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Contest winner's playlist will be sent to space aboard iPod
As if there weren't enough reasons to want to be a kid again, the European Space Agency is holding a contest for children 18-and-under that requires crafting the perfect playlist for astronauts floating around the International Space Station -- and the lucky winner scores a trip to South America to watch an iPod loaded with his/her tunes launched aboard the agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle. In a twist on the old "What would you bring to a desert island" question, the contest -- which is only open to residents of EU countries participating in the ATV program -- asks entrants to envision what ten songs they'd want to listen to (guess they're only sending up a shuffle) as they orbited 400 kilometers above the Earth, and although the rules don't specifically prohibit it, we imagine that entries which include "Major Tom," "Free Fallin'," or "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (not to mention anything by the Beatles) will be immediately disqualified. Now when the 20-tonne vehicle heads off towards the ISS later this year, it certainly won't be carrying the first iPod into orbit -- Anousheh Ansari famously brought hers up last year, among others -- and with the "Gates in Space" story now definitively debunked (tourist Charles Simonyi attributed the rumor to a Russian press "notorious for their fabrications") it looks as though space -- much like many places on Earth -- will remain a decidedly Zune-free zone for the foreseeable future. [Via FARK, image courtesy of NASA]
ISS getting ready for a new computer system
The International Space Station crew is doing some spring cleaning this week to get ready for an upcoming computer upgrade. Related and unrelated novelties include 10 times faster networking and a brand new window and camera combo which was installed last week. No word on what kind of specs (or Clarissa enhancements) the new computer will boast of, we suppose it all depends on if our astronaut friends have decided to make the Vista plunge (we hear the excitement of zero gravity gymnastics is closely rivaled by Windows Flip 3D) or instead wait for SP1 to iron out some of those zero-day "random life support system shutdown" bugs everyone's been griping about. Oh the decisions!
More iPods in space
A few months ago, Scott pondered how many iPods were in space. Well we have a confirmed sighting of at least one more, besides Anousheh Ansari's, on the International Space Station. Click through to the hi-res version of this pic of European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter, an Expedition 14 flight engineer, and play our own iPod-centric version of Where's Waldo.Next up from Apple: a complete line of NASA + iPod products?Thanks, Marco!
It came from outer space: Live HDTV from the space station this morning
Don't forget, this is the morning of the live HDTV broadcast from the International Space Station, being shown exclusively in Japan on NHK and elsewhere on Discovery HD Theater. The Sony HD camera was donated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), so that we can get the best look at space available without heading to the local IMAX theater. Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and engineer Mikhail Tyurin will host the event, while third crewmember Thomas Reiter operates the camera. Hopefully this is the first of many live broadcasts, which are preferred because it saves money from transporting extra weight in the form of tapes to and from the ISS. The broadcast kicks off at 11:30 am EST and will re-air at 9 p.m. and midnight.
Live HD downlink from ISS on Discovery HD Wednesday
Catch a high-def lunch with International Space Station commander Michael Lopez-Alegria when Discovery HD airs the first live HD transmission from space Wednesday morning. Using a Sony HD 750A camera and through a partnership between NHK, Discovery and NASA, HDTV owners will get their best ever look at life in space from the comforts of our own homes. The broadcast is set for 11:30 a.m. (EST) and unlike some previous Discovery HD shows is on the US broadcast schedule.[Thanks, Michael]
iPod in space
Anousheh Ansari is the first female space tourist, as well as the first female Muslim and Iranian in space. That's pretty cool. But what does a space tourist bring with her to help ease her to sleep? Why what has become a traveler's best friend, an iPod. Anousheh blogs about her experiences on the ISS (International Space Station) and she notes that before hitting the hay, while traveling on the Soyuz capsule bound for the ISS, she slipped on her headphones and rocked out to her iPod.Makes me wonder how many iPods have been in space.Thanks, Dhanur.
