KIC 8462852: Exocomet Fragments or Aliens?

The paper from the Royal Astronomical Society is pretty straightforward regarding  the fluctuating light around a distant exoplanet called KIC 8462852 as spotted by the Kepler Space Telescope:

Over the duration of the Kepler mission, KIC 8462852 was observed to undergo irregularly shaped, aperiodic dips in flux down to below the 20% level. The dipping activity can last for between 5 and 80 days. We characterize the object with high-resolution spectroscopy, spectral energy distribution fitting, and Fourier analyses of the Kepler light curve. We determine that KIC 8462852 is a main-sequence F3 V/IV star, with a rotation period ~0.88 d, that exhibits no significant IR excess. In this paper, we describe various scenarios to explain the mysterious events in the Kepler light curve, most of which have problems explaining the data in hand. By considering the observational constraints on dust clumps orbiting a normal main-sequence star, we conclude that the scenario most consistent with the data is the passage of a family of exocomet fragments, all of which are associated with a single previous breakup event. We discuss the necessity of future observations to help interpret the system.

However, some see an alien presence, as they did with "canals" on Mars and recent "lights" on Ceres. So we have speculation about an alien megastructure harnessing energy from the star. 

Ross Andersen in The Atlantic writes:

Jason Wright, an astronomer from Penn State University, is set to publish an alternative interpretation of the light pattern. SETI researchers have long suggested that we might be able to detect distant extraterrestrial civilizations, by looking for enormous technological artifacts orbiting other stars. Wright and his co-authors say the unusual star’s light pattern is consistent with a “swarm of megastructures,” perhaps stellar-light collectors, technology designed to catch energy from the star.

Sci fi aside, we need to remain open-minded yet careful if we are to search the galaxy and beyond to know it better. And if we presume we are not alone, then the myriad of ways in which alien life might exist will always be part of the mystery before us. Hence, I am skeptical about a new megastructure but interested in learning more about this anomaly. 

SmallSats: More Private Sector Investment

NASA’s Launch Services Program recently awarded what are called Venture Class Launch Services  contracts to three private companies to provide small satellites (SmallSats) in low-Earth orbit. These three companies are:

• Firefly Space Systems Inc. of Cedar Park, Texas, $5.5 million
• Rocket Lab USA Inc. of Los Angeles, $6.9 million
• Virgin Galactic LLC of Long Beach, California, $4.7 million

Since Virgin Galactic seems to be making slow progress in the space tourism industry this may be a new opening for the company. And expanding NASA's rocket suppliers is always a good move as it spreads the risk of the space program. 

Image Credit: Firefly Alpha Rocket from Firefly Space Systems

What Are the Russians Up To?

It is bad enough that Russian military is operating dangerously close to NATO airspace and neutral Scandinavian airports, and now operating erratically in Syria and crossing over into Turkish airspace, but this questionable behavior is happening in space as well.

Three Russian satellites appear to operate independently and outside routine orbits while one, called Luch, has been orbiting close to U.S. commercial Intelsat satellites and potential spying on their operations. 

Space News reported: 

Many in the space community believe the incident marks one of the first publicly documented times a commercial operator has been subject to this kind of approach by a foreign military satellite. The episode also raises questions about what kind of recourse commercial satellite companies have in these situations.

In addition to the Luch satellite, launched in September 2014, Russia launched Cosmos 2499 (pictured above) in May 2014 and Cosmos 2504 in March 2015. All three spacecraft have worried U.S. space and military officials who believe the Russians are testing anti-satellite technology. 

Of course, as I have noted before, the US Air Force is not helpless. The X37B unmanned space shuttle, which can stay in orbit for more than a year at a time, appears to be our not-so-secret weapon that can most likely capture and destroy worrisome satellites. Hence, we appear to be on the brink of a new war arena and, like Ukraine and Syria, Russia is spoiling for a fight.

Update: The Russians are now attempting to explain the mysterious Luch satellite, stating it is

...simply a relay satellite, sending signals from spacecraft to Earth, for example from the International Space Station — we have communications problems there — and from one satellite to another.

I am not convinced.

Blue Skies on Pluto

NASA provided more news last week about Pluto, the mysterious dwarf planet that is now starting to share its secrets. The latest discovery relates to water on the surface of Pluto as well as blue skies above this surface, as shown above. This news, plus previous reports of mountain ranges and open plains, is making the dwarf planet less strange and more amazing with each returning batch of data.

NASA reports:

Pluto’s haze layer shows its blue color in this picture taken by the New Horizons Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The high-altitude haze is thought to be similar in nature to that seen at Saturn’s moon Titan. The source of both hazes likely involves sunlight-initiated chemical reactions of nitrogen and methane, leading to relatively small, soot-like particles (called tholins) that grow as they settle toward the surface. This image was generated by software that combines information from blue, red and near-infrared images to replicate the color a human eye would perceive as closely as possible.

Image Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

Mission to Mars in Three Steps

The image above from NASA shows the three stages of humans getting to Mars - Earth Reliant, Proving Ground, and Earth Independent, as described by NASA below:

The journey to Mars crosses three thresholds, each with increasing challenges as humans move farther from Earth. NASA is managing these challenges by developing and demonstrating capabilities in incremental steps:  

Earth Reliant exploration is focused on research aboard the International Space Station. From this world-class microgravity laboratory, we are testing technologies and advancing human health and performance research that will enable deep space, long duration missions. 

In the Proving Ground, NASA will learn to conduct complex operations in a deep space environment that allows crews to return to Earth in a matter of days. Primarily operating in cislunar space—the volume of space around the moon featuring multiple possible stable staging orbits for future deep space missions—NASA will advance and validate capabilities required for humans to live and work at distances much farther away from our home planet, such as at Mars.  

Earth Independent activities build on what we learn on the space station and in deep space to enable human missions to the Mars vicinity, possibly to low-Mars orbit or one of the Martian moons, and eventually the Martian surface. Future Mars missions will represent a collaborative effort between NASA and its partners—a global achievement that marks a transition in humanity’s expansion as we go to Mars to seek the potential for sustainable life beyond Earth.

It is a logical approach, and nice to contemplate, yet the one thing I do not see are the dates for human missions. That has always been the big question and it remains so.

Russian Space Exhibit in London

Your best chance to learn about Russia's space program may entail a trip to London. A special exhibit, Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age, can be found at London's Science Museum.  And fortunately you have until March 2016 to see it. 

Some of the items on display include: 

- Vostok 6: the capsule flown by Valentina Tereshkova, the first ever woman in space. 
- Voskhod 1: the capsule used on the first mission to carry more than one crew member. 
- LK-3 Lunar Lander: a single cosmonaut craft built to compete with Apollo.
- A collection of gadgets that cosmonauts – and pioneering space dogs – need to live in space, including a shower, toilet, medical instruments, and survival kits for crash landings.

Russia has made significant contributions to space travel and this special exhibit allows you to see the equipment and other items up close. 

In a review of the exhibit, London's The Guardian noted:

A key figure is Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a bearded provincial schoolteacher, almost completely deaf, who wielded a vast ear trumpet of his own design and manufacture and who from the late 1870s until his death in 1935 studied questions of weightlessness and space travel, and tried to communicate them through science fiction. The exhibition shows his notes and sketches for a 1930s film called Cosmic Voyage, on which he was a consultant. Their style has a schoolboy naivety, but they show insights into the ways and means of reaching space, including escape velocity, fuel, and the use of multi-stage rockets remarkably close to those that would eventually be employed.

The exhibit has received glowing reviews and provides the public with a better understanding of Russia's role getting us to where we are today in our quest to explore our solar system and more.  Since many will never travel to Russia, nor be able to see all of these items in one place again, this is a unique opportunity for space enthusiasts and others.

The Martian: Where Were the Russians?

If you have yet to see the new film The Martian you should ignore this post. But if you have seen the movie, maybe you too wondered about the Chinese assistance to NASA. Having the future Chinese assist with a rescue mission to Mars is not the issue. What I wonder is why the Russians were not consulted since they are far ahead of the Chinese today and would presumably be in the same position in the future.

And what about private ventures such as SpaceX and others? Are we to presume NASA was the only game in town? If so, this is a bleak view of the future.  I won't even mention Mars One (since maybe that mission was already dead on another side of the planet - or still in orbit).

Maybe the book explains these things, but I am hoping the future does not depend on only one or two government programs.

Dust Storms and The Martian

If you have yet to see the new film The Martian, you are in for a treat.  This amazingly beautiful and superbly acted film with stay with you for a long time, and hopefully it will increase the public awareness of the awesomeness as well as risks related to a Martian mission. The other words that come to mind after seeing the movie are duct tape, disco, and cooperation in space.  But you will know what I am talking about after you see it for yourself.

Of course, one of the stars in the film is the Martian weather, and the winds in particular.  In the movie, the winds proved destructive to the mission on Mars and continually rattled the equipment and housing modules.  NASA provided some insights on this in an article titled "The Fact and Fiction of Martian Dust Storms," noting:

“Once every three Mars years (about 5 ½ Earth years), on average, normal storms grow into planet-encircling dust storms, and we usually call those ‘global dust storms’ to distinguish them,” Smith said.

It is unlikely that even these dust storms could strand an astronaut on Mars, however. Even the wind in the largest dust storms likely could not tip or rip apart major mechanical equipment. The winds in the strongest Martian storms top out at about 60 miles per hour, less than half the speed of some hurricane-force winds on Earth.

Hence, the winds are not fun when trying to accomplish a task on the surface of Mars, yet they are not likely to destroy habitats or knock over a rocket.  This is not to pick on the film as much as to point out that we have a lot of things to worry about related to a Martian mission and fortunately this is not one of them.  That said, you should see the film and enjoy the show.

Image Credit:   This close-up image of a dust storm on Mars was acquired by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on November 7, 2007, around 3 p.m. local time on Mars. The full story from NASA is here.

Another Success ISS Mission

The supplies keep rolling in and things are returning to normal on the International Space Station (ISS).  Russia's Progress M-29M/61P supply ship docked with the ISS on Thursday, arriving a little over 6 hours after launch. While pressures increase on the ground between the U.S. and Russia, this time in Syria, it is good to see space cooperation is still strong. 

Image Credit:  Progress 61 from NASA TV

Saturn's Moon Enceladus

And now onto another moon - Saturn's moon Enceladus. Just as we wonder about Pluto's changing surface and Charon's canyons, this moon is believed to have seas below the surface that could harbor life. The image above from the Cassini spacecraft provides a full view of the beautiful surface of this distant moon. 

NASA has more to say on this:

Do some surface features on Enceladus roll like a conveyor belt? A leading interpretation of images taken of Saturn's most explosive moon indicate that they do. This form of asymmetric tectonic activity, very unusual on Earth, likely holds clues to the internal structure of Enceladus, which may contain subsurface seas where life might be able to develop.  Pictured above is a composite of 28 images taken by the robotic Cassini spacecraft in 2008 just after swooping by the ice-spewing orb. Inspection of these images show clear tectonic displacements where large portions of the surface all appear to move all in one direction. On the image right appears one of the most prominent tectonic divides: Labtayt Sulci, a canyon about one kilometer deep. The small magnitude of Enceladus' wobble as it orbits Saturn might indicate damping by a globally extending underground ocean layer.

One possible mission being considered by NASA is called Enceladus Life Finder (ELF), which would entail a spacecraft flying through the moon's plume of surface material and returning the sample to Earth for further study.  An intriguing idea that will tell us much more about what is happening on the moon. 

New Horizon Images of Charon

NASA's New Horizons continues to send one stunning shot after another.  The image above is from Pluto's moon Charon.  As with Mars, you can see a great canyon scarring the surface of the moon.  NASA notes:

High-resolution images of the Pluto-facing hemisphere of Charon, taken by New Horizons as the spacecraft sped through the Pluto system on July 14 and transmitted to Earth on Sept. 21, reveal details of a belt of fractures and canyons just north of the moon's equator. This great canyon system stretches more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) across the entire face of Charon and likely around onto Charon's far side. Four times as long as the Grand Canyon, and twice as deep in places, these faults and canyons indicate a titanic geological upheaval in Charon's past.

NASA expected even higher resolution images to be transmitted shortly.  New Horizons will be transmitting these amazing images over the next year or so.  The gift that keeps giving. 

Weekend's Supermoon Eclipse

I like this photo from last Sunday in Washington, DC. We will not see a supermoon eclipse again until 2033. I wonder what our space budget will look like in 2033. 

Maybe this Congress should see this as a warning from the gods that they are fed up with the threat of another government shutdown.  Whatever works. 

Image Credit: AP Photo/J. David Ake

Water Located on Mars

It does not sound like news since Mars and water have been discussed for many years, yet in this case the issue is not water in the past but water on the surface today.  This is a very different story.  The new evidence comes from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Here is what NASA has to say:

Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.

 What does this mean?  The press release continues:

“It took multiple spacecraft over several years to solve this mystery, and now we know there is liquid water on the surface of this cold, desert planet,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.”

That is key - existing life and future life.  We may want to determine the former before we become the latter.  We are certainly making progress as we poke, observe, and roam the Red Planet. 

Space Port: "It's Like Nazi Germany"

You would think the residents of Texas would be happy to host a SpaceX launch facility because of the jobs and attention it brings to a community.  But you would be wrong, or at least as it relates to a few local residents.  The residents of the beach community Boca Chica Village have complained that they have to deal with traffic checkpoints and restricted travel every time SpaceX has a launch. 

According to a recent article in Bloomberg titled "The Tiny Town that Hates Elon Musk," some of the residents have turned against the company and are evening considering sit-ins on the beach during launch day.  The article states:

Even some die-hard SpaceX supporters are questioning the sacrifices they’re being asked to make, including the possibility of being asked to evacuate their homes on certain launch days. Frank Kawalski, who moved to Boca Chica from Key West, Florida, a decade ago, unfurled a giant "Welcome SpaceX" sign on his house when he heard the company was coming to town. Today?  "I’ve never left my house for hurricanes or anything," said Kawalski, who owns three homes in Boca Chica and lives with his son, 4 dogs, 7 cats, 12 macaws and a pet rattlesnake named Low Rider.

I presume Texas is still happy with the deal, but some placating of the company's neighbors may be necessary.  One way to keep them happy is to build the town a nice private bar with a view of the launches, and throw in a few drinks and a barbecue with each launch.  Keeping the neighbors happy should not be rocket science.

Image Credit:  Bloomsberg

New Pictures from Pluto

New Horizons caught plenty of amazing shots of Pluto during its July flyby and the image above is one great example. I wasn't expecting mountains ranges like these or an atmosphere. The dead little dwarf planet seems more lively than we could have imagined. 

NASA notes:

Just 15 minutes after its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured this near-sunset view of the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto’s horizon. The smooth expanse of the informally named Sputnik Planum (right) is flanked to the west (left) by rugged mountains up to 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) high, including the informally named Norgay Montes in the foreground and Hillary Montes on the skyline. The backlighting highlights more than a dozen layers of haze in Pluto’s tenuous but distended atmosphere. The image was taken from a distance of 11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers) to Pluto; the scene is 230 miles (380 kilometers) across.

Image Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

This is Your Body in Space

This drawing from NASA walks you through the effects of space on the human body, as well as the effects of the human body on space. It focuses on what is happening to astronaut Scott Kelly during his one year on the International Space Station. Between his drinking of recycled urine to his creation of unique shooting stars, it sounds like quite an adventure.

Spacecraft or Ice Breakers?

I used to think the battle over a cold planet would take place on the moon or Mars, but it appears the territorial battles are taking place at the North Pole. With the Russians restarting their arctic military bases, the Chinese sending warships to the region the other week, and the U.S. contemplating spending billions on new icebreakers, it seems the new terra nova race may be more terrestrial than previously thought. The northern reaches are now open to competition because of global climate change, which makes raw materials much more accessible.  Yes, the global climate change some do not want NASA to monitor is now a new reason to move funds from space exploration to mineral exploration backed up by the US military.  Heck, who needs to grab an asteroid when everything is for the taking here at home? 

Here is the White House's position on these changes:

Climate change is reshaping the Arctic in profound ways. The global Arctic has warmed approximately twice as fast as the rest of the world, resulting in significant impacts on land and sea. Among the most noticeable changes is the retreat of Arctic sea ice, which has experienced significant, sustained declines in both extent and thickness in recent decades...As sea-ice cover diminishes because of climate change, marine traffic is expected to increase in the Arctic, including traffic from fishing and mineral exploration to cargo shipping and tourism...That is why the Administration will propose to accelerate acquisition of a replacement heavy icebreaker to 2020 from 2022, begin planning for construction of additional icebreakers, and call on Congress to work with the Administration to provide sufficient resources to fund these critical investments. These heavy icebreakers will ensure that the United States can meet our national interests, protect and manage our natural resources, and strengthen our international, state, local, and tribal relationships.

Can we do it all?  Explore the Arctic and Mars?  Certainly.  We fought a war while putting men on the moon.  Yet that is not the ideal situation at anytime, and especially in these budget-cutting times. Let's hope we have the vision and the funding to build both Martian rovers and icebreakers.   

Image Credit:  F-22 on a runway with Alaska's Chugach Mountains as a backdrop (Michael Dinneen for LA Times)

Smithsonian Restores the USS Enterprise

Do you have any early photos of the USS Enterprise from the first season of Star Trek? The Smithsonian is putting out a call for such images as it attempts to restore the ship to its original condition (the image above is from 1964).  As you can see from the image below, what the museum received in 1967 was in pretty tough shape.

The Smithsonian notes:

 The ship has been modified eight times since it was built in 1964. But the studio model's 1967 appearance in the episode “Trouble with Tribbles” was the last time the Enterprise was modified during the original "Star Trek" television series.

Fans are encouraged to submit firsthand, original images or film of the ship under construction, during filming or on public display at any time before 1976.

If you have anything you can share that can help with this archiving event, please contact StarshipEnterprise@si.edu.

Great Image: Dione and Saturn

The image above was taken last December by the Cassini spacecraft. The soft colors of Saturn are a strong contrast with the colorless moon. The European Space Agency provides more details on the photo:

The images used to create this view were obtained with the Cassini-Huygens wide-angle camera at a distance of approximately 603 000 kilometres from Dione through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of ultraviolet light.

Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered Dione in 1684, it being one of the four moons he identified and named Sidera Lodoicea, or "the stars of Louis," to honor king Louis XIV.  A comparison of Dione to the Earth and its moon is shown below.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Kickstarter to the Rescue Again

Would you buy a manual regarding the NASA logo shown above? It appears many will based on a recent Kickstarter campaign, which collected approximately $636,000 as of earlier today.  That is pretty good given the goal of the campaign was to collect only $158,000.  

For your $79 contribution you get a copy of the original manual for a logo that lasted from 1974 to 1992.  And why is this so important to the thousands of donors?  The site tries to explain it:

As design nerds, we think the Worm is almost perfect, and the system behind it is a wonderful example of modernist design and thinking.

But for everyone, we think the Worm and its design system represent an agency whose goal is to explore space and push the boundaries of science. Where the Meatball feels cartoon-like and old fashioned; the worm feels sleek, futuristic, forward-thinking. All good things for a space agency at the bleeding-edge of science and exploration. 

We think this manual and others like it—regardless of the organization—are a beautiful example of rational, systematic design. The NASA manual is one of those examples that sets the standard for design excellence—a document well worth preserving for the future as a learning tool, a gorgeous object, and a moment in design history.

I guess there is something for everyone.  I have no problem with the current "meatball" NASA logo, but tastes will differ.  By the way, who is pushing the meatball manual? 

Update: NASA has decided to issue the worm manual for free as a pdf file. I wonder how the thousands that paid $79 per copy feel about that. 

Image Credit:  The patch is from p. 9.2 of the manual.

Space Station Traffic Picking Up

The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) just went to nine yesterday as the Russian Soyuz spacecraft (TMA-18M) docked at the station and Sergey Volkov of Roscosmos, Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency, and Aidyn Aimbetov of the Kazakh Space Agency stepped aboard. We are already a long way from earlier this year when we were worried about even getting supplies to the station after numerous rocket explosions.  Since then, a Russian Soyuz resupplied the station and just last week a Japanese mission added more emergency supplies. 

The NASA image above shows the ISS configuration with all of the attached capsules. The Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft is docked to the Poisk mini-research module. The Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is docked to the Zvezda service module. The ISS Progress 60 spacecraft is docked to the Pirs docking compartment. The Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft is docked to the Rassvet mini-research module. Japan’s “Kounotori” HTV-5 is berthed to the Harmony module.

Great Image: Twin Jet Nebula

The image above was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.  You are viewing the Twin Jet Nebula where two stars are thought to be at its heart.  NASA provides more on this amazing image:

It is called the Twin Jet Nebula as well as answering to the slightly less poetic name of PN M2-9.

The M in this name refers to Rudolph Minkowski, a German-American astronomer who discovered the nebula in 1947. The PN, meanwhile, refers to the fact that M2-9 is a planetary nebula. The glowing and expanding shells of gas clearly visible in this image represent the final stages of life for an old star of low to intermediate mass. The star has not only ejected its outer layers, but the exposed remnant core is now illuminating these layers — resulting in a spectacular light show. However, the Twin Jet Nebula is not just any planetary nebula, it is a bipolar nebula.

Ordinary planetary nebulae have one star at their center, bipolar nebulae have two, in a binary star system. Astronomers have found that the two stars in this pair each have around the same mass as the sun, ranging from 0.6 to 1.0 solar masses for the smaller star, and from 1.0 to 1.4 solar masses for its larger companion. The larger star is approaching the end of its days and has already ejected its outer layers of gas into space, whereas its partner is further evolved, and is a small white dwarf.

This Hubblecast video provides more on the nebula above and others. 

Send Your Name to Mars

You have until September 8th to share your name with NASA if you want it added to a silicon microchip on the InSight Mars lander.  The InSight spacecraft will launch next March and the lander is expected to be on the surface of Mars by September 2016.  The lander's mission is to investigate the interior of the planet:

The mission is the first dedicated to the investigation of the deep interior of the planet. It will place the first seismometer directly on the surface of Mars to measure Martian quakes and use seismic waves to learn about the planet's interior. It also will deploy a self-hammering heat probe that will burrow deeper into the ground than any previous device on the Red Planet. These and other InSight investigations will improve our understanding about the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth.

Go here to add your name.  And go here to learn more about the InSight spacecraft and lander. 

Send Mr. Sterner to a Deserted Island

In discussing the upcoming movie The Martian in a recent issue of SpaceNews, Eric R. Sterner, who served as NASA’s associate deputy administrator for policy and planning and in the Department of Defense, was not all that optimistic about the movie's impact on planning for future Mars missions:

Sadly, if the space community seeks to turn “The Martian” into a commercial for sending people to Mars, we will fail miserably. The 2000 movie “Castaway” was nominated for multiple awards, including an Academy Award for Tom Hanks. It did not increase public support for sending people to deserted islands. Neither will “The Martian” bring them closer to Mars.

I can understand Mr. Sterner's frustration, but I am somewhat optimistic that a good film, just like a good television series, can stir a nation and especially its youth.  Will inspired youth get us to Mars tomorrow?  Certainly not.  But who knows where they will take us down the road.  And I think Mars is a little more inspiring than a deserted island.

A New Direction for NASA

One Direction recently used the NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a music video of their new song "Drag Me Down."   The Wall Street Journal notes:

Each One Direction member was shot in a different part of the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility as they “trained” to go into space. Liam Payne got to check out the International Space Station replica, while Louis Tomlinson got behind the wheel of the Space Exploration Vehicle rover. Niall Horan tried out the Partial Gravity Simulator, and Harry Styles had a meet cute with the human-like Robonaut.

This is a unique and wise use of NASA's facilities to engage the young.  Earlier this year NASA created its own short music video pertaining to its Space Launch System. If you want attention you need to find ways to stimulate the next generation.  

The One Direction song lyrics could also be something that NASA needs to sing to Congress these days:

With your love, nobody can drag me down
Nobody, nobody
Nobody can drag me down
Nobody, nobody
Nobody can drag me down