Big News

         Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

OFF EARTH: Today, three men left Earth, and two of them aren't coming back for a long spell.

Shortly after 12:40 p.m. Seattle time, a Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft launched with NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

We watched pre-launch coverage on NASA TV, which included lots of interviews with crew members and information about the mission. We watched the men suit up and head for their vehicle. I always love listening to the music played by the Cosmodrome "DJ" as these pre-flight events are going on. Today, in addition to traditional Russian music, I heard The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun." An interesting mix, as it always is.

The launch was nominal, thankfully.  In the NASA TV photo below, astronaut Scott Kelly gives a thumbs-up from inside the Soyuz TMA-16M. 

At dinner time, we watched the Soyuz dock with the ISS.  These quick trips to the station are remarkable. I can only imagine how much better the astronauts like them than the days-long journeys of old.

Kelly and Kornienko will be on station for nearly an entire year. NASA is producing a new series of videos called "Space Station Stories." The first one profiles the crew who will be long term ISS residents.

MEANWHILE, ON EARTH: Business as usual down here. The kids had their film making class this afternoon, and the skies were blue once again. 

Speaking of Earth, tomorrow is the annual Earth Hour event. Millions all over the world will 
turn their lights off at 8:30 p.m., in a symbolic gesture demonstrating how we all need to do our part to conserve energy and raise awareness about climate change and what we can do about it. More information and updates about Earth Hour events 'round the world can be found here: www.earthhour.org/live.

Here's a short video about the event


BIG NEWS: MPA will be "in the house" at the NASA Social in conjunction with the upcoming Space X launch of a resupply mission to the International Space Station on April 10.  A couple weeks back, when I saw an announcement about the opportunity, I pestered Christian to apply for social media credentials for the launch, and as he was filling out the online app, I told him he was going to get chosen.

I love it when I'm right. :)

After the launch, SpaceX will (once again) be attempting to land the first stage of their rocket on a barge in the Atlantic. Hopefully Christian will be there to cover history being made! Fingers crossed the launch goes off on schedule. ... 

Dazzling Day

 
#YEARINSPACE:  Lots of chatter on the Internet about tomorrow's launch, which will take two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut to the International Space Station. Two of the three men, Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko, will spend nearly a year on board, the longest continual time any humans have ever spent off planet. 

Here's a short video about the Human Research Program.


Launch coverage will start at 11:30 a.m., and the Soyuz is set to lift off at 12:42 p.m., Pacific time, on NASA TV. 

SHOREBIRDS:  The sun shone brightly from the get-go this morning. The kids each had a class to attend this morning, and at lunchtime, we manned a booth for the social issues club they're a part of, but after that, got out into the wonderful weather.

A walk from 'downtown' Magnolia to the shoreline at the end of 32nd Avenue West.   

It was absolutely amazing. The sound was smooth and there wasn't a wisp of wind. Believe it or not, before too long the kids complained about being hot! It was 70 degrees out, but it's all relative, isn't it?

Annabelle walked many a log, and CJ ran around on the rocky beach. 

 We watched boats go by - everything from small yachts to ferries to cargo ships. 

At one point I even noticed multiple jets from a fire fighting boat in the distance.  You can see them just beyond all the masts.

Back home, we did some math, cleaned the fish tank, tended to our veggie starts, and worked on an art project.  We also took time out to measure the magnificent daffodils that continue to delight us in the garden.

After dinner, it was so darn nice out, we went to yet another beach in Magnolia, a pocket park along Perkins Lane.

Annabelle waded and jumped waves.  (Just think - weather so nice you can wave jump in MARCH. In SEATTLE!)

We also inspected many a rock, and wished we had geologist Uncle Jim on speed dial, so he could tell us what we were looking at.

It was a lovely visit, with one downer. ...

Why in the world don't the people living in the mansion on the sound find the money to replace the flag on this pole? Or at the very least, take this tattered mess down?

Terrible.

The Countdown's On

Image Credit NASA/Bill Ingalls

FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED MINUTES: This morning, we watched a TIME magazine produced trailer about Captain Scott Kelly's upcoming year-long mission aboard the International Space Station. TIME's Red Border Films will be making a movie about the mission. 

Beginning in May 2015, and presented across all TIME platforms (print and digital), "A Year in Space" will chronicle Scott Kelly and his twin brother and fellow astronaut Mark Kelly, from training pre-flight to the ISS, orbiting 250-miles above Earth. 

You can see a trailer for the series here: http://time.com/space-nasa-scott-kelly-mission/   (Warning, for us, it was preceded by a creepy commercial for a series about Lizze Borden.)

For more info, visit time.com/space.

Meanwhile, in Kazakhstan,, the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft has been rolled by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for Friday's launch. See the AWESOME Bill Ingalls photo above. :)

Speaking of launches, midday, we watched (via the Internet) a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket send a GPS to orbit for the U.S.Air Force. It was uncharacteristically foggy  at ground level at the Cape today, but we were happy to see the rocket didn't seem to mind. 

WHERE'S THE (CORNED) BEEF?: Since we were having corned beef for dinner, I had to share a funny story with the kids about corned beef smuggled to space. Seriously. 

Back on March 23, 1965, astronaut John Young reportedly smuggled a corned beef sandwich on board during the Gemini 3 mission. Apparently it was very pungent in the tiny capsule. Funny that Young would feel the need to do that - it was just a three-orbit, five-hour mission. You can read the Washington Post story about it here: 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/03/24/50-years-ago-this-week-a-sandwich-was-smuggled-into-space/

Coming Up

GROWING LIKE GANGBUSTERS: Our fledgling garden has become a daily delight. Every morning we check to see what has grown how much. Today's progress was impressive! Zucchini is popping up all over, and tiny tomato plants are making their presence known. 

We left home about 10 a.m., and when we came home at 1 p.m., we were shocked by how much bigger and more numerous the zucchini starts were as compared to the morning! Amazing!

Naturally, we've joked about the zucchini overtaking our kitchen, and then our house. CJ said he, for one, welcomes our new zucchini overlords. ;)

The tomato plants are downright wispy in comparison. No surprise, I suppose, given they're cherry tomato type plants.

SAVE THE DATE: This Friday, three men will be leaving Earth, and two of them will be living off-planet for an entire year.

         Image Credit:  Roscosmos/GCTC

From left are Flight Engineers Scott Kelly of NASA, with Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko of Roscosmos. Kelly and Kornienko will be spending an entire year in space on board the International Space Station. I hope they enjoy each other's company. :)

The launch, from the Balkonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, will take place at 12:42 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, March 27. Coverage on NASA TV begins at 11:30 a.m.

According to a NASA press release, "Kelly and Kornienko will spend a year on the space station to better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to the harsh environment of space. Data from the expedition will be used to determine whether there are ways to further reduce the risks on future long-duration missions to an asteroid and eventually Mars."

One of the reasons Mark Kelly was selected for the mission is that his twin brother, Scott Kelly, is a retired NASA astronaut.  Data and samples will be collected from both Scott an Mark throughout the year. Comparing data from the genetically-identical Kelly brothers could help identify changes caused by long-term spaceflight.

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE:  We have a few photos left over from yesterday's field trip to Pike Place Market. 

Naturally, we had to visit the booth where they famously throw the fish around. There were no flying fish during the two minutes we were there. However, Annabelle's gaze came to rest on a monk fish. She was a little afraid of its less than conventionally attractive appearance, shall we say.

You can see it in the front and center in the bottom of their display, below. If you look, you can also see one of the workers behind a sign in the center of the top row.

Turns out he was headed to the string that's attached to the (fake) monk fish. You should have seen Annabelle JUMP!!!! when he tugged on said string. She actually (mildly) hurt herself she jumped so violently. We all had a good laugh about it, though.

We also had to pay a visit to what has to be one of the most disgusting tourist attractions in the world: The Gum Wall in Post Alley.

Colorful, and it actually even smell good (all spearminty!), but oh, so gross, and growing every day. The photo below is just a fraction of it.

Water World

WATERY:  Yesterday was the United Nations' World Water Day, an annual event to bring attention to water scarcity and the need for water conservation and improving access to those in need.

For the past month-plus, the weekly social issues club the kids participate in has been studying the issue of water scarcity. We've read articles, scoured Web sites and watched documentaries, and today, the kids began sharing what they've learned with their peers.

CJ and Annabelle prepared a poster with information about water scarcity education, conservation, innovation, and communication. 

The put their info on display in the commons area of their alternative learning center along with other members of the group.

The kids will be staffing the booth for a couple more hours this week during high traffic times at the center.

ON THE WATERFRONT: Thanks to the Seattle Public Library's free museum pass program, we visited the Seattle Aquarium this afternoon.

 It's not an inexpensive ticket, and we sure appreciate the opportunity to go for free.

About the first thing you walk into is a wall of water, with abundant marine life darting to and fro.

From there, we wound our way back to the pools where the kids could touch sea creatures, see an octopus (my photos were terrible, sadly), walk under a tunnel of jellyfish. 

The colorful, diverse array of creatures was amazing.

We made our way to the largely outside area of the aquarium and the sea dome. We could hear a presentation was underway, and close to wrapping up. There were dozens of people in the dome, who had watched and heard the whole show, which included a live diver, swimming overhead. Despite our tardy arrival, when the moderator asked if there were any questions, CJ's hand shot up, and he was called on immediately. The question he asked the diver? "What's your favorite fish?"

Without hesitation, the diver said it's the wolf eel. 

The otters were amusing, as always, though they were tough to photograph, as they were in the midst of a shrimp feeding frenzy.

It was fun watching this big seal watch us watching it.

There is a shore bird exhibit, and Annabelle was feeling sorry for this 'one legged' bird. I told her I thought it had two, and I stood around long enough to prove myself right.

FAIR-Y: This morning, we listened in and watched some of the fifth annual White Hose Science Fair. So inspiring!

We learned about Nikhil Behari, 14, Sewickley, PA, who created a secondary security system for authenticating passwords. It involves connecting sensors to a microprocessor that he'd programmed to detect keystroke pressure, and then he used another program to measure action and pause time as users type. In other words, Nikhil pioneered a way to not just detect the password being keyed in, but *how* it was keyed in, as a secondary test. Fascinating!

One of the most fun entries in this year's fair was 16-year-old Mallory Kieyman's "Hiccupop," a lolipop formulated to help cure hiccoughs. The patented invention uses apple cider vinegar, sugar, and the sucking action to help cure the ailment.

More highlights of the exhibits are included in a press release here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/23/new-details-president-obama-hosts-5th-white-house-science-fair