Page 211 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

signed up to request images, 36,801 image requests
were submitted, 8,716 images were downlinked, and
8,716 images were posted to the website. With the world’s spacefaring
Students at the University of California, San Diego nations looking beyond the space
handled requests for the project. The students
compiled the requests into a camera control file and, station to envision human missions
with the help of NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), to increasingly distant destinations,
uplinked them to a computer aboard the space station.
Requests ultimately transmitted to the digital camera, scientists have already begun to
which took the desired images and transferred them tackle the many challenges of
back to the space station computer for downlink to sending humans farther and
the ground. This entire relay process usually completed
within a few hours, with the photos available online for farther from our home planet.
both the participating schools and the public to enjoy.
Sally Ride EarthKAM used a Nikon D2Xs digital
camera mounted in the Window Observational
Research Facility (WORF), which uses the science challenges of sending humans farther and farther
window located in the U.S. Destiny Laboratory. from our home planet. Missions to the space station
This window’s high-quality optics capabilities allowed have made substantial contributions to our knowledge
the camera to take high-resolution photographs of of how the human body adapts to microgravity for
the Earth using commands sent from students via 3, 6 or even 12 months; however, taking steps
the online program.
deeper into our solar system will require much longer
Students and educators continue to use these expeditions. A human mission to Mars, for instance,
photos as supplements to standard course materials, will likely mean a 6-month journey each way, coupled
thus combining the excitement of the space station with a stay of about 18 months on the surface of
experience with middle-school education. the planet.
Sally Ride EarthKAM was initiated in 1995 and
was originally called KidSat. The KidSat camera
flew on three space shuttle flights (STS-76, STS-81
and STS-86) to test its feasibility before moving to
the space station and taking the name ISS EarthKAM.
In 2013, the program was once again renamed to
honor the late Dr. Sally K. Ride, America’s first woman
in space and the program’s creator. Dr. Ride passed
away July 23, 2012.
Since its first space station expedition in March
2001, Sally Ride EarthKAM has touched the lives of
nearly 300,000 student participants and an unknown
number of online followers. The program also has a
strong international presence. Educators and others
interested in using Sally Ride EarthKAM images can
find them online.

Tomatosphere™: Sowing the Seeds
of Discovery through Student Science
Home base on the moon. Boot prints on Mars. High school students measure the height of
Visits to asteroids. With the world’s spacefaring tomato plants as part of the Tomatosphere™
nations looking beyond the space station to envision experiment extension.
human missions to increasingly distant destinations, Image credit: Let’s Talk Science
scientists have already begun to tackle the many

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