Chat Room Transcript - Chat Session, April 1, 2008 @ 5:00 pm

<Kylie Schott> Georgia Tech is such an amazing school!.....I lived in
   GA for 8 years.....

<Brian Siela> Is it hard to train the astronauts to use the suit?

<Sabrina Singh> Kylie- glad to hear you like GA and Tech...I love
   ATL! Brian, we train the astronauts in a huuuuge underwater
   environment. It is a 40 ft deep pool. We also train them in Virtual
   Reality Labs and use other facilities.

<Brian Siela> hmmmm

<Sabrina Singh> Also, they exercise a lot so that they can perform a
   space walk flawlessly. So, in the end they are well trained to use
   the suit and we minimize how difficult it is. But the first time that I
   was in teh space suit I had a hard time getting used to it! The
   astronauts do a great job at making it look so easy!

<Brian Siela> How heavy is the suit?

<Sabrina Singh> When they are in space, they also exercise for 1.5-2
   hrs a day so that helps them have an easier time in the space suit.
   So, what are you all interested in studying? Have you thought about
   which colleges to go to?

<Brian Siela> Aerospace Engineer, and dont know yet.

<Brian Siela> Still looking around

<Sabrina Singh> Great question! With the entire Life Support System,
   the suit is over 300 lbs! Pretty heavy :) But in the pool it's a lot
   easier and some of the suit components are volumetric and only
   meant for them to get an idea of how the suit would feel

<Sabrina Singh> Aero is a great career! We hire tons of aero eng.
   Also, keep in mind that NASA needs electrical engineers, and
   mechanical, materials, systems engineering as well

<Brian Siela> Will do

<Audrey Katz> i want to be a biomed eng

<Audrey Katz> does that count?

<Audrey Katz> lol

<Brian Siela> Are there any plans for a skin tight space suit?

<Tehreem Bilal> my computer spazzed, did i miss anything?

<Garrick White> Would a skin tight space suit be able to create the
   enough pressure to survive?

<Sabrina Singh> Audrey- of course Biomed works! I work with
   several bioengineers andn flight doctors. They have a really cool
   job!

<Audrey Katz> yay!

<Brian Siela> Who knows, scientists are trying to make a huge
   partical excelerater to re-create the big bang theory (17 miles long).
   Anythings possible

<Sabrina Singh> Brian, right now the next generation space suit has
   to be more mobile than our current space suit used in microgravity.
   That is because on the moon you ned to be able to walk and jump
   around intead of just floating

<Tehreem Bilal> are there any plans for a more mobile space suit
   right now?

<Sabrina Singh> So to finish my thougth, you're righat that the suit has
   to be able to pressurize in order for the crew to survive...as far as
   skin tight, that's where really creative and innovative materials and
   procseses engineering comes into play

<Brian Siela> hmmm

<Sabrina Singh> Tehreem- yes, the engineering group has prototypes
   of a more mobile suit. Some of them involve reare entry and some
   of them are more "soft" goods. Engineering teams test out these
   new suits

<Sabrina Singh> sorry for the typos but I figuer that it is more
   importnat for me to get info across to you in a short amt of time

<Audrey Katz> sorry..i came late, but did you say you were an
   aerospace engineer?

<Brian Siela> I was watching a "The Universe" program on the
   History channel and it said that NASA might put the moon base on
   the other side of the moon for sycological reasons. Will this affect
   the space suit any?

<Tehreem Bilal> its fine, thank you so much!

<Tehreem Bilal> what psychological reasons?

<Brian Siela> Not being able to see earth

<Sabrina Singh> So, I also do the Bioastronautics work in my grioup
   because the space suit is essentially a life suport system.

<Tehreem Bilal> what is bioastronautics?

<Sabrina Singh> Those are GREAT points! The psychologists and
   cerw support teams at ANSA spend a TON of time figuring out
   how to ease the emotional/mental stresses. And things like seeing
   earth, talking to family, video conf, etc play a huge part.

<Garrick White> how would seeing earth be bad

<Brian Siela> Not seing earth

<Tehreem Bilal> its home

<Brian Siela> exactly

<Sabrina Singh> For example, imagine when we go to Mars and the
   astros are soooo ar away from earth that they can't see earth..,.and
   at the same time, they still soooo far away from mars that they
   can't see their destination. That will be a big deal to figure out

<Brian Siela> What are some of the improvements being installed to
   combat this?

<Sabrina Singh> Let me first answer what is bioastronautics..it
   involves designing exercises that offset the physiologuical issues
   that astronauts have in space wthen they are not in a gravity
   environment. It also involves toxic and environmental factors. It
   involves illnesses and recovery from injuries. All of theses thigns
   are issues that astroanuts can face. So, I work with biomediacl
   engineers, personal trainers, physical therapists, and doctors, etc
   Does that answer yuor question

<Brian Siela> wow

<Tehreem Bilal> yes

<Tehreem Bilal> seriously, wow

<Sabrina Singh> Brian, well it's not so much as improvments but also
   thinking waaay outside of the box. Currently, having phone
   conevesations and things like that with family adn friends are really
   easy because it's like talking at home. There is only a slight delay in
   the communication, but for moon and mars it will be longer. mars
   could be like 20 minutes!! so it involves a totally new concept of
   oeprations. Right now we also send up "care pacakges" to the
   astros on the space shuttle and on the Russian vehicle called the
   Progress...that will be more difficult on mars

<Brian Siela> On that same show it described a special training
   outpost in the desert were astronauts are training for a Mars
   mission, and they add that delay. Do you work on that project?

<Audrey Katz> i recently visited the National Space Biomedical
   Research Institute in Houston, and they discussed with us
   something about a way to do surgery while in space, a lot like you
   communicate by having a surgeon down on earth telling a practiced
   surgeon up in the shuttle what to do. have you heard of that?

<Garrick White> If we go to all this trouble to send people to mars,
   what will be the advantages of having a human instead of robots?

<Sabrina Singh> Gla to hear yuo say WOW. Because NASA is really
   WOW! We hire historians, librarians, nutritionists, lawyers, fire
   fighters and lots of other jobs. I am sure you already know that we
   do the math majors, physicists, etc

<Sabrina Singh> Brian--yes, I do. I went to Arizona where we tested
   out using mockups of the space suit designs in a rover and had the
   astro do work that a geologist helped design

<Tehreem Bilal> how well did it work?

<Brian Siela> cooooolllll

<Sabrina Singh> Audrey- every crew has a chief medical office who
   is trained in basic medical procedure and basic dental issues. And
   there are some things that the astros are trained to do without
   doctors help but there are also things that the doctor working in
   mission control can walk the astronaut thru

<Audrey Katz> ok cool1

<Sabrina Singh> garrick- that is an important question to ask. I think
   we need both. Robots can't do everything. And we are designing
   robotic operations for future work realted to the Vision for Space
   exploration. And we utilize robotics right now as well...we have a
   aoprternhip with the Canadaians and they built the robiotic arm for
   the shuttle and the space station

<Audrey Katz> I also got to see the dummy simulator that they
   manipulate to be in certain situations to diagnos what the astronauts
   should do in those certain situations, and that was really cool1

<Tehreem Bilal> plus, it would be really cool to walk on mars

<Sabrina Singh> Tehreem- we learned a lot about the types of tools
   that they will need in a dusty environment, how tot keep the space
   suit "clearn" from the dust, how to prevent all the dust fromgetting
   inside the suit and inside the living habitat

<Audrey Katz> heck ya

<Brian Siela> What about that six leg-wheel robot that can carry
   modules on its back and use its legs as tools. Do you help with that?

<Sabrina Singh> Great experience Audrey!

<Sabrina Singh> Brian, nope, that is outside my work experience but
   we have awhole group working on that 6 legged design. I konw
   what you're talking about and I have seen it work.

<Brian Siela> wow, I wish i'd been there

<Sabrina Singh> If yuo have quetsions on robots, then yuo can talk to
   Quincy Harp at quincy.s.harp@nasa.gov.

<Sabrina Singh> so, did you all see the space station fly overhead last
   week?

<Brian Siela> Will you be putting hydrolic muscles in the space suit
   for heavy lifting on Mars?

<Brian Siela> no

<Sabrina Singh> Brian- right now we're focusing on lunar operations.
   The moon will serve as a great testing environment for future
   maritian missions.

<Tehreem Bilal> unfortunately, i was sick

<Sabrina Singh> well this thursday the european built module that is
   called ATV will be docking tot eh space station

<Tehreem Bilal> what are the lunar operations are planned?

<Brian Siela> I heard that one of the astronauts got sick on one of the
   last missions and had to miss a space walk. Could you elaborate on
   that and tell how it was handled?

<Tehreem Bilal> yes! i really want to know about that. thanks for
   bringing that up Brian!

<Brian Siela> no prob

<Sabrina Singh> Last week, you could see the ATV flying overhead
   and then the space station, and then separately teh space shuttle
   which had undocked and was flying home. It was reallly amazing to
   see 3 diff vehicles in the sky

<Sabrina Singh> Tehreem- we are workign with many different
   centers within NASA across the country to akl about those issues.
   Some will be utilizing the resources of that landscape, and some will
   be building an outpost on the moon where astron can go outside
   everyday and do science work

<Sabrina Singh> I was assigned to that flight and it was actually teh
   mission before the last one. The astro was a European Space
   Astronaut and he is a really great, really smart guy! Sometimes in
   space your body has to adapt to new things and the entire team has
   to make a real time decision that is for everyone's safety and for
   the success of the mission. So, Hans did do a space walk but he did
   it later than he was scheduled to do it.

<Brian Siela> ohhhh, ok

<Brian Siela> Whats your typical work day like?

<Sabrina Singh> very dynamic! I am sometimes in teh swimming
   pool, sometimes inteh virtual reality lab, sometimes in mission
   control, and sometimes in the really big modules called teh mockups
   of the space station and shuttle. It is never boring and always
   changing!

<Tehreem Bilal> how realistic are the mockups of the station and
   shuttle

<sabrina singh> oops-

<sabrina singh> I'm sorry about that. Im' back

<sabrina singh> ok, NOW I'm back! More questions...I have about 10
   more min

<Brian Siela> Do you enjoy your job?

<sabrina singh> SSo, what homework are you doing before arriving
   for HAS?

<Brian Siela> Essays. Lots of essays.

<Tehreem Bilal> math/debate/physics research

<sabrina singh> Brian, I LOVE my job!!! It is not even considered a
   job or work because it is sooo much fun

<Brian Siela> nice

<Tehreem Bilal> sounds like it

<Brian Siela> I agree with Tehreem

<sabrina singh> Good, because writing is a critical skill for everything
   you do. Right now, we are doing a lot of writing for the constellation
   work.

<Brian Siela> It sounds like everyone down there is working on that
   Constellation program

<Tehreem Bilal> what are you working on for constellation?

<sabrina singh> It is only a part of my job. I am working on the
   operations of how mission control will work, and how the astronauts
   will do space walks...we are in the early stages of this.

<sabrina singh> Okoay, folks. I have to leave now. If yuo have other
   questions, you can call me in the future at 281 483 2773 Best of
   luck and have fun this summer! bye!
> Thanks Sabrina!

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