THURSDAY

Tour of Johnson Space Centre in the morning
Picked up by NASA staffers and buses in the carpark, then taken on a VIP tour of several JSC facilities: Click on any picture for the fullsize image
SPACE VEHICLE MOCKUP FACILITY
This is where full-scale models of vehicles used in space are constructed. Astronauts can then train and test procedures.
The Mars rover mockup is shown.





APOLLO-ERA MISSION CONTROL
This historic room is where the dramas, triumphs, and tragedies of the Apollo programme were controlled. Now abandoned, the room is deeply atmospheric and "more than a room". John Jurgenson, who worked for mission control from 1967 (he retires today) spoke about some of his experiences and insights including the first landing by Apollo 11 and the recovery of Apollo 13.



ISS AND SHUTTLE CONTROL ROOMS
Bright, clean and colourful, the new control rooms project a feeling of controlled excitement. We visited the shuttle control room during a live linkup with the crew of STS-127.
Huge screens in the rooms project real-time video of activity in the vehicles, telemetry and positioning data on a world map, and technical messages on the systems. The photo is of the ISS room.


NEUTRAL BUOYANCY LAB (BIG POOL)
Astronauts train for zero-gravity by using this pool. They have weights/floats attached to give them neutral buoyancy so they can practice some of the tasks they will have to perform during EVAs (extra-vehicular activities).




In the second photo you can see the astronaut as a white shape just under the surface. Each astronaut has four attending divers.







FOOD PREPARATION LAB
This is where the food for all space missions is prepared. Surprisingly domestic-looking, the facility is all about packaging, the food eaten by the astronauts is not that different from what we terrestrials eat every day. Although they avoid anything crumbly or too liquid.




It's all about packaging - an evolution from toothpaste tubes to spoon-bags and beyond - although the Russians still use tins!