Integrating Applications of Astronomy via Multidisciplinary Approach ©2017 | Aravinda Ravibhanu

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Integrating Applications of Astronomy via Multidisciplinary

Approach

Aravinda Ravibhnau Sumanarathna

© Department of Research & Innovation – South Asian Astrobiology & Earth

Sciences Research Unit of Eco Astronomy

challenges of integrating astronomical research into the general enterprise in

multidisciplinary astronomy, the committee realized that the issue of

integration was broader and generic to this intrinsically interdisciplinary

subject—that is, astrophysics is but one of many disciplines that need to be

brought to bear on multidisciplinary approach in astronomy. It decided to

attempt to address some of these more generic issues of fostering a healthy

interdisciplinary interaction among fields that are themselves so complex that

they require a focused, reductive approach.

The committee has identified three factors that currently limit the integration

of astronomy and astrophysics with astrobiology and, indeed, that limit the

integration of robust interdisciplinary research of any kind: (1) a lack of

common goals and interests, (2) lack of a common language, and (3)

insufficient background in allied fields on the part of experts to allow them to

do useful interdisciplinary work. This report has been systemically profiling

to general enterprise approach via multidisciplinary astronomy & effectivity

of sustainable development on behalf of it.

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Introduction

Throughout ancient people have looked to the sky to navigate the vast oceans,

to decide when to plant their crops and to answer questions of where we came

from and how we got here. It is a discipline that opens our eyes, gives context

to our place in the Universe and that can reshape how we see the world. When

Copernicus claimed that Earth was not the center of the Universe, it triggered

a revolution. A revolution through which religion, science, and society had to

adapt to this new world view.

Astronomy has always had a significant impact on our world view. Early

cultures identified celestial objects with the gods and took their movements

across the sky as prophecies of what was to come. We would now call this

astrology, far removed from the hard facts and expensive instruments of

today’s astronomy, but there are still hints of this history in modern

astronomy. Take, for example, the names of the constellations: Andromeda,

the chained maiden of Greek mythology, or Perseus, the demi-god who saved

her.

The Pleiades (1885) by the Symbolist painter Elihu Vedder

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Now, as our understanding of the world progresses, we find ourselves and our

view of the world even more entwined with the stars. The discovery that the

basic elements that we find in stars, and the gas and dust around them, are

the same elements that make up our bodies has further deepened the

connection between us and the cosmos. This connection touches our lives,

and the awe it inspires is perhaps the reason that the beautiful images

astronomy provides us with are so popular in today’s culture.

There are still many unanswered questions in astronomy. Current research is

struggling to understand questions like: “How old are we?”, “What is the fate

of the Universe?” and possibly the most interesting: “How unique is the

Universe, and could a slightly different Universe ever have supported life?”

But astronomy is also breaking new records every day, establishing the

furthest distances, most massive objects, highest temperatures and most

violent explosions.

Pursuing these questions is a fundamental part of being human, yet in today's

world it has become increasingly important to be able to justify the pursuit of

the answers. The difficulties in describing the importance of astronomy, and

fundamental research in general, are well summarized by the following quote:

“Preserving knowledge is easy. Transferring knowledge is also easy. But making

new knowledge is neither easy nor profitable in the short term. Fundamental

research proves profitable in the long run, and, as importantly, it is a force that

enriches the culture of any society with reason and basic truth.”

- Ahmed Zewali, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1999).

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Although we live in a world faced with the many immediate problems of

hunger, poverty, energy and global warming, we argue that astronomy has

long term benefits that are equally as important to a civilized society. Several

studies (see below) have told us that investing in science education, research

and technology provides a great return — not only economically, but culturally

and indirectly for the population in general — and has helped countries to

face and overcome crises. The scientific and technological development of a

country or region is closely linked to its human development index — a

statistic that is a measure of life expectancy, education and income (Truman,

1949).

There are other works that have contributed to answering the question “Why

is astronomy important?” Dr. Robert Aitken, director of Lick Observatory,

shows us that even in 1933 there was a need to justify our science, in his paper

entitled The Use of Astronomy (Aitken, 1933). His last sentence summarizes

his sentiment: “To give man ever more knowledge of the universe and to help

him 'to learn humility and to know exaltation', that is the mission of

astronomy.” More recently, C. Renée James wrote an article outlining the

recent technological advances that we can thank astronomy for, such as GPS,

medical imaging, and wireless internet (Renée James, 2012). In defence of

radio astronomy, Dave Finley in Finley (2013) states, “In sum, astronomy has

been a cornerstone of technological progress throughout history, has much to

contribute in the future, and offers all humans a fundamental sense of our

place in an unimaginably vast and exciting universe.”

Astronomy and related fields are at the forefront of science and technology;

answering fundamental questions and driving innovation. It is for this reason

that the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) strategic plan for 2010–

2020 has three main areas of focus: technology and skills; science and

research; and culture and society.

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Although “blue-skies research” like astronomy rarely contributes directly with

tangible outcomes on a short time scale, the pursuit of this research requires

cutting-edge technology and methods that can on a longer time scale, through

their broader application make a difference.

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A wealth of examples — many of which are outlined below — show how the

study of astronomy contributes to technology, economy and society by

constantly pushing for instruments, processes and software that are beyond

our current capabilities. The fruits of scientific and technological development

in astronomy, especially in areas such as optics and electronics, have become

essential to our day-to-day life, with applications such as personal computers,

communication satellites, mobile phones, Global Positioning Systems, solar

panels and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners).

Sri Lanka : For realism he downloaded countless gigabytes of real satellite images from NASA's Visible

Earth catalogs.

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Although the study of astronomy has provided a wealth of tangible, monetary

and technological gains, perhaps the most important aspect of astronomy is

not one of economical measure. Astronomy has and continues to

revolutionize our thinking on a worldwide scale. In the past, astronomy has

been used to measure time, mark the seasons, and navigate the vast oceans.

As one of the oldest sciences astronomy is part of every culture’s history and

roots. It inspires us with beautiful images and promises answers to the big

questions. It acts as a window into the immense size and complexity of space,

putting Earth into perspective and promoting global citizenship and pride in

our home planet. Several reports in the US (National Research Council, 2010)

and Europe (Bode et al., 2008) indicate that the major contributions of

astronomy are not just the technological and medical applications (technology

transfer, see below), but a unique perspective that extends our horizons and

helps us discover the grandeur of the Universe and our place within it. On a

more pressing level, astronomy helps us study how to prolong the survival of

our species. For example, it is critical to study the Sun’s influence on Earth’s

climate and how it will affect weather, water levels etc. Only the study of the

Sun and other stars can help us to understand these processes in their

entirety. In addition, mapping the movement of all the objects in our Solar

System, allows us to predict the potential threats to our planet from space.

Such events could cause major changes to our world, as was clearly

demonstrated by the meteorite impact in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013.

On a personal level, teaching astronomy to our youth is also of great value. It

has been proven that pupils who engage in astronomy-related educational

activities at a primary or secondary school are more likely to pursue careers

in science and technology, and to keep up to date with scientific discoveries

(National Research Council, 1991). This does not just benefit the field of

astronomy, but reaches across other scientific disciplines.

Astronomy is one of the few scientific fields that interacts directly with

society. Not only transcending borders, but actively promoting collaborations

around the world. In the following paper, we outline the tangible aspects of

what astronomy has contributed to various fields.

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Impact site of the main mass of the Chelyabinsk meteorite in the ice of Lake Chebarkul. Image released

Nov. 6, 2013. (Image: © Eduard Kalinin)

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Space Weather

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Space Weather

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic

field from the Sun’s corona. They can eject billions of tons of coronal material

and carry an embedded magnetic field (frozen in flux) that is stronger than

the background solar wind interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength. CMEs

travel outward from the Sun at speeds ranging from slower than 250

kilometers per second (km/s) to as fast as near 3000 km/s. The fastest Earth-

directed CMEs can reach our planet in as little as 15-18 hours. Slower CMEs

can take several days to arrive. They expand in size as they propagate away

from the Sun and larger CMEs can reach a size comprising nearly a quarter of

the space between Earth and the Sun by the time it reaches our planet.

The more explosive CMEs generally begin when highly twisted magnetic field

structures (flux ropes) contained in the Sun’s lower corona become too

stressed and realign into a less tense configuration – a process called magnetic

reconnection. This can result in the sudden release of electromagnetic energy

in the form of a solar flare; which typically accompanies the explosive

acceleration of plasma away from the Sun – the CME. These types of CMEs

usually take place from areas of the Sun with localized fields of strong and

stressed magnetic flux; such as active regions associated with sunspot groups.

CMEs can also occur from locations where relatively cool and denser plasma

is trapped and suspended by magnetic flux extending up to the inner corona

- filaments and prominences. When these flux ropes reconfigure, the denser

filament or prominence can collapse back to the solar surface and be quietly

reabsorbed, or a CME may result. CMEs travelling faster than the background

solar wind speed can generate a shock wave. These shock waves can accelerate

charged particles ahead of them – causing increased radiation storm potential

or intensity.

Important CME parameters used in analysis are size, speed, and direction.

These properties are inferred from orbital satellites’ coronagraph imagery by

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SWPC forecasters to determine any Earth-impact likelihood. The NASA Solar

and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) carries a coronagraph – known as the

Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO). This instrument has

two ranges for optical imaging of the Sun’s corona: C2 (covers distance range

of 1.5 to 6 solar radii) and C3 (range of 3 to 32 solar radii). The LASCO

instrument is currently the primary means used by forecasters to analyze and

categorize CMEs; however another coronagraph is on the NASA STEREO-A

spacecraft as an additional source.

Imminent CME arrival is first observed by the Deep Space Climate Observatory

(DSCOVR) satellite, located at the L1 orbital area. Sudden increases in density,

total interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength, and solar wind speed at the

DSCOVR spacecraft indicate arrival of the CME-associated interplanetary

shock ahead of the magnetic cloud. This can often provide 15 to 60 minutes

advanced warning of shock arrival at Earth – and any possible sudden impulse

or sudden storm commencement; as registered by Earth-based

magnetometers.

Important aspects of an arriving CME and its likelihood for causing more

intense geomagnetic storming include the strength and direction of the IMF

beginning with shock arrival, followed by arrival and passage of the plasma

cloud and frozen-in-flux magnetic field. More intense levels of geomagnetic

storming are favored when the CME enhanced IMF becomes more pronounced

and prolonged in a south-directed orientation. Some CMEs show

predominantly one direction of the magnetic field during its passage, while

most exhibit changing field directions as the CME passes over Earth. Generally,

CMEs that impact Earth’s magnetosphere will at some point have an IMF

orientation that favors generation of geomagnetic storming. Geomagnetic

storms are classified using a five-level NOAA Space Weather Scale. SWPC

forecasters discuss analysis and geomagnetic storm potential of CMEs in the

forecast discussion and predict levels of geomagnetic storming in the 3-day

forecast.

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Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: Near Earth Asteroids

Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) are space rocks larger than

approximately 100m that can come closer to Earth than 0.05 AU. None of the

known PHAs is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers

are finding new ones all the time.

Asteroid Date(UT) Miss Distance Velocity (km/s) Diameter (m)

2020 GW1 2020-Apr-08 5.9 LD 13.3 25

2020 GF1 2020-Apr-08 1.5 LD 6.1 20

2020 FL4 2020-Apr-09 10.4 LD 4.6 14

2015 GK 2020-Apr-09 12.2 LD 12.9 25

2020 FW4 2020-Apr-09 19.7 LD 18.6 162

2020 GE 2020-Apr-10 5.4 LD 2.2 8

2019 HM 2020-Apr-10 7.2 LD 3.2 23

2020 GM1 2020-Apr-11 10.2 LD 25.5 65

2020 GU1 2020-Apr-11 5.9 LD 6.9 14

2020 GG 2020-Apr-11 9.7 LD 5.5 17

2020 GA2 2020-Apr-11 8.6 LD 24.7 208

363599 2020-Apr-11 19.2 LD 24.5 224

2020 GF2 2020-Apr-12 2.4 LD 10.3 23

2020 FX3 2020-Apr-15 14.1 LD 10.3 54

2020 FZ6 2020-Apr-15 20 LD 21.7 189

2020 GH2 2020-Apr-15 0.9 LD 8.7 18

2020 GJ2 2020-Apr-17 11.5 LD 8 42

2020 FV6 2020-Apr-19 10.8 LD 19.8 92

2019 HS2 2020-Apr-26 13.6 LD 12.6 17

2019 GF1 2020-Apr-27 18.7 LD 3.2 12

2020 FM6 2020-Apr-27 14.3 LD 16.9 156

52768 2020-Apr-29 16.4 LD 8.7 2457

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2020 DM4 2020-May-01 18.4 LD 6.4 162

438908 2020-May-07 8.9 LD 12.8 282

2016 HP6 2020-May-07 4.3 LD 5.7 31

388945 2020-May-10 7.3 LD 8.8 295

2000 KA 2020-May-12 8.9 LD 13.5 162

478784 2020-May-15 8.5 LD 3.6 28

136795 2020-May-21 16.1 LD 11.7 892

163348 2020-Jun-06 13.3 LD 11.1 339

2013 XA22 2020-Jun-09 10.6 LD 6.5 98

Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD

also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach

Technology Transfer

From Astronomy to Industry

Some of the most useful examples of technology transfer between astronomy

and industry include advances in imaging and communications. For example,

a film called Kodak Technical Pan is used extensively by medical and

industrial spectroscopists, industrial photographers, and artists, and was

originally created so that solar astronomers could record the changes in the

surface structure of the Sun. In addition, the development of Technical Pan —

again driven by the requirements of astronomers — was used for several

decades (until it was discontinued) to detect diseased crops and forests, in

dentistry and medical diagnosis, and for probing layers of paintings to reveal

forgeries (National Research Council, 1991).

In 2009 Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith were awarded the Nobel Prize in

Physics for the development of another device that would be widely used in

industry. The sensors for image capture developed for astronomical images,

known as Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs), were first used in astronomy in

1976. Within a very few years they had replaced film not only on telescopes,

but also in many people’s personal cameras, webcams and mobile phones. The

improvement and popularity of CCDs is attributed to NASA’s decision to use

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super-sensitive CCD technology on the Hubble Space Telescope (Kiger &

English, 2011).

In the realm of communication, radio astronomy has provided a wealth of

useful tools, devices, and data-processing methods. Many successful

communications companies were originally founded by radio astronomers.

The computer language FORTH was originally created to be used by the Kitt

Peak 36-foot telescope and went on to provide the basis for a highly profitable

company (Forth Inc.). It is now being used by FedEx worldwide for its tracking

services. Some other examples of technology transfer between astronomy and

industry are listed below (National Research Council, 2010):

QSI 532 CCD Camera on Celestron C5 Schmidt-Cassegrain

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The company General Motors uses the astronomy programming

language Interactive Data Language (IDL) to analyses data from car crashes.

The first patents for techniques to detect gravitational radiation — produced

when massive bodies accelerate — have been acquired by a company to help

them determine the gravitational stability of underground oil reservoirs.

The telecommunications company AT&T uses Image Reduction and Analysis

Facility (IRAF) — a collection of software written at the National Optical

Astronomy Observatory — to analyses computer systems and solid-state

physics graphics.

Larry Altschuler, an astronomer, was responsible for the development of

tomography - the process of imaging in sections using a penetrating wave -

via his work on reconstructing the Solar Corona from its projections. (Schuler,

M. D. 1979).

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From Astronomy to the Aerospace Sector

The aerospace sector shares most of its technology with astronomy —

specifically in telescope and instrument hardware, imaging, and image-

processing techniques.

Since the development of space-based telescopes, information acquisition for

defence has shifted from using ground-based to aerial and space-based,

techniques. Defence satellites are essentially telescopes pointed towards Earth

and require identical technology and hardware to those used in their

astronomical counterparts. In addition, processing satellite images uses the

same software and processes as astronomical images.

Some specific examples of astronomical developments used in defence are

given below (National Research Council, 2010):

Observations of stars and models of stellar atmospheres are used to

differentiate between rocket plumes and cosmic objects. The same method is

now being studied for use in early warning systems.

Observations of stellar distributions on the sky — which are used to point and

calibrate telescopes — are also used in aerospace engineering.

Astronomers developed a solar-blind photon counter — a device which can

measure the particles of light from a source, during the day, without being

overwhelmed by the particles coming from the Sun. This is now used to detect

ultraviolet (UV) photons coming from the exhaust of a missile, allowing for a

virtually false-alarm-free UV missile warning system. The same technology can

also be used to detect toxic gases.

Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites rely on astronomical objects, such

as quasars and distant galaxies, to determine accurate positions.

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Virtually false-alarm-free UV missile warning system

Thales and Leonardo are being funded by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)’s Defence Science and Technology

Laboratory (Dstl) to demonstrate the combined end-to-end performance of their respective Elix-IR infrared threat

warning system (IRTWS) and Miysis Directed Infra-Red Counter Measures (DIRCM) system (pictured).

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Photon Counter

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From Astronomy to the Energy Sector

Astronomical methods can be used to find new fossil fuels as well as to

evaluate the possibility of new renewable energy sources (National Research

Council, 2010):

Two oil companies, Texaco and BP, use IDL to analyses core samples around

oil fields as well as for general petroleum research.

An Australian company, called Ingenero, has created solar radiation collectors

to harness the power of the Sun for energy on Earth. They have created

collectors up to 16 meters in diameter, which is only possible with the use of

a graphite composite material developed for an orbiting telescope array.

Technology designed to image X-rays in X-ray telescopes — which have to be

designed differently from visible-light telescopes — is now used to

monitor plasma fusion. If fusion — where two light atomic nuclei fuse to form

a heavier nucleus — became possible to control, it could be the answer to safe,

clean, energy.

The Cygnus Loop Supernova Remnant in X-rays as imaged by three different X-ray telescopes. From the left:

image by early X-ray telescopes mounted on sounding rockets, image by the ROSAT's High Resolution Imager

(HRI) instrument, image by the ROSAT's Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) instrument. (Credits:

rocket image: Rappaport et al, ApJ (1979) 227, 285; ROSAT images: N. Levenson (Johns Hopkins), S. Snowden

(USRA/GSFC).

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Astronomy and Medicine

Astronomers struggle constantly to see objects that are ever dimmer and

further away. Medicine struggles with similar issues: to see things that are

obscured within the human body. Both disciplines require high-resolution,

accurate and detailed images. Perhaps the most notable example of knowledge

transfer between these two studies is the technique of aperture synthesis,

developed by the radio astronomer and Nobel Laureate, Martin Ryle (Royal

Swedish Academy of Sciences, 1974). This technology is used in computerised

tomography (also known as CT or CAT scanners), magnetic resonance

imaging (MRIs), positron emission tomography (PET) and many other medical

imaging tools.

Along with these imaging techniques, astronomy has developed many

programming languages that make image processing much easier, specifically

IDL and IRAF. These languages are widely used for medical applications

(Shasharina, 2005).

Another important example of how astronomical research has contributed to

the medical world is in the development of clean working areas. The

manufacture of space-based telescopes requires an extremely clean

environment to prevent dust or particles that might obscure or obstruct the

mirrors or instruments on the telescopes (such as in NASA’s STEREO mission;

Gruman, 2011). The cleanroom protocols, air filters, and bunny suits that were

developed to achieve this are now also used in hospitals and pharmaceutical

labs (Clark, 2012).

Some more direct applications of astronomical tools in medicine are listed

below:

A collaboration between a drug company and the Cambridge Automatic Plate

Measuring Facility allows blood samples from leukaemia patients to be

analysed faster and thus ensures more accurate changes in medication

(National Research Council, 1991).

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Radio astronomers developed a method that is now used as a non-invasive

way to detect tumours. By combining this with other traditional methods,

there is a true-positive detection rate of 96% in breast cancer patients (Barret

et al., 1978).

Small thermal sensors initially developed to control telescope instrument

temperatures are now used to control heating in neonatology units — units

for the care of newborn babies (National Research Council, 1991).

A low-energy X-ray scanner developed by NASA is currently used for

outpatient surgery, sports injuries, and in third-world clinics. It has also been

used by the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to study whether certain

pills had been contaminated (National Research Council, 1991).

Software for processing satellite pictures taken from space is now helping

medical researchers to establish a simple method to implement wide-scale

screening for Alzheimer’s disease (ESA, 2013).

Looking through the fluid-filled, constantly moving eye of a living person is

not that different from trying to observe astronomical objects through the

turbulent atmosphere, and the same fundamental approach seems to work for

both. Adaptive optics used in astronomy can be used for retinal imaging in

living patients to study diseases such as macular degeneration and retinitis

pigmentosa in their early stages. (Boston Micromachines Corporation 2010)

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Astronomy in Everyday Life

There are many things that people encounter on an everyday basis that were

derived from astronomical technologies. Perhaps the most commonly used

astronomy-derived invention is the wireless local area network (WLAN). In

1977 John O’Sullivan developed a method to sharpen images from a radio

telescope. This same method was applied to radio signals in general,

specifically to those dedicated to strengthening computer networks, which is

now an integral part of all WLAN implementations (Hamaker et al., 1977).

Other technologies important to everyday life that were originally developed

for astronomy are listed below (National Research Council, 2010):

X-ray observatory technology is also used in current X-ray luggage belts in

airports. In airports, a gas chromatograph — for separating and analyzing

compounds — designed for a Mars mission is used to survey baggage for

drugs and explosives.

The police use hand-held Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) photometers —

instruments developed by astronomers for measuring light intensity — to

check that car windows are transparent, as determined by the law.

A gamma-ray spectrometer originally used to analyses lunar soil is now used

as a non-invasive way to probe structural weakening of historical buildings or

to look behind fragile mosaics, such as in St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

More subtle than these contributions to technology is the contribution that

astronomy has made to our view of time. The first calendars were based on

the movement of the Moon and even the way that we define a second is due

to astronomy. The atomic clock, developed in 1955, was calibrated using

astronomical Ephemeris Time — a former standard astronomical timescale

adopted by the IAU in 1952. This led to the internationally agreed-upon re-

definition of the second (Markowitz et al., 1958).

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These are all very tangible examples of the effect astronomy has had on our

everyday lives, but astronomy also plays an important role in our culture.

There are many books and magazines about astronomy for non-

astronomers. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking is a bestseller and

has sold over ten million copies (Paris, 2007) and Carl Sagan’s television

series, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, has been watched in over 60 countries by

more than 500 million people (NASA, 2009).

Many non-astronomers also engaged with astronomy during the International

Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), the largest education and public outreach

event in science. The IYA2009 reached upwards of eight hundred million

people, through thousands of activities, in more than 148 countries (IAU,

2010).

MD200 COD Vario Photometer - Colorimeter for COD

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Astronomy and international collaboration

Scientific and technological achievements give a large competitive edge to any

nation. Nations pride themselves on having the most efficient new

technologies and race to achieve new scientific discoveries. But perhaps more

important is the way that science can bring nations together, encouraging

collaboration and creating a constant flow as researchers travel around the

globe to work in international facilities.

Astronomy is particularly well suited to international collaboration due to the

need to have telescopes in different places around the world, in order to see

the whole sky. At least as far back as 1887 — when astronomers from around

the world pooled their telescope images and made the first map of the whole

sky — there have been international collaborations in astronomy and in 1920,

the International Astronomical Union became the first international scientific

union.

In addition to the need to see the sky from different vantage points on Earth,

building astronomical observatories on the ground and in space is extremely

expensive. Therefore, most of the current and planned observatories are

owned by several nations. All of these collaborations have thus far been

peaceful and successful. Some of the most notable being:

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international

partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the

Republic of Chile, is the largest astronomical project in existence.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) which includes 14 European

countries and Brazil, and is located in Chile.

Collaborations on major observatories such as the NASA/ESA Hubble Space

Telescope between USA and Europe.

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Astronomy & Agriculture: Advanced Plant Habitat

An engineer named Bryan Onate at the Kennedy Center is the forefront of this

technology. Bryan led the team in building Veggie. It is the NASA’s first plant

growth system. Probably next month, he will be sending another improved

version which is the Advanced Plant Habitat. This invention is a mini sized

fridge. It is a system in which enables farmers to study the growth of plants

in space. It helps in analyzing the factors that affects the growth the plants.

This invention has 180 sensors and three cameras positioned in order to

monitor every set of the way.

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The very innovation of this system compared to previous invention is light.

Approximately, the sun emits about 2,000 micromoles to the Earth. However,

with this new development it will only emit 1,00o micro moles of light from

the sun. Light is crucial for plants to grow. In order for plants to produce food,

plants must receive optimal amount of sunlight in order to photosynthesize.

This is made because most of time the spaces stations cannot receive any light.

They have also wanted to test which spectrum will best converts better growth

to the plants. In this test, the astronauts will compare the red, green, blue and

white spectrums. In the interview, he said “We can really target a light

treatment, just so we can start learning the differences.” Truly our childhood

dreams of space farms is coming true.

Martian Soil Gardening

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Astronomy & Geology

This is a view of the third (left) and fourth (right) trenches made by the 1.6-inch-wide (4-centimeter-wide) scoop

on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity in October 2012. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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Neutral Buoyancy Lab

TechRepublic visited the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at the Johnson Space Center where astronauts train for

spacewalks.

This giant pool is an important piece of training for astronauts who will be completing extra vehicular activities

(EVAs), or spacewalks. The pool prepares them for working in a (mostly) weightless environment, as neutral

buoyancy refers to the equal tendency to float or sink

Astronomy to Tourism

Astronomical tourism represents a less-studied segment of sustainable

tourism, where a dark night sky is the underlying resource. The concept of

Astro_ tourism has expanded over the years, from dictionary definitions of

“activities by tourists paying to travel into space for recreation” to “tourism

using the natural resource of unpolluted night skies for astronomical, cultural,

or environmental activities” (Fayos-Solà and Marín 2009: 7). Dark skies are

becoming a scarce resource as night lighting and atmospheric pollution

increase. Astro-Tourism opens new opportunities of bridging science and

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tourism, motivating alliances for starry nights, science, culture, and nature

(Marín et al. 2011).

Associating nightscapes with heritage is a logical step in Astro-tourism. The

night sky has played a key role in the development of civilization, including

orientation and navigation, agriculture, calendars, cultural travel, and

celebrations. The dawn of many cultures is marked by archeoastronomical

milestones, witnessed at widespread sites, including Stonehenge, Chichen

Itzá, Giza, Mesa Verde, Chankillo, Persepolis, Almendres,.

.

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The Great Pyramid of Giza as providing items of Astro _Tourism

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The Sigiriya Rock as Providing items of Astro_Tourism

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Commercial Access of Zero Gravity Lab

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Summary

In the above text we have outlined both the tangible and intangible reasons

that astronomy is an important part of society. Although we have focused

mainly on the technology and knowledge transfer, perhaps the most

important contribution is still the fact that astronomy makes us aware of how

we fit into the vast Universe. The American astronomer Carl Sagan showed us

one of astronomy’s simplest and most inspirational contributions to society

in his book, The Pale Blue Dot:

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building

experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human

conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our

responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and

cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

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Integrating Applications of Astronomy

via Multidisciplinary Approach

Aravinda Ravibhnau Sumanarathna

© Department of Research & Innovation – South Asian Astrobiology & Earth

Sciences Research Unit of Eco Astronomy