Kelly’s second trip to the International Space Station. The former U.S. Navy pilot spent just over 5 months on the space station between October 2010 and March 2011.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Weightlessness no cure for "morning clumsies," astronaut says

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Like many people, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield confesses that he's sometimes clumsy in the morning just after waking up.

The three-time astronaut, now living aboard the International Space Station, was surprised to learn that did not change in the weightless environment of space.

"When I come out of my sleeping berth to go into our galley and our bathroom, I bump into things even though I'm floating weightless," the 53-year-old pilot told reporters during an in-flight press conference on Thursday.

"You can still have the morning clumsies up here and that surprised me," said Hadfield, who is in line to become the first Canadian commander of the orbital outpost in March.

Hadfield has been sharing his experiences in orbit with a growing flock of Twitter followers. His "Cmdr_Hadfield" Twitter account has added more than 130,000 new subscribers since the astronaut blasted off on December 19 for a six-month stay on the station.

"What we're doing on the space station is fundamentally fascinating ... It encapsulates where we are in history, with people permanently living off Earth. With these new technologies and communications, we can directly give people the human side of that," said Hadfield, who now has more than 163,000 followers.

In between Twitter posts about false fire alarms and fixing the station's toilet, Hadfield has been sharing photographs taken from his unique vantage point 250 miles above Earth.

His favorite subject so far has been so-called noctilucent, or "night shining" clouds that form at the outermost edge of Earth's atmosphere.

These tenuous patches of ice crystals are barely visible from the planet's surface, but sparkle clearly in orbit, Hadfield said.

"The light bounces off of those clouds directly into our eyes," he said.

In addition to the beautiful colors, textures and ripples, Hadfield said the clouds also are a way to monitor changes in the atmosphere and learn more about how the atmosphere interacts with space.

That vantage point from orbit extends beyond visual perception, he added.

"The world just unrolls itself for you, and you see it absolutely discretely as one place. It's hard to reconcile the inherent patience and beauty of the world with the terrible things that we can do to each other as people and can do to the Earth itself," Hadfield said.

"With increased communication, with increased understanding comes a more global perspective and it's one that we feel incredibly honored to see directly and one that we do our best to try to pass on to everybody," he said.

(Editing by Tom Brown and Dan Grebler)

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Former astronaut Armstrong has heart surgery

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was recovering from heart surgery, days after his 82nd birthday.

A NASA spokesman talked to Armstrong's wife, Carol, on Wednesday and said only that he was recovering. Armstrong's birthday was Sunday.

It wasn't clear where the surgery occurred or where the former astronaut was recuperating.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden wished Armstrong a quick recovery from cardiac bypass surgery in a Facebook statement.

"Neil's pioneering spirit will surely serve him well in this challenging time and the entire NASA Family is holding the Armstrong family in our thoughts and prayers," the statement said.

Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, and he radioed back to Earth the historic news of "one giant leap for mankind." He spent nearly three hours walking on the moon with fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

A message Wednesday on Aldrin's Twitter account also wished Armstrong well.

Armstrong and his wife married in 1999 and made their home in the Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill, but he has largely stayed out of public view in recent years.

He spoke at Ohio State University during a February event honoring fellow astronaut John Glenn and the 50th anniversary of Glenn becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. In May, Armstrong joined Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida to support the opening of The National Flight Academy, which aims to teach math and science to kids through an aviation-oriented camp.

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Space 'Never Got Old,' NASA Astronaut Says (SPACE.com)

After living in space for nearly six months on the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Mike Fossum is still getting used to his "land legs."

Fossum and his crewmates, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, launched to the International Space Station in June. The trio returned to Earth 10 days ago, on Nov. 21, landing in a Russian Soyuz capsule on the frigid and snowy steppes of Kazakhstan in Central Asia.  

Fossum, who was commander of the space station's Expedition 29 mission, previously visited the orbiting outpost on two separate space shuttle missions. But, this return trip inside the notoriously cramped Soyuz spacecraft was a very different experience, he said.

"The trip home on a Soyuz spacecraft was very memorable," Fossum told reporters today (Dec. 1) in a series of live satellite interviews from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "It was like riding a meteor home inside that fireball."

As the capsule made its scorching re-entry through Earth's atmosphere, Fossum described looking out the window next to him and being able to see the spacecraft's plasma trail.

"We had the full ride home in darkness and got to see the plasma trail and heat shield itself," Fossum explained. "You have these incandescent orange pieces of the heat shield screaming by the window. It was like a fireworks display."

Fossum and his crewmates were also the last space station residents to play host to a visiting space shuttle. NASA launched the shuttle Atlantis and a four-astronaut crew to the orbiting outpost on the agency's last-ever shuttle flight in July.

Being present for the final shuttle mission was a highlight for Fossum, who said that watching the orbiter back away from the complex for the final time was particularly poignant. [Photos: NASA's Last Shuttle Mission in Pictures]

"I caught a peek and managed to snap some photos of Atlantis as she was backing away for the last time," he said. "To see her back away on that final mission with the sensor boom across the payload bay — to me, it looked kind of like a salute as she backed away and headed home."

With Atlantis' jam-packed eight-day mission, the finality of the shuttle program did not sink in until the very end, when the hatches between the station and the orbiter were being sealed, Fossum said.

"It really wasn't until the end when the main job was done and we were down to taking the last photos, cleaning things up and getting ready to close the hatches, and we realized, we're closing this hatch for the last time in we-don't-know-how-long," he said.

With the retirement of the space shuttle program, NASA is currently relying on Russian-built rockets and spacecraft to take American astronauts to the space station. In the meantime, commercial companies are developing new spaceships to take cargo and humans to and from the orbiting complex.

These commercial vehicles are critical for NASA's future in human spaceflight, Fossum said.

"I think we need a second launch system for sure — a second way to get people to and from the space station," he said. "The Soyuz booster is a great program, very successful by any measure, but it still is a single program, and things can happen. Students of space history know things can happen, and we're not immune to things happening in the future. I hope we get another capability for getting humans to and from space soon."

Still, the veteran astronaut remains hopeful for the future, and spoke extensively about the exciting research projects that are being conducted at the International Space Station.

Fossum said the months he spent living on the orbiting outpost were a dream come true. Fossum said that while he's thankful to be back on terra firma with his friends and family, he will miss living in space, and hopes to be able to have the opportunity to fly again soon.

"For me, it never got old," Fossum said with a wide smile. "I hoped I could fly this mission until I was tired of living in space, but I didn't achieve that, so who knows. We'll see."

You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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'Astronaut Dad' Graphic Novel Debuts at NY Comic Con (SPACE.com)

NEW YORK - A graphic novel that tells a moving, fictional story about a group of backup astronauts in the early 1960s, and the complicated relationships they have with their families, is debuting in its completed format at this year's New York Comic Con.

The first volume was published and released by the now-defunct Silent Devil Productions in 2008.

"Astronaut Dad" follows a group of second-string astronauts in the early 1960s, just before the rise of NASA's Apollo moon program. The coming-of-age story centers around the astronauts' children, who have thorny relationships with their fathers, and who struggle with the growing pains of having a parent often absent from their lives.

In volume one, two of the children, Jimmy Norton and Vanessa Kelly, discover that their fathers, who they thought were less-than-glamorous astronaut reservists, are actually involved in an orbital spy program. In the long-awaited second volume, the families are touched by tragedy, and Jimmy and Vanessa are left to cope with the changing perceptions they have of their fathers as they transition through life.

Fact and fiction

With the story set in the early 1960s, as NASA ramped up its Apollo moon program, the story of the children's struggle also mirrors the difficult transition that the nation's space program underwent at the time. [Lunar Legacy: 45 Apollo Moon Mission Photos]

"The whole story is a coming-of-age story, so I kind of wanted to sequence the story itself in a transition period for NASA too," Hopkins told SPACE.com. "I wanted to parallel the two, and I tried to set the story in a time that was like NASA's transition from childhood to adulthood."

And while the story centers around the children of spaceflyers, Hopkins took inspiration from aspects of his own life.

"It was a very personal book for me, because in part, I based it off my relationship with my own dad," Hopkins said. "He was a really great man, but I really never saw him much when I was growing up. So, in 'Astronaut Dad,' what's further away than outer space?"

In writing "Astronaut Dad," Hopkins extensively researched the time period, delving into the lives of the Mercury and Gemini program astronauts of that era. To capture the personal side of being an astronaut, Hopkins found an invaluable resource in Life magazine, which closely chronicled not only the 1960s test pilots and astronauts, but also their wives and children.

"Life magazine was all over the astronauts and their personal lives," Hopkins said. "I went to antique malls picking up old copies. They were so fascinated and on top of the daily lives of these astronauts — whether they were at work, barbequing, on the beach with their wives — it was a lot of fun discovering new things. Of course, my characters are fictional, but it helped me get a sense of what kinds of things they talked about, what they did in their free time."

Taking cues from the classics

And while space travel and the cosmos have been recurring themes in many comic books, "Astronaut Dad" is less a sci-fi novel than a sobering, human tale. Yet, Hopkins originally used the Fantastic Four as inspiration for his story. [Top Ten Members of the Fantastic Four]

"The more I looked at the Fantastic Four, the more I realize that the appeal when that comic first came out was the appeal of the space age," Hopkins said. "I thought, why don't I strip away all the superpowers and tell a story about a family where the father is, in a sense, a superhero. But I wanted to tell a more realistic story."

Hopkins has collaborated with Schoonover before, and the writer spoke fondly of their teamwork on "Astronaut Dad."

"[Brent's] style is heavily influenced by early turn-of-the-century comic book artists, like Jack Kirby," Hopkins said. "His style is a little more cartoon-y, and we wanted something that looked like that. I think Brent really got a good feel for what we were trying to accomplish with the book.

For Hopkins, who is a self-professed fan of NASA and the space program, the process of writing "Astronaut Dad" was not only fun, but an incredibly satisfying experience. As for wanting to fly in space himself, he sees his role more on the creative side on terra firma.

"It's so funny because I never really thought of that as something that was possible for me," Hopkins said. "I always wanted to be an artist or a writer growing up. I was in elementary school during the [space shuttle] Challenger tragedy, so I remember growing up with a real idea of how dangerous it was. But, it was one of those things that I've always been fascinated by, particularly the imagery."

You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Government sues Apollo 14 astronaut over lunar camera (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. government has sued a former NASA astronaut to recover a camera used to explore the moon's surface during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission after seeing it slated for sale in a New York auction.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court on Wednesday, accuses Edgar Mitchell of illegally possessing the camera and attempting to sell it for profit.

In March, NASA learned that the British auction house Bonhams was planning to sell the camera at an upcoming Space History Sale, according to the suit.

The item was labeled "Movie Camera from the Lunar Surface" and billed as one of two cameras from the Apollo 14's lunar module Antares. The lot description said the item came "directly from the collection" of pilot Edgar Mitchell and had a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 to $80,000, the suit said.

Mitchell was a lunar module pilot on Apollo 14, which launched its nine-day mission in 1971 under the command of Alan Shepard. The sixth person to walk on the moon, Mitchell is now retired and runs a website selling his autographed picture.

He has made headlines in the past for his stated belief in the existence of extraterrestrial life.

"All equipment and property used during NASA operations remains the property of NASA unless explicitly released or transferred to another party," the government suit said, adding NASA had no record of the camera being given to Mitchell.

The suit said the government had made repeated requests to Mitchell and his lawyer to return the camera but received no response.

Mitchell's lawyer, Donald Jacobson, said NASA management was aware of and approved Mitchell's ownership of the camera 40 years ago.

"Objects from the lunar trips to the moon were ultimately mounted and then presented to the astronauts as a gift after they had helped NASA on a mission," Jacobson said.

Bonhams said in an emailed statement that the camera had been slated to be auctioned off in May when it learned about the ownership dispute from NASA. The auction house withdrew the camera from sale "pending further discussion between NASA and the consignor," a Bonhams spokesperson said.

The government is asking the court to stop Mitchell from selling the camera to anyone, to order its return and to declare that the United States has "good, clean and exclusive title" to the camera.

(Reporting by Terry Baynes; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

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Government sues Apollo 14 astronaut over lunar camera

Astronaut Edgar Mitchell on the surface of the moon during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission.

Credit: Reuters/NASA

NEW YORK | Fri Jul 1, 2011 11:57am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government has sued a former NASA astronaut to recover a camera used to explore the moon's surface during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission after seeing it slated for sale in a New York auction.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court on Wednesday, accuses Edgar Mitchell of illegally possessing the camera and attempting to sell it for profit.

In March, NASA learned that the British auction house Bonhams was planning to sell the camera at an upcoming Space History Sale, according to the suit.

The item was labeled "Movie Camera from the Lunar Surface" and billed as one of two cameras from the Apollo 14's lunar module Antares. The lot description said the item came "directly from the collection" of pilot Edgar Mitchell and had a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 to $80,000, the suit said.

Mitchell was a lunar module pilot on Apollo 14, which launched its nine-day mission in 1971 under the command of Alan Shepard. The sixth person to walk on the moon, Mitchell is now retired and runs a website selling his autographed picture.

He has made headlines in the past for his stated belief in the existence of extraterrestrial life.

"All equipment and property used during NASA operations remains the property of NASA unless explicitly released or transferred to another party," the government suit said, adding NASA had no record of the camera being given to Mitchell.

The suit said the government had made repeated requests to Mitchell and his lawyer to return the camera but received no response.

Mitchell's lawyer, Donald Jacobson, said NASA management was aware of and approved Mitchell's ownership of the camera 40 years ago.

"Objects from the lunar trips to the moon were ultimately mounted and then presented to the astronauts as a gift after they had helped NASA on a mission," Jacobson said.

Bonhams said in an emailed statement that the camera had been slated to be auctioned off in May when it learned about the ownership dispute from NASA. The auction house withdrew the camera from sale "pending further discussion between NASA and the consignor," a Bonhams spokesperson said.

The government is asking the court to stop Mitchell from selling the camera to anyone, to order its return and to declare that the United States has "good, clean and exclusive title" to the camera.

(Reporting by Terry Baynes; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

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Father's Day in Space: How Astronaut Dads Cope in Orbit (SPACE.com)

The six men flying on the International Space Station are a dedicated and diverse crew, but they're also devoted dads and this Father's Day finds them stuck in orbit, far from home. Luckily, some modern technology keeps their family just a phone call away.

An Internet and email link, video conferences and an Internet protocol telephone help the space station crew stay in touch with family and friends on Earth during holidays and special occasions as they sail 220 miles (354 km) above Earth. That communications gear will likely get a work out for Father's Day on Sunday, June 19 since, aside from some daily station upkeep, the crew typically has weekends off.

The station's crew  includes three Russian cosmonauts, two Americans and one Japanese spaceflyer. All together, the astronauts left 12 children and at least one grandchild behind when they launched into space in teams of three. Some of those children watched their dads rocket into space on June 7 EDT, when a Russian Soyuz rocket launched the three newest members of the station's six-man crew on their six-month mission. [History's 12 Most Doting Dads]

Father's Day in orbit

One of the men on the Soyuz was veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, who has four children and one grandchild. Fossum's wife, three of their sons, and his brother Terry watched the Soyuz rocket launch from the central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

"That was a fantastic launch, the six months up there will pass in no time, and I hope you have fun," Fossum's youngest son Kenny, a teenager, told his father by phone in a June 9 EDT video conference after the Soyuz arrived at the station.

"It will go by fast, I look forward to seeing you," Fossum replied. "I miss you already."

In addition to phone calls or email, astronauts on the space station can also send messages or photos  to family and friends via Twitter using an Internet connection provided by Mission Control. 

NASA astronaut Ron Garan, a father of three sons who has lived on the space station since April, has been regularly sending photos to Earth on Twitter and maintains an active blog from space, called Fragile Oasis, aimed to highlight Earth's most pressing environmental concerns. His latest photo, which he posted on June 12, shows a sunset on Earth seen from space. [Amazing Space Photos by Astronaut Ron Garan]

"That beautiful view never gets old," wrote Garan, 49, who posts under the name Astro_Ron.

Six months in space

Fossum, 53, is currently a flight engineer with the station's Expedition 28 crew. Later in the flight, he'll take command of the station's Expedition 29 mission. Fossum launched into space with two crewmates: Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa (who has two children) and Russian Sergei Volkov, who has one son and is himself the son of noted veteran cosmonaut Alexander Volkov.

Two other cosmonauts round out the station crew. They are: Alexander Samokutyaev, who has a daughter, Anastasia, and the station's current commander Andrey Borisenko, who has a son, Ivan.

Like Garan, Fossom and Furukawa send messages to Earth via Twitter. Fossum posts updates as Astro_aggie (a nod to his Texas alma mater), while Furukawa writes as Astro_Satoshi.

After Fossum and his crewmates arrived at the space station on June 10, his wife Melanie assured him that the entire family is behind him.

"We're very proud of your training, for what you've accomplished, your training and getting to where you are right now," Melanie said. "We're very eager to have you back to share in all that you've been through in this great mission. Go with our blessing and God's protection."

Space station astronauts can train for two years or so for their six-month trips to space. Because the space station was built by five different space agencies (NASA and the agencies of Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan) representing 15 different countries, the training requires long periods away from home and family, astronauts have said.

"You guys have the hard job, standing on the sidelines and watching us take off and do this," Fossum told his wife. "Thank you very much and God bless."

Fossum's eldest son Mitch also watched his father's launch on the Soyuz. The launch, he said, was brilliant.

"You guys had a fantastic launch the other day. It was pretty bright against the dark night sky," Mitch told his father on June 9. "That brightness is still burned into my cornea."

Mitch ended his call to his father by wishing him good luck and a fun trip in space.

"Thanks Mitch, this is one heck of a ride, buddy," Fossum told his son. "Love ya."

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Astronaut trio blasts off for space station

The Russian Soyuz TMA-02M spacecraft approaches the International Space Station for docking, June 9, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/NASA TV/Handout

By Shavkat Rakhmatullayev

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan | Fri Jun 10, 2011 8:17am EDT

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - A Soyuz spacecraft blasted off for the International Space Station on Wednesday with a Russian, American and a Japanese astronaut on board.

The cramped Russian craft is to deliver cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, Japan's Satoshi Furukawa and 53-year-old NASA astronaut Michael Fossum to the orbital station after a two-day voyage up from the Kazakh steppe.

Its booster rocket trailing a jet of flame in the night sky, the Soyuz TMA-02M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on schedule at 2:12 a.m. on Wednesday (2000 GMT on Tuesday).

Officials at Russian Mission Control outside Moscow congratulated the crew over the scratchy radio when the craft shed its rocket stages and safely reached orbit minutes later.

"We're feeling good," Volkov reported back to Earth as the ship ascended, a small toy pig named Nyusha that his son gave him as a mascot dangling above the crewmen crouched in their white spacesuits. "Everything is in order on board."

Fossum, a veteran of two spaceflights, waved to the camera.

Furukawa, 47, was in orbit for the first time, while Volkov, 38, is following in the footsteps of his father Alexander, who spent more than a year in space under the flag of the Soviet Union.

The trio is to spend six months on the station, a stint that will include the docking of the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis, which is to launch on July 8 on NASA's last planned shuttle mission before the fleet is retired.

Volkov, Furukawa and Fossum will be greeted upon arrival -- scheduled for 2022 GMT on Thursday -- by NASA astronaut Ron Garan and Russians Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyayev, who have been aboard the station since April.

Volkov is to blog on the Russian space agency website from the station.

While Europe worries about a deadly E.coli outbreak blamed on raw vegetables, Volkov is to try growing cucumbers on the station and Furukawa tomatoes, they said at a pre-launch news conference, joking that they might make a salad.

The station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations, has been under construction about 220 miles above the earth since 1998. A football field-sized mix of mostly Russian and American-built modules, it can accommodate a crew of six.

But rides there are going to be harder to catch, and only Russia will be able to provide them.

With NASA mothballing its shuttle fleet, it will be at least four years before its astronauts can fly out of the United States again. Until new ships are ready, Russia will ferry crews to the station at a cost of more than $50 million per person.

(Additional reporting by Dmitry Solovyov in Almaty; writing by Steve Gutterman and Alissa de Carbonnel; editing by Andrew Roche)

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Astronaut trio blasts off for space station (Reuters)

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) – A Soyuz spacecraft blasted off for the International Space Station on Wednesday with a Russian, American and a Japanese astronaut on board.

The cramped Russian craft is to deliver cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, Japan's Satoshi Furukawa and 53-year-old NASA astronaut Michael Fossum to the orbital station after a two-day voyage up from the Kazakh steppe.

Its booster rocket trailing a jet of flame in the night sky, the Soyuz TMA-02M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on schedule at 2:12 a.m. on Wednesday (2000 GMT on Tuesday).

Officials at Russian Mission Control outside Moscow congratulated the crew over the scratchy radio when the craft shed its rocket stages and safely reached orbit minutes later.

"We're feeling good," Volkov reported back to Earth as the ship ascended, a small toy pig named Nyusha that his son gave him as a mascot dangling above the crewmen crouched in their white spacesuits. "Everything is in order on board."

Fossum, a veteran of two spaceflights, waved to the camera.

Furukawa, 47, was in orbit for the first time, while Volkov, 38, is following in the footsteps of his father Alexander, who spent more than a year in space under the flag of the Soviet Union.

The trio is to spend six months on the station, a stint that will include the docking of the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis, which is to launch on July 8 on NASA's last planned shuttle mission before the fleet is retired.

Volkov, Furukawa and Fossum will be greeted upon arrival -- scheduled for 2022 GMT on Thursday -- by NASA astronaut Ron Garan and Russians Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyayev, who have been aboard the station since April.

Volkov is to blog on the Russian space agency website from the station.

While Europe worries about a deadly E.coli outbreak blamed on raw vegetables, Volkov is to try growing cucumbers on the station and Furukawa tomatoes, they said at a pre-launch news conference, joking that they might make a salad.

The station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations, has been under construction about 220 miles above the earth since 1998. A football field-sized mix of mostly Russian and American-built modules, it can accommodate a crew of six.

But rides there are going to be harder to catch, and only Russia will be able to provide them.

With NASA mothballing its shuttle fleet, it will be at least four years before its astronauts can fly out of the United States again. Until new ships are ready, Russia will ferry crews to the station at a cost of more than $50 million per person.

(Additional reporting by Dmitry Solovyov in Almaty; writing by Steve Gutterman and Alissa de Carbonnel; editing by Andrew Roche)

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Green Thumb in Space: Astronaut to Grow Zero-G Cucumbers (SPACE.com)

Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa may be leaving planet Earth behind for a months-long trip to the International Space Station this week, but he won't forget his veggies: Furukawa plans to grow cucumbers in space in the name of science.

During his 5 1/2-month space trek, Furukawa will grow cucumbers on the space station for an experiment to study how future space travelers can harvest their own food on longer missions that push further out into the solar system, reported the Associated Press.

Furukawa, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA astronaut Mike Fossum and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov are slated to launch toward the International Space Station today (June 7) at 4:12 p.m. EDT (2012 GMT). The spaceflying trio will lift off in a Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

No space taste tests

But while the space cucumbers will be grown in orbit, the astronauts on the space station will not be sampling them.

"We wish we were able to eat the cucumbers, but we have not been allowed," Furukawa told the AP at a recent news briefing.

Planting and growing cucumbers is one of many experiments that Furukawa, a surgeon by trade, will participate in during his time at the space station.

"About 12 years ago astronaut Chiaki Mukai performed tens of scientific experiments on board the shuttle, on STS-95, and one of the experiments was an experiment for a scientist in Japan, plant scientist, and he found out that small node peg, let me talk about that," Furukawa said in a preflight NASA interview. "On the ground only one peg is made at the time of germination, but under microgravity two pegs were made at the time of sprouting, and also he found out that the side roots grow towards water. It was very interesting." [6 Everyday Things That Happen Strangely in Space]

Weightless cucumbers

To build on this previous research, Furukawa's cucumber experiments will focus on how a specific plant hormone, called auxin, behaves in microgravity.

"Auxin is related to organ, generation as well as g load or gravity sensation, so by knowing how the auxin distribution is controlled we may be able to control the plant growth, or it may make way for the future plant factory in space. So I'm very excited," Furukawa said.

As the newest space station crewmembers, Furukawa, Fossum and Volkov are scheduled to dock at the orbiting outpost at 5:22 p.m. EDT (2122 GMT) on Thursday (June 9). They will join NASA astronaut Ron Garan and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Andrey Borisenko, who have been at the space station since early April. The six crewmates will make up the station's Expedition 28.

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