ESA astronaut Tim Peake shows how to draw blood for research on the International Space Station. Researchers often request samples before, during and after a spaceflight to examine differences.
The tubes of blood are put in a refrigerated centrifuge and then stored in the International Space Station’s –80°C freezer called MELFI for later analysis on Earth.
Read more about the experiments Tim Peake took part in: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Principia/Body_and_mind
ESA astronaut Tim Peake set out to discover if he could make himself dizzy on board the International Space Station. His NASA crewmate Tim Kopra lent a hand to put Tim in a spin.
When astronauts first arrive in space, they usually feel pretty rough for about the first 24 hours. They report feeling dizzy, disorientated and sometimes nauseous. This has to do with the vestibular system. In microgravity the fluid in the inner ear is floating and so the brain is getting mixed signals compared to what the eyes are seeing. After about 24 to 48 hours, the brain starts relying more on information that is coming from the eyes. Once this happens, in theory, their brain is better able to cope with all kinds of different orientations and of course spinning…
On 29 April 2016, ESA astronaut Tim Peake on the International Space Station took control of a rover, nicknamed ‘Bridget’, in the UK and over two hours drove it into a simulated cave and found and identified targets despite the dark and limited feedback information.
Before and after Tim came online from the orbiting Station, control of the rover was passed several times between engineers at the Airbus D&S ‘Mars Yard’ in Stevenage, UK, Belgium’s ISS User Support Centre in Brussels and ESA’s ESOC operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany. This complex real-time choreography was possible thanks to the ‘Internet in space’ – a network that tolerates disruptions – put in place by teams at ESOC. This network enables remote control of rovers or other devices in the difficult environment of space, with its long distances and frequent connection blackouts inevitable with orbital motion.
During the experiment, a representative mission scenario was set up in which the rover was commanded to go from a lit environment into a challenging dark location (simulating a cave or a shaded crater) and identified a number of science targets. The Mars yard (30 x 13 m) was split into two areas, one lit and one in the dark. From one end of the yard, Bridget was commanded from ESOC until it reached the edge of the shaded area. Then at the edge of the ‘cave’, control was passed to astronaut Tim Peake, on board the Station, who controlled Bridget to drive across the yard, avoiding obstacles and identifying potential science targets, which were marked with a distinctive ultraviolet fluorescent marker. Once the targets were identified and mapped, Tim drove the rover out of the shaded area and handed control back to ESOC, who drove the rover back to its starting point.
This video is a compressed extract that includes highlights of the experiment and includes scenes of the network control centre at ESOC, the Mars Yard at Stevenage and Tim Peake on the ISS. On audio, the voices of astronaut Time Peake, Lionel Ferra, the Eurocom ‘capcom’ controller at ESA’s Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, and Kim Nergaard, the ground segment manager at ESOC, can be heard periodically.
More information
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ESA astronaut Tim Peake washes on the International Space Station during his six-month Principia mission.
There is no shower on the Space Station so astronauts use wet towels to keep clean. The towels are packed as waste in returning cargo vessels.
More about Principia: http://www.esa.int/Principia
Follow Tim on social media via: http://timpeake.esa.int
ESA astronaut Tim Peake brushing his teeth in space during his six-month Principia mission on the International Space Station. A morning and evening ritual even astronauts cannot escape.
More about Principia: www.esa.int/Principia
Follow Tim Peake: timpeake.esa.int
Message from British ESA astronaut Tim Peake aboard the International Space Station to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 31 December 2015.
Tim Peake is spending six months in space to run experiments for scientists on Earth and maintain humanity’s research station 400 km above our planet.
Follow his Principia mission via http://timpeake.esa.int
Tim Peake is the first British astronaut to be selected as a member of ESA’s European Astronaut Corps. With a background in flight dynamics, he served in the British Air Corps as flight commander, helicopter instructor and test pilot.
Scheduled to fly to the ISS in late 2015, he’ll be staying in orbit for five months. He also has close ties with the UK Space Agency, working on the development of its microgravity research programme.
Named after Isaac Newton’s text Naturalis Principia Mathematica, ESA’s Principia mission will be the eighth long-duration mission to the International Space Station. British astronaut Tim Peake will be launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan onboard a Russian Soyuz vehicle, spending five months in orbit. He’ll carry out an intensive schedule of European and international experiments, in addition to numerous educational activities from space.
The pioneering and highly influential British synthpop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) have dedicated their classic song ‘Electricity’ to ESA astronaut Tim Peake.
The band have always been fascinated by science, technology and transport, with songs inspired in particular by aircraft and space, so they have been following Tim’s preparations for his upcoming Principia mission with great interest. OMD are Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, backed by Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper.
Connect with Tim Peake at timpeake.esa.int, follow Tim on Twitter at @astro_timpeake.
Video: NASA/ESA (images by A. Gerst)
Music: OMD, published by BMG Music, © Universal Music
ESA astronaut Tim Peake during winter survival training in Russia.
All astronauts go through winter survival training. There is always the possibility that a Soyuz spacecraft could land in a remote, cold area. Tim has to learn to survive in harsh climates while waiting for rescue.
Tim is training for his mission to the International Space Station set to be launched on a Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in December 2015.
ESA astronauts train with all International Space Station partners including onsite training in USA, Europe, Canada and Japan.
ESA astronaut Tim trained in Tsukuba at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Centre on Japanes experiments and the Japanese space laboratory Kibo.
Tim is preparing for his mission to the International Space Station set to be launched on a Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in December 2015.
ESA astronaut Tim Peake during spacewalk training in Houston, USA.
Training underwater on life-size mockups of the Space Station is one way astronauts prepare for their missions as working in water resembles working in space.
Tim is training for his mission to the International Space Station set to be launched on a Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in December 2015.
ESA astronaut Tim Peake answers questions from school children in Wiltshire, UK. Tim joined the hangout from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston where he is currently training for his six month Principia mission to the International Space Station, set for liftoff in December 2015.
The hangout was jointly hosted by ESA with +spacegovuk and +BBC Wiltshire. NASA’s Johnson Space Center provided support by hosting Tim in their Houston studio.