Missing Canisters Found

[haywood]

Seems that Bill MacArthur found the "missing" scrubber canisters behind a panel in the Zvezda Module.<br />They must do a running inventory whenever they unload the Progress but I guess it kind of slipped by.<br /><br />Nice that they have full EVA capabilities again.<br /><br />By the way, Bill MacArthur answered a question of mine about EVA suits during his STS-92 Mission in October 2000. Now that was cool to hear him say my name!<br /><br />Way to go Bill!<br />

 

[jschaef5]

I still think thats funny that they lose things on the space station.<br /><br />Glad they found them and resolved the handrail issue. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[mlorrey]

You'd think, given how anal NASA tends to be that every item in the station would have an assigned location kept on a database somewhere.

 

[tap_sa]

Well the missing items were Russian, a partner which is considerably less anal to update databases and such. Better check the food caches too, the canister ruckus may have been a distraction to hide ongoing gluttony <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[nacnud]

A database is only as accurate as the data in it. In zreo gee where every bag is white <img src="/images/icons/rolleyes.gif" /> and it's ident is reference code - I'm amazed they can find anything.

 

[mlorrey]

The "ongoing gluttony" may be a distraction from the low caloric budget they allow astronauts in order to stretch out resupply dates. Zero g living consumes much more calories than 1 g living, because you have to use energy to both start and stop movements, while in 1 g you can use gravity to save energy.

 

[nacnud]

Other way round, zero gee living is a lot less engery demanding, you never have to pump you're blood against gravity, something you do alot more than moveing.

 

[mlorrey]

My reading of research is that the circulatory system is a lot less efficient in zero g than in a g field and has to work more. Given the swelling of the upper body from fluid movement, astronauts are prone to sleep apnea, which places additional demands. Given the additional demands of having a heavy exercise schedule to keep up bone density, I expect that caloric demands on astronauts should be 25-50% higher than on Earth. <br /><br />The heart doesn't do much pumping against gravity: the heart is in the upper part of the body, most body mass is downhill. The only gravity work it does is delivering blood to the brain. If gravity were a major problem, our hearts would be evolved to be in our lower torso.

 

[tap_sa]

Plus in zero g between start and stop movements you don't have to do much in order to keep moving <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[nacnud]

Pumping isn't one way, you've got to get the blood back from your feet some how...<br /><br />That said I haven't read any research on the matter either...<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/crazy.gif" />

 

[CalliArcale]

And that is a bit of a problem for astronauts. Blood returns to the heart largely through compression of the veins by muscles as you move. This is why you can get blood pooling in nasty spots if you're stuck on bedrest for whatever reason. It's also why sitting still on airliners increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis -- the blood isn't moving around like it should.<br /><br />Astronauts do exercise routinely, so that'll help that problem a lot. But it's still an issue. It leads to fluid retention. Your body is designed to work harder at moving blood up from the feet, so without the pressures of gravity, it tends to migrate into the upper part of the body more. That's good news for the heart (it doesn't have to work as hard) but bad news for trying to fit into snug clothing. Combined with a tendency for the spine to relax and stretch in zero gee, as well as a tendency for the ribcage to expand, it is not unheard of for astronauts to have develop fit problems with their spacesuits. On the plus side, it makes them look years younger while they're up there. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[danwoodard]

During Skylab calculation suggested fewer calories were needed in space. This turned out to be a mistake. The crew complained that they didn't have enough to eat, and ate about as many calories as they did on the ground, and necessitating a load of food bars in each of the crew capsules. The actual energy requirements on the heart are determined by muscle activity, not gravity. Absent intense exercise, muscle activity is lower in space and the heart becomes deconditioned.

 

[erioladastra]

"You'd think, given how anal NASA tends to be that every item in the station would have an assigned location kept on a database somewhere. "<br /><br />It is not a matter of being anal. First, you have humans who have to put things in numerous places and then go log it. People make mistakes or plan to update it later and then forget. Then you add in that there are a large numbers of things you can't put a bar code on (ever bar code a screw or rubber gasket?). Then you have the cases where the bar code reader is not working or can't reach the LAN port in your location so you have to, gasp, due it by pencil and get all thoe numbers right. Then you add in the ground who have to track all this stuff and pack Progresses and shuttles and get the database in order. Finally, you have stuff crammed in every bloody corner. I am actually amazed when we find stuff! Now the pump module amazed me since that was not a small item! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[rocketwatcher2001]

News-<br />We "lost" a torquemeter for a T56 engine in our jet shop for a few days, right under our noses. And those things are pretty big. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[steampower]

@rocketwatcher2001: don`t tell me, you only found it when some pilot mentioned the adverse effect that "new dongle you added" was having on the handling <br /><br />steampower.