X-MAN

The daily world--or at least the cultural world--is catching on to Peter Diamandis. Of X PRIZE, International Space University, ZERO-G, and the most recent Rocket Racing League fame, Peter is becoming a household name in stirring our latent imagination, while questioning the way we've been thinking advancement. Go Greek and go Geek!

http://www.goodmagazine.com/issue001/X_Man

Adaptation is a two-way street

News over the past two days has seen two stories of humans adapting to spaceflight: private spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari was sick on her way to the ISS while returning astronaut Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper fainted twice during a speech in Houston. Both women are doing fine and are considered to be experiencing normal effects of space flight adaptation. Ansari and SarStefanyshyn-Piper are approximately the same age (40 and 43, respectively) and are both expereincing the effects from their first trip in space. I cannot find any other time when stories were published simultaneously about women adapting to life in space and on Earth. Another milestone in space history!

Anousheh's blog is giving the world an unprecedented insight into the mind of a regular person up in space. She shows no reservations in detailing her sickness or the multiple injections she requested to help her ease through the adaption. (Thanks to Mike and Misha for all the help!) Typically, the level of detail Anousheh is giving can only be found in astronaut memoirs published long after active duty. While it is interesting to read about trips in Mercury or Apollo, these stories don't give a sense of what space travel is like today. The stories don't connect me to what is happening above my head on a daily basis.

I fully expect to see a NASA press statement assuring us Heide is fine, but I get a much warmer feeling in my heart hearing from Anousheh herself that she was sick and is feeling better. I am also learning from Anousheh's blog. (My wife has already remarked that I will move too much in my first few days on orbit and get sick too.) This level of insight is fascinating and useful. NASA has downplayed the effects of motion sickness for many years, fearing a negative public reaction. As a future space flight participant, this one story has given me a better sense of what to expect from space motion sickness and how to deal with it than I ever had before (even after 30+ flights on ZERO-G!). Thanks again, Anousheh!

NASA Engages Students with iPods + Competition

A Creative Opportunity for Students to Voice Their Perspectives About Space Exploration...

Please foward this TIME SENSITIVE message to educators and students within your network...

NASA's 21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition
It's an exciting time for educators and students. Before the end of the next decade, NASA astronauts will return to the moon. This time, we're planning to stay, building outposts and paving the way for eventual journeys to Mars and beyond. Today's students will be tomorrow's explorers. How will space exploration benefit their lives in the future?

That's the question this competition asks of students ages 11-18. The first NASA 21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition challenges students to create unique audio and video podcasts. The topic: How will space exploration benefit your life in the future?

Running from September 1 through October 10, 2006, this competition is open to United States citizens ages 11-18. Students are grouped into two age divisions: 11-14 and 15-18. Each division will have two separate categories: audio podcast and video podcast. First, second, and third place prizes will be awarded in each category and age group. An additional "People's Choice Award" will honor one podcast for each age division.

Students may choose to create several podcasts, but only one entry may be submitted for each person. More details and the entry form can be found at the 21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition website at http://www.explorationpodcast.com.
Students under 18 need written consent from a parent or guardian.

All work needs to be original. Any use of copyrighted material will disqualify the entry.

Time is short. The competition begins September 1 and ends after the first 1,000 entries are submitted in each category OR at midnight on October 10, whichever comes first.

Winners will be announced at the 2nd Space Exploration Conference in Houston, TX on December 6, 2006.

Encourage students to grab their iPods and thinking caps and peer into their futures. This is a wonderful opportunity to take a close look at where space exploration may take 21st Century explorers!

Feel free to pass this email on to your education and public outreach contacts. We want to get as many entries as possible (a maximum of 1000 per category). If you have any questions, please contact Chris Giersch at c.giersch@larc.nasa.gov.

Anousheh's Song

You can hear it at AnoushehAnsari.com.

Grammy winners, Deep Dish, an Iranian-American DJ duo composed "Be the Change" to commemorate and honor Anousheh's historic spaceflight.

How cool is that! I'd like to have my own theme song for every living moment! Kudos to Deep Dish for marking this moment with your uber cool craft!

For more on the duo: www.DeepDish.com

Sex in Space

Speaking of which...that is Laura Woodmansee's new book. Just released a month or 2 ago, Laura is busy with her book tour and her next stop is at JPL, September 28. The topic has floated around since sex was created, and people have snickered at it and NASA has a faux pas reaction to it. www.woodmansee.com

Several months ago, Laura interviewed me for her book and asked 7 questions, of which some of them are posted here:

1. What do you think the culture and sexual habits of a future
permanent space society may be like?

2. Do you think that anyone has made love / had sex in space? What
rumors and/or "evidence" have you heard/read?

3. How might people make love in weightlessness? (positions, gear to
assist, etc)

4. What are some ways to make sex in zero-g romantic?


Hey, it's about time someone just put it out there! Congratulations Laura! You go girl!

What's Next for Space Tourists?

Yesterday, Lore Sjöberg with Wired News predicted the future of the space tourism market and offers some suggestions for what the tourists may do in space. ("Kids, don't make me do a return-to-launch-site-abort!")

Eric Anderson of Space Adventures, the firm that brokered the four deals to get private citizens into space, co-authored "The Space Tourist's Handbook" in 2005. The book was quirky and funny, with how-to's and escape ideas reminiscent of co-author Joshua Piven's Worst Case Scenario series.

While these are funny and both a good read, they also bring up a serious question: what will the first real space tourists do up there? Current private spaceflight participants undergo months of pre-flight training and are typically trained in science or engineering. All four of the private space explorers have done some kind of science during their time in orbit. But is that enough?

We are about to get the first blog from space written by Anousheh, but when will we have the first dance in space? The first postcard from the ISS? The first child to see the Earth from orbit?

I know one day clothing with the pop-culture "My friend went to space and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" line emblazoned on it will be standard issue along with other pre-fab merchandise. But what about in the next 5 years? 10 years? What will people do aboard a space hotel?

Ideas, anyone? Let's begin to create the experience, instead of the destination. As second-time ZERO-G flyers will tell you, weightlessness is only cool for so long; then you want to do something with it.

[And for those of you that are interested, here is the sex in space link. Because when you ask what there is to do in space, it always comes up as an answer...]

Congratulations Anousheh!

Congrats Anousheh Ansari for being the first unofficial woman astronaut ever! Congratulations on completing 6 months of strenuous training to pursue your beliefs and dreams. "Space tourist" just doesn't describe the work involved to go hang out at the ISS for a week, perform experiments, and being in top physical health to fulfill the requirements. Though, yes, the bill of approximately $20M is quite hefty.

In other words, look out for the Anousheh Ansari commemorative First Flight t-shirt at XP Cup!