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A28 SCIENCE
Friday 20 March 2020
No family, fanfare for NASA astronaut launching next month

By MARCIA DUNN nauts put on their space-
AP Aerospace Writer suits before liftoff.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Not this time.
(AP) — A NASA astronaut "We'll be looking through
who's about to leave the the glass at maybe one
planet for six months will video camera or some-
blast off without any family thing like this and then we'll
or fanfare because of the get on the bus" to go to a
coronavirus. launch pad with a minimal
Chris Cassidy said Thursday team there, Cassidy said.
that he won't have any As for the Feb. 19 crew
guests at his April 9 launch switch, Cassidy, from
from Kazakhstan. He ex- York, Maine, initially was
pects to say goodbye in "crushed" by the news. The
Russia to his wife, Julie, on former chief of NASA's as-
Friday, three weeks earlier tronaut corps and two-time
than planned. space flier, Cassidy already
Because of the coronavirus knew the backup cosmo-
outbreak, she's going back In this image from video made available by NASA, astronaut Chris Cassidy speaks during an inter- nauts..
home to Houston. One of view from cosmonaut headquarters in Star City, Russia, on Thursday, March 19, 2020. "So no issues there," he
their three children, mean- Associated Press said. However, "my heart
while, is trying to get back hurt for my two friends who
to the U.S. from New Zea- said Cassidy. catch up, Cassidy, Anatoly "That doesn't bother me at thought they were so close
land. "It's not like any other time Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner all," Cassidy told the AP. "In to a rocket launch and
There will be a smaller team in our lives as a genera- have been taking precau- fact, I'm excited. Bring it were not going to get one,"
than usual at the launch tion, really, right? said the tions to stay germ free, on." he told the AP.
pad, too. 50-year-old Navy captain frequently washing their Cassidy, Ivanishin and Vag- Invanishin, like Cassidy an
"It really is going to be and former Navy SEAL. hands and keeping a safe ner leave Tuesday for the experienced spaceman,
strange," Cassidy told The "I'll have my own interest- distance from others. Baikonur Cosmodrome in said earlier this week that
Associated Press from cos- ing story to tell in years to The space station crew Kazakhstan. They will be he's surprised to be sudden-
monaut headquarters in come." will drop from six to three isolated there in a special ly rocketing away, "but life
Star City, Russia. Cassidy is also dealing with a week after his arrival. It hotel for astronauts, as is happens." He said the crew
He said he's already in a rare late-in-the-game will remain at three people customary. But on launch swap could have occurred
quarantine ahead of his crew switch. He'll spend 6 until SpaceX launches two day, there won't be the even closer to launch and
launch to the International 1/2 months on the space NASA astronauts, as early usual cheering, back-slap- so the three have had
Space Station. station with two Russians as May, or another crew ping throngs of well-wishers "some time for the news to
"The things that are stress- assigned to the flight just arrives on a Russian Soyuz or journalists either. settle in."
ing the rest of the world a month ago, after one of capsule in the fall. Their families, bosses and Cassidy acknowledges his
and the rest of America, the original cosmonauts With only three people on dozens of others normally stress level is higher than
are the same things that suffered an eye injury. board, it promises to be ex- jam a special room behind usual right now from worry-
are stressing me right now," While training together to traordinarily busy. a glass wall while the astro- ing about his loved ones.q

As virus shuts down cities

in Europe, pollution drops

BERLIN (AP) — The Europe- measures curtailing ordi- implemented widespread
an Union's space agency's nary life. shutdowns to try and slow
earth-observation satel- The agency's Copernicus the spread of COVID-19.
lites have detected a sig- Atmosphere Monitoring Ser- NO2 is a short-lived pollut-
nificant reduction in the vice reported Tuesday that ant, staying in the atmo-
pollutant nitrogen dioxide, with the "abrupt changes in sphere generally less than
a byproduct of the use of activity levels" in northern a day before being depos-
diesel motors and other hu- Italy, it has tracked a "re- ited or reacting with other
Italian Carabinieri police officers man a road block in Milan, man activities, in northern duction trend" of nitrogen gases, meaning it remains
Italy, Monday, March 16, 2020. Italy as the advance of the dioxide, or NO2, for the last fairly close to where it was
Associated Press
COVID-19 has led to drastic four to five weeks. emitted, the agency said.
So far, Italy has been the Most emissions are gener-
hardest hit country in Eu- ated by human activities
rope by the new corona- such as traffic, energy pro-
virus, and the government duction, residential heating
has implemented a wide and industry.
lockdown, encouraging its "It is quite remarkable that
62 million people to stay a signal of decreasing ac-
home unless it's absolutely tivity levels could be de-
necessary to go out. tected," said Vincent-Henri
Similar drops in pollutants Peuch, the director of the
were detected in China Copernicus Atmosphere
after the government there Monitoring Service. q