Latest news with #ThomasPesquet
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
Star items and Zero-G flight on offer at Artcurial's Paris charity auction
France's leading auction house, Artcurial, is set to conduct a special charity auction on June 18 in support of Aviation Without Borders, a humanitarian organisation that uses aviation to aid vulnerable populations. The auction will be held alongside the International Aeronautics and Space Show at Le Bourget, near Paris, with actor and pilot José Garcia lending his support. This one-of-a-kind event aims to raise funds for Aviation Without Borders' groundbreaking project — a miniature mobile hospital-plane that can be deployed to remote and underserved regions across the globe. Star-studded donations and rare collectibles up for bidding A host of celebrities, artists, athletes, and companies have come together to contribute rare experiences and iconic items. Among the standout lots: -A weightless flight aboard the Airbus Zero G -A T-shirt worn by astronaut Thomas Pesquet on a mission -A pilot's helmet from the elite Patrouille de France -A captain's uniform signed by John Travolta, the famed actor and aviation enthusiast Also on offer are once-in-a-lifetime flight experiences, including flying in formation with migratory birds on a paramotor and taking to the skies in a legendary WWII-era Curtiss P-40E Warhawk. Exclusive encounters and historic aviation items The auction will also include unforgettable encounters, such as: -Dinner in Paris with adventurer Bertrand Piccard, along with a piece of the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon -An electric flight over the Alps with Solar Impulse co-pilot André Borschberg -A full day with aerobatics champion Catherine Maunoury Collectors can also bid on historical artefacts, including a rare 1:10 wooden wind tunnel model of the Falcon aircraft, donated by Dassault Aviation; a Messerschmitt KR200 microcar once owned by French comedian Coluche; and an engraved Breitling pilot watch celebrating Aviation Without Borders' 45 years of service. Two original paintings of the Rafale Solo Display by artists Arthur Thomas and Régis Rocca — each requiring over 600 hours of work — will also be auctioned. Supporting a unique global health innovation The funds raised will help develop what is being described as the 'world's first hospital-plane' — an innovative solution to deliver emergency care in isolated locations. 'In a world more uncertain than ever, the challenges are numerous,' said Gérard Feldzer, President of Aviation Without Borders. 'Only your generosity will allow us to finance projects like our hospital-plane and humanitarian drones.' Aviation Without Borders has worked for over four decades to provide humanitarian support through air transport. Its missions include medical evacuations, aid delivery, and youth training through programmes like Les Ailes de l'Avenir (Wings of the Future). At the Paris Air Show, the group will also showcase a Nynja ultralight aircraft, assembled by young trainees and available for sale — further demonstrating how aviation can empower communities and support humanitarian goals.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New Mexico chiles earthbound after research on plants in space trimmed
In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump said boots were imminent on the red planet. But chile — red or green — may not be coming on the trip. A 2021 experiment to grow New Mexico chile in space, known as PH-04, relied on the Advanced Plant Habitat, an automated plant growth facility on board the International Space Station. Future research at the facility, is in flux, however. NASA recently announced research applicants would no longer be able to request the use the Advanced Plant Habitat for their proposed experiments 'due to recent resource constraints.' Plant Habitat-04 Debris Removal European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet cleans up debris in the International Space Station's Advanced Plant Habitat, which has harvested a hybrid New Mexican chile that combines Hatch chile with an Española variety. One New Mexico researcher who worked on the PH-04 project said making it to Mars will require the type of research done in the specialized lab — for the health of those embarking on the yearslong mission — and the research, in turn, could inform agricultural practices on our own planet. An early proposal shows NASA's budget for the space station could shrink by more than $500 million, cutting crew members and onboard research, as the agency plans to transition to 'more cost-effective' commercial space missions. Remaining resources would be focused on missions to the moon and Mars. A federal contract award database shows there are two contracts to provide engineering services for the plant habitat: one for $1.4 million and another for $7.9 million. It was unclear if the lab has additional costs, whether it might become available later for research or if there are alternative research opportunities on the space station. A NASA spokesperson did not answer questions about the facility. NASA requested around $1.2 billion total for research and operations in fiscal year 2025 at the International Space Station. Although the price tag might seem high, it's a relatively scant slice of the government pie, representing about 4% of NASA's total budget, which in turn makes up less than 1% of the federal budget. (copy) Jacob Torres, an Española native, holds a New Mexico chile grown in space as part of a NASA experiment. Torres is now working on a doctorate at UNM and visiting schools as "Jacob Pepperseed" to deliver chile seeds, teach kids about astro-botany and generate some good news about his hometown. Hotter in space NASA began planning to grow vitamin-C-rich peppers in space a few years ago. An agency webpage on growing plants in space said astronauts on the International Space Station now receive shipments of freeze-dried and packaged foods. But on long space trips, astronauts wouldn't have regular deliveries, and the vitamins in those foods would eventually break down. That leaves a problem. 'A lack of vitamin C was all it took to give sailors scurvy, and vitamin deficiencies can cause a number of other health problems,' the webpage states. 'Simply packing some multi-vitamins will not be enough to keep astronauts healthy as they explore deep space. They will need fresh produce.' Enter the chile. iss066e023165 New Mexico chiles grown in PH-04 — an agricultural experiment dedicated to peppers. The Española Improved chile was selected as the superior chile to grow in this type of controlled environment. More than 30 pepper varieties from around the world were grown under controlled conditions to replicate the International Space Station. Jacob Torres, an Española native and NASA contract scientist who worked on the project, said half the peppers didn't flower or grow, and other samples blistered and swelled. But varieties from one location thrived. 'And, of course, they were the New Mexico ones,' Torres said. A hybrid variety, NuMex Española Improved, was ultimately selected for the mission. Hatch chiles were mixed with Española chiles, which grow at a higher altitude and have a shorter season, to reduce the growing time. The seeds were delivered as part of a SpaceX resupply mission. Initially, Torres said, the peppers were too mild — more like a bell pepper. That wasn't a problem in space. 'They actually ended up being a lot hotter up in space,' Torres said, 'because microgravity stressed them out [and] they didn't grow as fast.' Torres, who worked at the Kennedy Space Center, felt a lot of pressure to get chile right. 'I felt like it was my job to ensure that our traditions were followed,' he said. 'That meant spelling chile with an e, harvesting green and red.' New Mexico chiles grown in PH-04 — an agricultural experiment dedicated to peppers. The Española Improved chile was selected as the superior chile to grow in this type of controlled environment. Good food is critical In 2023, astronaut Frank Rubio returned to Earth after spending a record-breaking 371 days in space — the longest time an American had spent off-planet. The world record still belongs to the Russian Valeri Polyakov, who spent more than 400 days in space in the 1990s. But a Mars mission would go far beyond that, with NASA estimating last year astronauts would likely be off Earth for around three years. Getting to the red planet alone would take several months. At the time of the PH-04 experiment, NASA officials said the research in the Advanced Plant Habitat was critical to get astronauts — and, eventually, inhabitants — to Mars. In a 2021 news release, researchers said astronauts' physical and mental well-being was improved when they grew colorful and scented plants. In space, astronauts can lose some of their smell and taste capabilities, so some prefer spicy foods, the news release stated. 'The food astronauts eat needs to be as good as the rest of their equipment,' one researcher said in a statement. 'To successfully send people to Mars and bring them back to Earth, we will not only require the most nutritious foods, but the best tasting ones as well.' In his inaugural address, Trump said Mars was a target, and an early budget proposal emphasizes investments in human missions to the planet. 'We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars,' Trump said Jan. 20. Spreading seeds Torres no longer works for NASA. He moved back to New Mexico to pursue his doctorate in mechanical engineering at the University of New Mexico and take care of his family's land in Española. For the past two years, he's been volunteering as his alter ego, 'Jacob Pepperseed,' visiting schools to deliver chile seeds, teach kids about astrobotany and generate some good news about his hometown. 'I sent seeds to the Midwest,' Torres said. 'I sent seeds to Antarctica, to Australia, to China, to South Africa. We sent chile seeds around the world — I have Johnny Appleseed beat.' iss066e023260 Red and green chiles float in the International Space Station in 2021 as crew members conduct a taste test. But Torres had hoped to do more research in the Advanced Plant Habitat as part of his doctoral work. He developed a passive irrigation system that wouldn't require electricity or pumps and hoped to test the design in space. He thinks the irrigation system could help with more sustainable plant growth in space and ultimately be used for longer spaceflights like missions to the moon or Mars. 'We were doing proposals for it, and at least they realized that they needed to give us a heads up because we were all putting like 100 hours to writing this thing,' Torres said. 'We just woke up one day and they canceled it.' Looking at agriculture in space is going to be crucial for space travel, Torres said. But he also sees potential applications for the research on Earth. Torres mentioned hearing about chile wilting in Chimayó last summer from the heat. He sees the research as an opportunity to investigate new ways to grow chile — and get a new generation of Northern New Mexicans interested in agriculture. 'It's very possible that we may need to think of new ways to grow our traditional crop,' Torres said. 'If it does get too hot, or if we do run out of water, what are we doing?'
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronaut Films 'Intensely Green' Aurora From Aboard The ISS
An incredible video captured from the International Space Station shows an aurora from above, rippling with the unusual green light that has drawn our attention to the skies throughout time. NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared the video from his orbital vantage point on January 6, capturing the "intensely green" ribbons rarely seen from above. Our Sun is having a pretty tumultuous time at the moment, unleashing a series of huge eruptions, flares, and coronal mass ejections in recent weeks. Events known as coronal mass ejections – huge eruptions of plasma that take hours to days to billow out through the Solar System – are ultimately responsible for the magnificent light show in our skies. Charged particles from these eruptions zoom through space before slamming into Earth's magnetic field, which directs the rain of ionic dust towards our planet's poles into the gases making up the atmosphere. Swept up in the excitement, atoms and molecules of different elements spill forth a light show in hues of greens, pinks, and blues. These displays light up in ribbons that trace the magnetic field lines that govern the solar winds towards the ends of the Earth. Those colors confounded scientists during the 19th century, who tried to reconcile the lights above with what they were seeing in their electrified tubes of gases in the laboratory. Though early observations suggested the stunning green may be the result of hydrogen, or even an unknown hypothetical element belonging to the Sun called "aurorium." Oxygen was proposed as a culprit, yet its stubborn refusal to glow green under less natural conditions in the hands of physicists made it a problem for decades. Unlike many elements which shine a fraction of a second after being struck, atomic oxygen 'relaxes' at a relatively sluggish pace of almost a whole second, thanks to the unconventional way its electrons settle back into place. This gives the environment plenty of time to steal its energy and prevent it from showing its true colors. In the crowded conditions close to Earth's surface, oxygen barely has time to glow. At a critical point around 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) overhead, the element suddenly has enough room, creating a "brilliant green line" above which the skies turn so otherworldly. This generally occurs at altitudes up to 300 kilometers. Higher than that, and the pressure becomes so low that oxygen's forbidden glow can take all the time it needs, delivering a deep red light. It's not the first time we've seen this stunning phenomenon from above: a photo from ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet took our breath away in 2021, and in 2023, astronauts Josh Cassada of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency shared equally awesome views. Nor will it be the last: as we climb towards the next solar maximum equipped with better satellite and camera technology than ever, we'll no doubt continue to see auroras dancing in the sky in a light we never imagined. What If The Solar System Had a Super-Earth? Here's What Would Happen. New Images of Interstellar Dust Look Like Something Out of a Dream Astronomers Capture Mysterious 'Chorus Waves' Emerging From Deep Space
