May 28 2009
From The Space Library
NASA announced that, in 2012 and 2013, it had signed a US$306 million modification to its ISS contract with the Russian federal space agency Roscosmo for crew transportation and related services. According to Alexei B. Krasnov, Director of Human Flight Programs at Roscosmo, NASA would pay US$51 million per astronaut aboard the Soyuz craft. The modification covered all necessary Soyuz training and preparation for launch, crew rescue, and landing of a long- duration mission for six individual ISS crew members. The agreement covered four Soyuz launches—two in the spring of 2012 and two in the fall of 2012, with landings scheduled for the fall of 2012 and the spring of 2013—as well as postflight rehabilitation, medical exams, and services. The agreement allowed for limited cargo per person, to and from the station: 110 pounds (49.9 kilograms) launched to the ISS, 37 pounds (16.8 kilograms) returned to Earth, and 66 pounds (29.9 kilograms) of trash disposal.
NASA, “NASA Extends Contract with Russian Federal Space Agency,” contract release C09-024, 28 May 2009, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/may/HQ_C09-024_Soyuz_Con_Mod.html (accessed 20 June 2011); RIA Novosti, “Russia To Charge NASA $51 Mln for Seats on Soyuz Spacecraft,” 29 May 2009.
NASA announced that, using NASA’s Aqua satellite, researchers had conducted the first global analysis of the health and productivity of ocean plants. Ocean scientists had used Aqua’s Moderate Resolution Imagine Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to measure remotely the amount of fluorescent redlight emitted by phytoplankton. This research marked the first time that scientists had observed redlight fluorescence over the open ocean on a global scale. The measurements enabled the researchers to assess how efficiently the microscopic plants had been conducting photosynthesis. The data could also enable researchers to study the effect of global environmental changes on phytoplankton. Scientists consider phytoplankton to be the center of the ocean food web, accounting for half of all photosynthetic activity on Earth and playing a critical role in the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Michael J. Behrenfeld, a biologist at Oregon State University, explained that the amount of fluorescent light emitted is not constant but, rather, changes with the health of the plant life in the ocean. Scott C. Doney, a marine chemist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, added that fluorescence provides insight into how well phytoplankton are functioning within the ecosystem. The new measurement revealed that large areas of the Indian Ocean contain phytoplankton that are experiencing stress from iron deficiency. Scientists observed that phytoplankton fluorescence increases as the amount of iron decreases. Therefore, large portions of the ocean “light up” seasonally, as phytoplankton respond to the lack of iron in their diet.
NASA, “NASA Satellite Detects Red Glow To Map Global Ocean Plant Health,” news release 09-124, 28 May 2008, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/may/HQ_09-124_Ocean_health.html (accessed 20 June 2011).
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