A Space Moonrise (and the PromISSe of a New Future)

[/caption]

“The moon looks the same from the ISS as it does on Earth. Only we see it rise and set again and again.”

ESA astronaut André Kuipers tweeted this message earlier today, accompanied by the wonderful photo above showing a distant Moon resting along Earth’s limb. The solar panels of the docked Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft are seen in the foreground.

André arrived at the Space Station on December 23 along with Expedition 30 crewmates Oleg Kononeko and Don Pettit.

In addition to conducting over 45 experiments for ESA, NASA and JAXA during his five months in orbit, André’s PromISSe mission will help educate children about math, science, engineering, technology, and the benefits – and challenges – of working in space.

The program will also encourage the next generation of space explorers to stay fit with the second edition of the international fitness initiative Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut.

A medical doctor, André serves as flight engineer aboard the ISS and will be highly involved in docking procedures for the new Dragon (SpaceX) and Cygnus (Orbital Sciences) capsules as part of NASA’s next-generation commercial spaceflight program.

Read ESA’s PromISSe mission blog here, and follow André Kuipers on Twitter @astro_andre for more Expedition 30 mission updates.

Jason Major

A graphic designer in Rhode Island, Jason writes about space exploration on his blog Lights In The Dark, Discovery News, and, of course, here on Universe Today. Ad astra!

Recent Posts

To Probe the Interior of Neutron Stars, We Must Study the Gravitational Waves from their Collisions

When massive stars reach the end of their life cycle, they undergo gravitational collapse and…

7 hours ago

The JWST Gives Us Our Best Image of Planets Forming Around a Star

Planets are born in swirling disks of gas and dust around young stars. Astronomers are…

8 hours ago

The Euclid Space Telescope Captures a Rare, Stunning Einstein Ring

Sometimes, things across the vast Universe line up just right for us. The Einstein Ring…

11 hours ago

Tiny Solar Jets Drive the Sun’s Fast and Slow Solar Wind

Our Sun is a giant plasma windbag spewing a constant stream of charged particles called…

11 hours ago

A Blown-Glass Structure Could House Astronauts on the Moon

Humanity will eventually need somewhere to live on the Moon. While aesthetics might not be…

15 hours ago

A Lunar Map for the Best Places to Get Samples

How can a geologic map of a lunar impact crater created billions of years ago…

1 day ago