The International Space Station Program Science Office would like to dedicate this entry of A Lab Aloft to the life and work of astronaut Janice Voss, who passed away February 7, 2012. Her support NASA’s vision for science on orbit was a remarkable contribution to our research mission.

Janice Voss, Ph.D., was an astronaut and mission specialist for five space shuttle missions, logging over 49 days in space. These were physical science flights, including STS-83 and STS-94, which were historic re-flights to achieve a singular microgravity research mission. Voss also flew the first “commercial” Spacehab and the radar mapping mission.

June 27, 1993 -- Inside the SPACEHAB module, onboard the space shuttle Endeavour, astronaut Janice Voss, STS-57 mission specialist, works with biomaterials products. (Credit: NASA Image STS05739001)

With a real love for physical sciences, Voss used her dedication to research to determine her next role as NASA transitioned from the shuttle era to the station era. Voss was the only crew member ever selected to serve as a Lead Increment Scientist to represent the research community during experiment operations. She worked in this role during Expeditions 8 and 9.  

“Her boundless enthusiasm for getting as much research done was contagious, especially welcome in the challenging time after Columbia,” remembers John Uri, her manager in the ISS Payloads Office at the time. “Her experiences from flying science missions as an astronaut were invaluable in optimizing the onboard research.”

April 4-8, 1997 -- Astronaut Janice Voss, payload commander, pictured here following a successful test at the Combustion Module-1. The test was designed to study the Structures of Flame Balls at Low Lewis, or SOFBALL, numbers.
(Credit: NASA Image STS083305017)

The timing of her tenure, which followed the Columbia tragedy, led to one of the more interesting things that happened while Voss was Lead Increment Scientist. While the shuttle was grounded, researchers proposed experiments that could be done with existing materials on orbit.

The International Space Soldering Investigation, or ISSI, was one of these studies performed in microgravity. The crew used the soldering materials they had on orbit to make coupons and melt them, which led to an amazing result! The rosin that was in the solder boiled out to the outside of the coupons, orbiting around them.

In July 2004 astronaut Mike Fincke melts solder onboard the International Space Station. See the full length movies: Windows media format (2 MB), Real video (2 MB), mpeg format (15 MB). (Credit: NASA)

I remember how excited Janice was about this new finding. She worked with scientists to evaluate what caused the orbital effect, with the final determination pointing to Marangoni convection. Voss presented the results in a press briefing, including the incredible video of the experiment.

Later on, as Voss was assigned to different things in the Astronaut Office, she became the ongoing research representative for a number of years. There she represented the crew office, but always with the perspective she carried with her from her time as a Lead Increment Scientist, which made her viewpoint unique.

Voss had a natural scientific curiosity that prompted her to always try different things. She never accepted at face value how things worked, and would try alternatives to investigate further. This questioning nature was an exceptional attribute and helped to make her a success in her many roles with NASA.

Julie A. Robinson, Ph.D.
International Space Station Program Scientist

The International Space Station was conceived and constructed through the cooperation of fifteen nations. Now, with its construction complete, we can focus on how best to use it.

We have built a laboratory located on the premier frontier of our era. Our Earth-honed intuition no longer applies in this orbital environment. On frontiers, things do not behave the way we think they should, and our preconceived notions are altered by observations. That makes it rich in potential for discovery. The answers are not in the back of the book, and sometimes even the questions themselves may not be known.

Getting ready to insert biological samples in the Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI-1) in the Kibo lab.

On the Station we can use reduced gravity as an experimental variable for long periods of time. We have access to high vacuum, at enormous pumping rates. (The rate at which space can suck away gas, hence its ability to provide a region devoid of molecules, far outpaces anything we can do on Earth.) We are beyond the majority of our atmosphere, which lets us touch the near-space environment where solar wind, cosmic rays, and atomic oxygen abound. Such cosmic detritus, unavailable for study within our atmosphere, holds some answers to the construction of our universe and how our small planet fits into the picture.

The Station as a laboratory offers most of the features that Earth-borne laboratories have, including a good selection of experimental equipment, supplies, and a well-characterized environment (temperature, pressure, humidity, gas composition, etc.). There is generous electric power, high data-rate communications, significant crew work hours (the fraction of hours spent on science per crew day on Space Station is commensurate with the fraction for other science frontiers such as Antarctica and the deep ocean), and extended observational periods ranging from weeks to years. All this is conducted with a healthy blend of robots and humans, working together hand-in-end-effector, each contributing what each does best. Only on Earth is there a perceived friction between robots and humans.

In this orbital laboratory, we can iterate experimental procedures. We can try something, fail, go back to our chalk board, think, (we now have the time for this luxury) and try it all over again. We can iterate on the iteration. We now have continuous human presence, and time to see the unexpected and act upon it in unplanned ways. Sometimes these odd observations become the basis for studies totally different from those originally planned; sometimes those studies prove to be more valuable. And on this frontier the questions and answers mold each other in Yin-Yang fashion until reaching a natural endpoint or the funding runs out, whichever comes first. This is science at its best, and now, for the first time, we have a laboratory in space that allows us to do research in a way comparable to how we do it on Earth.

So what questions are ripe for study on the Station? What possible areas of research might bear fruit? We have a few ideas.

One area is the study of life on Earth. Life has survived for billions of years, during which temperatures, pressures, chemical potentials, radiation, and other factors have varied widely. Life always adapts and (mostly) survives. Yet there is one parameter that has remained constant for billions of years, as if our planet was the most tender of incubators. Now for the first time in the evolution of life, we humans can systematically tweak the gravity knob and probe its effect on living creatures. And we can change the magnitude of gravity by a factor of one million. Try changing other life-giving parameters, perhaps temperature, by a factor of one million and see how long it takes a hapless life form to shrivel up and die! The fact that gravity can be changed by many orders of magnitude and life can continue is, in itself, an amazing discovery. So now we have a laboratory to probe in-depth the effects of microgravity on living organisms.

The discovery of fire (or rather its harnessing) was a significant advance that allowed humans to transcend what we were to become what we are now. Well before Galileo and Newton dissected the basic formulations of gravity, humans intuitively understood that heat rises. We empirically learned how to fan the flames. But fire as we know it on Earth requires gravity. Without gravity-driven convection, it will consume its local supply of oxygen and snuff itself out as effectively as if smothered by a fire extinguisher. Questions about fire (up here we prefer the term “combustion”) are ripe for a place where we can tinker with the gravity knob.

Another invention, the wheel, literally carried us into the Industrial Age. Ironically, that particular tool is rendered obsolete on a frontier where one can move the heaviest of burdens with a small push of the fingertips. In space the problem is not how to move an object, but how to make it stay put. Perhaps the invention of the bungee cord and Velcro will be the space-equivalent to the development of the wheel on Earth. Such shifts in thought and perspective, some seemingly minor, happen when you observe the commonplace in a new and unfamiliar setting.

We are now told that we may only be seeing about 4 percent of the stuff that our universe is made of (which raises the question, what is the other 96 percent?). Some questions about fundamental physics can only be made outside our atmosphere or away from the effects of gravity. The International Space Station, contaminated with human-induced vibrations, may not be the ideal platform for these observations, but it is currently in orbit and is available to be used. Many of these experiments are like remora fish, latching onto an opportune shark for a sure ride instead of waiting for the ideal shark to swim by. And we pesky humans, even though we cause vibration, occasionally come in handy when some unexpected problem requires a tweak, a wrench, or simply a swift kick.

Although we have preconceived ideas about how the International Space Station can be utilized, benefits of an unquantifiable nature will slowly emerge and probably will be recognized only in hindsight. The Station offers us perspective; it allows us to question how humans behave on this planet in ways that you can’t when you live there.

Don Pettit holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Oregon State University and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona. He was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1996. He is a veteran of three spaceflights and is currently aboard the International Space Station  as part of the Expedition 30/31 crew. Pettit is scheduled to live and work aboard the station until May 2012.

In today’s post, International Space Station Program Scientist, Julie Robinson, Ph.D., shares the experience and benefits of Destination Station with the readers of A Lab Aloft.

Destination Station is a new endeavor that we have as a resource to help bring information about the International Space Station to the public. The goal of this traveling exhibit is to inform people around the country about this amazing orbiting laboratory and resource by visiting different host communities. Destination Station includes a fantastic museum exhibit that actually lets visitors walk through a mockup of the same shape and size of the modules on the space station. It also has interactive videos and posters, in addition to artifacts for people to look at.

The Destination Station exhibit will travel around the country to help inform the public about the International Space Station and promote research and education opportunities.
(Credit: NASA)

When the Destination Station exhibit arrives in a new community, there are about two weeks of different events that come with it. One major focus area includes educational activities, both linked to the host museum and to schools in the local community. NASA educators come in and bring some of our outstanding education programs out to different schools. They also set up communication events where students can experience a live downlink and talk with astronauts on orbit, asking them questions about station research and what it’s like to live in space.

Once Destination Station moves on, resources are left behind so that area teachers can continue to use space to get their students focused on science, math, and engineering. Studies have shown that students are interested in space—If you think about two things that get students excited about science, it’s space and dinosaurs. We can’t provide dinosaurs, but we do have a lot to share about space.

The Destination Station exhibit includes interactive posters, like the one pictured above showing a scale image of the station with a size comparison to a football field.
(Credit: NASA)

The other important aspect of Destination Station is reaching out to the business community. For example, at the most recent event in Denver, Colorado, there was a pretty large technology savvy population. Astronaut Mike Good and I had a chance to speak with state representatives and business leaders as part of the Destination Station scheduled talks. Through this forum, we had the opportunity to share with those leaders the importance of the space station and space exploration for the American economy. We focused on how research results and technology developments keep our country on the cutting edge, serving as an economic engine that drives innovation and business economies around the world.

The response from the Denver and Colorado-based business community was just outstanding! These community leaders were really interested in what is happening with the space station and the potential boost to economic growth. In fact, many of the businesses are already evolving technologies developed for aerospace and space research into Earth-focused products and services. Examples include things like clothing made from phase change materials, superior plant growth media, and GPS tracking services.

The Destination Station exhibit includes interactive posters, like the one pictured above sharing information about research in space.
(Credit: NASA)

In the Colorado area there are a number of companies that focus on working with scientists to help them do research on the space station. These businesses hosted a fair at Destination Station to reach out to those interested in translating their research from the university lab bench to the space environment. Scientists could go, see the hardware, and talk to providers experienced in taking ground-based research and putting it up into space. Bioserve Space Technologies demonstrated all of the hardware available at the fair.

Destination Station is a great combination of events for everyone from the students to the general public to researchers. Earlier in the year we also took the exhibit to the Ohio area, with events in Cleveland and Columbus. There are talks with universities and civic groups, it’s just a really exciting two weeks when Destination Station comes to town. We hope to see you at the next location for Destination Station stop in the San Francisco Bay area in early March 2012.

Julie A. Robinson, Ph.D.
International Space Station Program Scientist

It’s always exciting to make new scientific discoveries. But though it may sound counter intuitive, sometimes it can be just as important to find nothing. When looking at research results, a lack of change can actually indicate that you have found something, which can lead to unanticipated, but amazing discoveries. This has happened twice in the past year at NASA’s Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory as part of the Nutritional Status Assessment experiment, or Nutrition.

The goal of the Nutrition study is to understand what changes in an astronaut’s health while they live aboard the International Space Station. Improved knowledge in how humans react to living in space for long durations can help prepare NASA for future exploration to Mars, as well as help in understanding how well current efforts to counteract the negative effects of microgravity work. These countermeasures include exercise and a carefully planned diet, among other things.

For this study, astronauts collect blood and urine samples during flight, as well on the ground during the routine pre- and postflight testing. Before they fly, crew members train on how to take blood from each other or from themselves, and they also can practice collecting urine, which can be tricky in microgravity!

Ground training helps to prepare the crew for sample collection for the Nutritional Status Assessment experiment, or Nutrition. (NASA Image JSC2006E27274)

Upon return to Earth, crew member samples are analyzed for a broad range of chemicals and biochemicals, from nutrients to bone and muscle markers to hormones and other compounds. One of the nutrients we study is vitamin K, which is a crucial vitamin for blood clotting, and it also has an important role in maintaining bone health. 

Early studies from the space station Mir provided evidence that vitamin K status may be lower during space flight, and researchers suggested that vitamin K should be investigated as a potential countermeasure for bone loss. Those early studies on Mir involved only one or two crew members, and a food system different from the one we use today on station. 

A crew member works with test samples in the Human Research Facility 2 (HRF-2) Refrigerated Centrifuge as a part of the Nutritional Status Assessment (Nutrition) experiment in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

For Nutrition, we measured vitamin K status from markers in the blood and urine in 15 station crew members at five different time points during their mission. We found no evidence for decrements in vitamin K status. In other words, vitamin K is still important for health, blood and bones, but there is no evidence that more would be better.

These types of “negative” findings are important. In this case, we learned that the current space food system is sufficient to maintain vitamin K status in astronauts. What’s further, at this time there is no basis for recommending vitamin K supplements to prevent bone loss that occurs during space flight. 

A NASA astronaut places samples into the Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI-1).
(Credit: NASA)

Hormones can be measured in the crew’s blood and urine samples, providing valuable information on a number of the body’s systems. One hormone that we measured as part of the Nutrition study was testosterone. This is an important hormone in the body for building up and maintaining bone and muscle mass. 

Some earlier studies suggested that there may be lower levels of testosterone in astronauts during space flight, which may contribute to some of the observed bone and muscle loss. As part of this study, we measured the blood levels of testosterone at five different time points during space flight to test this hypothesis. Again, 15 station crew members provided samples, however the analysis showed that no changes to testosterone occurred during flight. 

Once more, these negative findings provided important information in working to understand how the human body adapts to microgravity exposure. This is especially true when we consider ways to counteract some of the known negative effects of weightlessness, including bone and muscle loss. By narrowing the causes of these concerns to human health in space, we get closer to identifying the root causes and providing significant countermeasures.

Sara Zwart, Ph.D., and her colleague Scott Smith, Ph.D., lead NASA’s Nutritional Biochemistry Lab at Johnson Space Center. The testosterone research discussed above was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (epub: doi:10.1210/jc.2011-2233), and the vitamin K work was published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (26:948-54, 2011). In addition to ground-research studies, Zwart and Smith lead two space station experiments, Nutritional Status Assessment and Pro K, in which they investigate the roles of animal protein and potassium in mitigating bone loss.

In today’s post, guest blogger Abigail Harrison—aka, Astronaut Abby—shares her dreams of a career as an astronaut and the exciting ways she’s found to work towards her goal with the readers of A Lab Aloft.

My name is Abigail Harrison and I am a 14-year-old aspiring astronaut from Minneapolis, Minn. I have wanted to be an astronaut since I was 7 years old. For the past couple of years I have been working to make my dreams a reality and sharing my experiences through my blog, www.astronautabby.com. I hope to someday be the first person to walk on Mars.

Recently, I witnessed a mind-blowing NASA education event that took place last August at the Northern Star Boy Scout Council's Base Camp facility at Fort Snelling, Minn. I was lucky enough to watch an International Space Station downlink, which is a live video connection between the astronauts aboard the space station and students here on Earth. Participants asked the crew questions about food, living and working conditions, and the science done in space. The astronauts spoke highly of their international compatriots and I was really inspired by the cooperation between everyone aboard.

A video still from the live downlink on August 9, 2011, with NASA astronauts Ron Garan and Mike Fossum.
(Credit: NASA)

While attending this live downlink, I was amazed that there were nearly 400 kids in the audience. Seeing the wonder on the many young faces as astronauts, who were simultaneously orbiting the Earth, answered their questions was phenomenal. I truly believe that moments like this can change lives, as it did for myself and likely every student in that room.

Seeing instances of awe like I did at the downlink motivates me to pursue my own dream of being an astronaut. I hope that I can someday inspire others, too. My friends, who were with me, were likewise motivated—not to be astronauts, as that’s not their dream, but to be great in their own chosen paths, such as cardiovascular surgery, paleontology and mathematics. Whatever goal you have, it feels so much closer to coming true when you experience others living their dreams in reality, like the crew is doing in space. It’s amazing!

I know that NASA has made a profound impact on me. I work harder in school so that I can follow my aeronautic ambition. Although not everyone is interested in a career in aerospace, NASA is still a great inspiration for almost anyone. Their employees demonstrate a high work ethic and determination to get the job done. They are incredible role models.

Abigail Harrison takes a test drive in a model of the Manned Maneuvering Unit, or MMU, as part of her experience at Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. in 2011.
(Credit: www.astronautabby.com)

Through my own experiences with my blog and my twitter account—@astronautabby—I have found that the people who work with NASA tend to be very helpful to fans like me. I think this is part of what makes NASA so great, their community outreach. The employees are truly interested in encouraging students to find a desire to learn. One example I have of amazing NASA employees is Susan Freeman, a space station engineer whom I met on Twitter. She was a tremendous help to me on a history day project, providing me with a personal phone interview.

Ever since I started my blog, nearly a year and a half ago, I have received comments and messages from kids throughout the country and around the world. Many of them express similar interests to mine: science, math, engineering and astronomy, with a common goal of space travel. The international comments that I receive often consist of congratulations on my dreams and a reminder of how fortunate I am to be a part of a culture where math, science and space travel are so highly regarded and encouraged.

We are lucky to live in a country with a space program that focuses on not only exploring space, but also on educating our youth. I agree whole-heartedly with all of these students in that we are incredibly fortunate that NASA provides the amazing opportunities and learning experiences that it does. Some of these programs are ones that I have participated in. These include, but not limited to Space Camp, high altitude ballooning and the space station live downlink.

Abigail Harrison simulates landing the space shuttle at Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. in 2011.
(Credit: www.astronautabby.com)

To locate programs like these near you, you can check out NASA’s Website, the newspaper, your school or any science groups such as a museum or robotics group near you. Getting involved in NASA programs is a great step, but there are also a lot of other interesting science and aerospace groups out there. A couple of my favorites include:

• Girls in Engineering, Mathematics and Science, or GEMS
• Guys in Science and Engineering, or GISE
• Scouts of America
• MathCounts
• Mad Science Group
• Science Bowl
• State astronomy leagues
• The Civilian Air Patrol, or CAP
• ZERO ROBOTICS (an annual robotics and programming competition, with final rounds led by astronauts aboard the space station.)

One more way that you can get connected is online, much like I am doing right now. Blogging and tweeting is a great way to connect with scientists and students all over the world. For instance, if you want to learn more about the research and technology done on the space station, you can follow their Twitter account: @ISS_Research. It doesn’t take very much time and is an easy way to build a network of people who can answer any questions you might have.

NASA and the space station provide inspiration to people everyday. NASA is a huge supporter of education and continues to advance our society by motivating and encouraging kids to continue becoming scientists, engineers and inventers. So why miss out on all the exciting opportunities they have to offer? Go for it and get involved! Follow your dream and it just might take you to the stars.

Abigail Harrison
(Credit: www.astronautabby.com)

The Center for the Advancement of Science In Space, known as CASIS, introduced itself this fall to the community of existing National Lab partners as the new non-profit organization that will manage the National Lab on behalf of NASA. CASIS was founded specifically to fulfill the statutory requirement from Congress that a non-profit entity be engaged by NASA to stimulate, develop, and manage non-NASA U.S. use of the space station. On the NASA side, we are excited to start meeting our new CASIS colleagues as transition work begins.

The primary mission of CASIS is threefold:

• Maximize the value of the space station to the nation through both research and development and STEM education activities.

• Stimulate use of the station by other agencies, academia, and private firms.

• Develop tools and techniques to communicate the value of the work done on the station and increase the return on the taxpayer investment.

CASIS intends to accomplish this mission by building a strong, interconnected community, which ties together investigators at any level of progress down a particular research pathway, provides both private and public sources of funding, and engages experts in science and economics who can advise the community on technical matters and provide an independent valuation of a particular line of research.

These pathways will connect basic and applied research to the resulting mission and market applications. The goal is to shorten the overall cycle time by evaluating projects in terms of the bigger picture and with an understanding of their added value. As a non-profit, CASIS can also bring in visionary, speculative, and commercial funding sources, where appropriate, in the research process by recruiting backers who are seeking the value the project provides.

The International Space Station (NASA Image)

CASIS will sponsor both a Science Collegium and an Economic Collegium to examine the scientific feasibility and economic value of proposals brought forward to the non-profit, using a value-added approach to complement scientific review, as well as proven algorithms for economic valuation. These valuation models will be benchmarked against real world data from existing National Lab partners before they are formally implemented.

All of these various elements will come together in what CASIS calls, the “Marketplace,” where researchers can seek funding and partnerships, implementation partners can offer their expertise with flight hardware and integration services, investors can look for promising opportunities, and all the various participants can negotiate innovative partnerships and collaborations with the help of CASIS.

Through its initial seed funding from NASA, as well as partnerships with private investors and other government agencies, CASIS will sponsor annual grant solicitations designed to bolster research lines, education programs, and technology development projects assessed by the Science and Economic Collegiums as having particular merit and value. This will continue over the 10-year cooperative agreement between NASA and CASIS, which has a five-year extension option.

The CASIS concept of operations will further develop over the next year as the organization grows and the Collegiums form. The transition will include CASIS progressively taking on more of the payload development support and research prioritization roles, while the International Space Station National Lab Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center facilitates the handover with existing partners. 

Learn more and keep up-to-date with this promising new collaborative model between CASIS and NASA at: http://www.iss-casis.org/

Presentations from the CASIS Kickoff Meeting can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/nlab/index.html

The Center for the Advancement of Science In Space, known as CASIS, official logo.
(CASIS Image)

Justin Kugler, strategic relationships manager for the International Space Station National Lab Office, worked with CASIS leaders in developing this initial blog. Stand by for more details as CASIS establishes their organization for enabling new research on the space station. 

In today’s A Lab Aloft post International Space Station Program Science Office Research Communications Specialist Jessica Nimon asks science writing professionals, “Why do you think the public doesn’t seem to know what NASA is doing on the International Space Station?”

I started writing science stories for the International Space Station Program Science Office over a year ago. During fiscal year 2010, I published or helped to promote the publication of 67 stories regarding research accomplished on the space station. Yet, in spite of the volume of stories going out, I continue to meet people who are oblivious to what NASA is doing with the space station.

With this in mind, I decided to tackle the question of why the public was unaware of what NASA was doing. The opportunity to canvas a group of science writing professionals from around the nation at the 2011 National Association of Science Writers Conference was too good to pass up. On the plane out to the conference, between seminars and at networking receptions I put my question to editors, writers and public information officers from various publications and universities.

Science writers from around the United States listen to a lecture on research that measures carbon levels in an area devastated by forest fires as part of the 2011 National Association of Science Writers Conference.
(Credit: Jessica Nimon)

First, perhaps I should explain the communications efforts of the International Space Station Program Science Office. Along with the various NASA Center Public Affairs Offices, we work towards the goal of informative story publications on NASA’s space station research and technology Website. We also maintain a blog, called “A Lab Aloft,” and put out weekly science updates. To spread the word of these efforts, we use the @ISS_Research Twitter account and the International Space Station Facebook page to share links to our publications, as well as various facts and notices, as they come out.

These efforts may not seem far reaching, but consider the investment return of compounding publication. In pure numbers, at the time I’m writing this post, we have 11,438 followers on @ISS_Research. If NASA’s Twitter account retweets us, we potentially reach an additional 1,507,108 followers! Every follower can choose to forward on our tweets, sharing our stories exponentially. This goes for the station Facebook page, as well, which has close to 40,000 likes. Then consider the various blogs and journalism sites on the Internet that republish these space station research and technology stories—the possibility to reach the public is vast!

So why does the message seem to be only reaching a few? Why do many people I encounter still mistakenly think that the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program meant the end of the space station? Some even wrongly believe NASA is closing up shop altogether. Here is what the science writing professionals at the conference had to say on the topic:

Audience Fatigue – Saturation on the topic

NASA makes the news on a fairly regular basis. Between satellites, climate studies, the space station, telescopes, lunar and Mars missions, etc., there is plenty going on and it can be hard to keep track. Those trying to maintain pace with everything NASA touches could burn out fast and may focus their attention down to a specific area of interest or stop following altogether.

Media Overload – Getting lost in the mix

With as many stories as NASA generates, just think of the glut the media as a whole produces! If people are awash in just one area, like NASA, you can imagine they are likely burning out in general. With limits to how many hours are in a day, many readers cherry pick their news based on headlines, which means that the vast majority of stories published get buried by other features.

Flashier Topics – Trumped by popular subjects

In the public’s media diet, not everyone will choose the fruits and vegetables of science topics when they have such easy access to the desserts of celebrity and entertainment? Likewise, when breaking news occurs, it can plaster the pages of publication Websites for days, even weeks. Everything else published during such times risks being overshadowed.

Space shuttle Atlantis and its four-member STS-135 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with the International Space Station on July, 8, 2011.
(NASA Image STS135-S-143)

Information Silos – Audience interest funneled elsewhere

Specialized media sites and topic categories can make it easier to follow up on the news that means most to a reader. The downside to these avenues of information is the resulting tunnel vision that can develop. It can be a challenge for readers to take a liberal arts approach to their media in an effort to maintain a well-rounded awareness in the world they live in.

Lost Interest – The station took over a decade to build; society stopped caring

Paying attention to a topic over many years requires a passion that not everyone may share. One science writer commented that he had covered space shuttle launches from the beginning of his career through the retirement of the program. He saw the same reporter faces age along with his own as they all continued to turn up for NASA press junkets. While the launches themselves were always exciting, he wondered how many of his readers continued a loyal following of the topic. As they also aged, did they tune out and refocus towards topics directly applicable to their daily lives?

The bright sun greets the International Space Station from the Russian section of the orbiting laboratory.
(NASA Image S129E007592)

Conquest – A desire for adventure in space, rather than utilization

Shuttle launches were exciting! There were rockets and flames and explorers flying into space. We still have launches to the space station, but they are now taking place off of American soil, which distances the experience from the national public. The link between the shuttle and the station was one that served to point eyes to the missions aboard the orbiting laboratory, but getting readers to consider the daily operations of a science facility as an adventure—even in the microgravity of space—can be a challenge.

Instant Gratification – A public used to instant results may not follow and wait

Many readers may not fully appreciate the time and various hoops research has to go through before results publish. It is also possible they do not understand the dangers of the valley of death in science studies. To follow the topic of space station research, the wait for results can be years or even decades. In this age of instantaneous information on the Internet, this delay can tally a cost in readership.

Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, Expedition 29 flight engineer, checks the progress of a new growth experiment on the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (Plants-2) payload with its LADA-01 greenhouse in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.
(NASA Image ISS029E007686)

Research, however, cannot be rushed, so readers will have to develop the virtue of patience. The bright side? Since investigations have been ongoing from the time the space station began, we are indeed now seeing results from early studies and can look forward to a steady influx of publications highlighting the discoveries of space science. Part of the excitement is the compounding knowledge and the use capacity going forward for the facilities aboard the station, and perhaps serendipitous discovery.

The real question to ask ourselves now is what do we do about this readership dilemma? We may bring the story to the public, but we cannot make them read. I’m curious to see if the audience of this entry has their own answers to offer. What would you like to see regarding news of research and technology on the space station? How do you like to receive your news and what can we do to better engage the public?

Jessica Nimon, communications specialist for the International Space Station Program Science Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
(Credit: Jessica Nimon)

Jessica Nimon worked in the aerospace industry as a technical writer for seven years before joining the International Space Station Program Science Office as the Research Communications Specialist. Jessica composes Web features, blog entries, and manages the @ISS_Research Twitter feed to share space station research and technology news with the public. She has a master’s degree in English from the University of Dallas.