First Deep Space Biology Experiment Begins, Follow Along in Real-Time

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NASA’s BioSentinel has carried living organisms farther from Earth than ever before – more than one million miles. Aboard the shoebox-sized CubeSat are microorganisms, in the form of yeast – the very same yeast that makes bread rise and beer brew. On Dec. 5, BioSentinel was 655,730 miles from Earth when the BioSentinel team at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley sent commands to the spacecraft to kick off the initial experiment for the first long-duration biology study in deep space. Scientists are now able to see how living organisms respond to deep space radiation.

Artemis missions at the Moon will prepare humans to travel on increasingly farther and longer-duration missions to destinations like Mars. Because yeast cells have similar biological mechanisms to human cells, including DNA damage and repair, studying yeast in space will help us better understand the risks of space radiation to humans and other biological organisms. BioSentinel’s science results will fill critical gaps in knowledge about the health risks in deep space posed by space radiation.

BioSentinel – which launched aboard Artemis I – is orbiting the Sun, positioned beyond Earth’s protective magnetic field. There, the CubeSat will run a series of experiments over the next five to six months.

NASA invites the public to virtually ride along with BioSentinel’s deep space journey using NASA’s “Eyes on the Solar System” visualization tool, a digital model of the solar system. This real-time simulated view of our solar system runs on real data. The positions of the planets, moons, and spacecraft – including BioSentinel – are shown where they are right now.

You can adjust the level of illumination on the spacecraft by clicking on the show/hide settings button in the bottom right of the screen. Once opened, you can toggle between flood, shadow, and natural lighting. Additionally, you can use time controls – at the bottom of the screen – to fast-forward or rewind time in the simulated view, to preview BioSentinel’s future trajectory or see a recap of its prior path.

05/31/2023 | Linda Stepanich, IPC

Christina Trussell of Blue Origin was new to her career and eager to learn. Garry McGuire of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center was an established contributor to dozens of IPC standards. After they met at an IPC APEX EXPO Newcomers’ Reception, the two built a strong mentor/mentee relationship. Christina is an Emerging Engineer (EE),and they both have leadership roles on the 7-31FS IPC/WHMA-A-620 Space and Military Electronic Assemblies Addendum Task Group.

05/29/2023 | Happy Holden, I-Connect007

While IPC was hosting its annual SummerCom mid-year standards event, WHMA was hosting its own “wire show,” co-located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During IPC SummerCom 2023 more than 90 meetings from May 13–18 were conducted, ranging from very small to very large groups. Some meetings only lasted an hour, while others were four to eight hours. WHMA is a much smaller technical association than IPC, but it provides the connectivity between our boards, assemblies, and the myriad sensors and actuators used in modern electrical and electronic systems. Wire is the principal conduit, but the variety and complexity of these configurations seem endless.

03/13/2023 | Boeing

Boeing and Shield AI have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore strategic collaboration in the areas of autonomous capabilities and artificial intelligence on current and future defense programs. Shield AI created Hivemind, an artificial intelligence pilot that has flown a variety of aircraft. According to Shield AI, the AI pilot can also enable swarms of drones and aircraft to operate autonomously without GPS, communications or a human pilot in the cockpit.