Europe increases space presence
The launch of NASA's space shuttle Discovery on 4 July, after a couple of false-starts, will take a European astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) for an extended stay for the first time. Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency (ESA) will not return to Earth with the rest of the Discovery crew, but will remain on the ISS for six or seven months after docking on 6 July. He will join Russian commander Pavel Vinogradov and NASA flight engineer Jeffrey Williams, both of whom arrived at the ISS from a Russian Soyuz craft in March. Dr Reiter is an experienced astronaut, having spent six months on board the Russian space station Mir during the ESA's EuroMir 95 mission in 1995. He will be the first ESA astronaut to make a spacewalk from the ISS, again building on his two EVAs (Extra-vehicular Activities) made during the EuroMir mission. Most important for the European component of the mission, Dr Reiter will carry out the Astrolab experiments, which involve components and experiments from all over Europe. Experiments will investigate human physiology, including the cardiovascular system, bone mass, eye motion, immune system and respiratory system, astronaut psychology, microbiology, complex plasma physics and radiation dosimetry. There will also be technological demonstrations, including a 3D camera and experiments, designed to help school and university students learn about science. Dr Reiter will also incorporate the ESA's Leonardo Multi Purpose Logistics Module into the ISS. The Leonardo module is used to transport equipment, and is carrying three new -80° freezers designed to test the long-term preservation of biological samples. Other European instruments include the Modular Cultivation System, designed to grow plants in space, and the Percutaneous Electrical Muscle Stimulator, which will be used for human physiology experiments. The current mission will be a dry-run for the increased European presence in space when the Columbus laboratory arrives. 'Astrolab is a milestone mission for human spaceflight in Europe,' explains Daniel Sacotte, ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight. 'Thomas is just the first to go and more will follow. Even if our astronauts will not be permanently on the Space Station over the coming years, we have to prepare for having them onboard very often and for long durations. It is really the beginning of a long-term European human presence in space. NASA is accelerating its shuttle programme. A further 17 flights are planned up to 2010, which will carry more ESA instruments, components and astronauts to the ISS, including the Columbus laboratory, the result of more than 10 years of planning and development. Astrolab will test the Columbus Control Centre at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany - ESA's own mission control. //CPA For further information, please consult the following web addresses: http://www.esa.int(opens in new window) http://www.nasa.gov(opens in new window)
Countries
Germany