© 2013 Universal Uclick

from The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

    Far from Earth, about 220 miles up in space, astronauts and cosmonauts are performing experiments. On the International Space Station, or ISS, scientists can conduct tests in conditions that are impossible to create on Earth.    In order to learn more about these important experiments, The Mini Page talked with an ISS program scientist.Experimenting onboard ISS    About 150 experiments are going on at any time in the space station. Many experiments last six months or longer. As with most scientific testing, it can take three to five years before experts realize benefits from the experiments.    Five space agencies, from Japan, Canada, Europe, Russia and the United States, helped build and operate the station. All the partners can perform experiments onboard the station, and scientists share results with everyone else.

A tiny pull of gravity    The space station is unique (you-NEEK), or unlike anything else, because of microgravity. Microgravity is a state, or condition, where the force of gravity seems to be tiny. “Micro” means “very small.” With microgravity, things seem to be weightless.    Gravity is a force that pulls people and things toward physical bodies, such as Earth. The ISS is close enough to Earth that the Earth’s gravity is still strong. The gravity is about 90 percent of that on Earth.     But things act as if they weigh almost nothing on the station. This is because of a condition called free fall.

Free fall    Gravity pulls on everything the same way. It doesn’t matter if things are different sizes or shapes. If there were no air, a feather would fall as fast as a bowling ball. But on Earth, the air slows the feather down.     In space, the station, the crew and everything in the station are falling around Earth at the same speed. Because everything is falling together, everything seems to float. This is called free fall.     But the space station is orbiting the Earth at just the right speed, about 17,500 miles per hour, so the spacecraft never falls all the way to Earth, but keeps orbiting it.

Experimenting in Orbit

International Space Station

phot

o co

urte

sy N

AS

A

The first crew began living onboard the International Space Station in 2000. People have been living there ever since.

phot

o co

urte

sy N

AS

A

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa floats through the space station.

art courtesy NASA

from The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

®

Everything changes    Everything we know — all biological, chemical and physical processes — developed in the gravity on Earth. When we take away Earth’s gravity, things act differently. For example, crystals grow larger, flames are rounder, and plant roots not only grow down, but out toward food.    The ISS allows us to study how things change in microgravity. This helps us learn why things act the way they do on Earth. In microgravity, things don’t always act the way scientists expect.

The effects of outer space    Space radiation, temperature differences and other conditions in outer space can destroy materials. Experiments mounted on the outside of the ISS are helping scientists figure out which materials last longest in space.    One of the samples from ISS experiments survived so well that it was used to create a coating for Curiosity, the rover now exploring Mars.

The Space Laboratory

Success story    A disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DIS-troe-fee) affects about 1 in 3,500 boys. It causes muscles to waste away.    In microgravity, crystals grow bigger and more regularly shaped. This lets researchers get a better look at protein crystals involved in this disease. They have identified a substance in the protein that they couldn’t find on Earth. This is helping scientists develop better treatments.

Words that remind us of the International Space Station are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: AIR, BODY, BONES, CELL, CREW, CRYSTAL, EARTH, EXPERIMENT, FALL, FAR, FLUID, FREE, GRAVITY, LABORATORY, MICROGRAVITY, ORBIT, ROBOTIC, SPACE, STATION, STUDENTS, TOOLS, WEIGH.

Space Station try ’n’find

Would you like to visit

the iss?

H T R A E Y R O T A R O B A L W T F F B A S T N E D U T S C E C O R A O I C I T O B O R R I M E O E L D R L D I U L F Y G S B L L E L Y M T I B R O S H P O L L S K N O I T A T S T F A N V T N E M I R E P X E A A C E Y T I V A R G W E R C L R E S Y T I V A R G O R C I M

from The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

Basset Brown

the news

Hound’s

TM

ready resourcesfrom The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

The Mini Page provides ideas for websites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week’s topics.On the Web:    • nasa.gov/iss-science    • 1.usa.gov/1dGPggE    • spacestationlive.jsc.nasa.govAt the library:    • “The Amazing International Space Station” by the editors of YES! Magazine    • “Space Station Science” by Marianne J. Dyson

phot

o co

urte

sy N

AS

A

On Earth, flames form a teardrop shape (left). In microgravity, flames grow into a rounder shape.

phot

o co

urte

sy N

AS

A

Astronaut Karen Nyberg works with a microgravity experiment on the ISS.

phot

o co

urte

sy N

AS

A/J

PL-

Cal

tech

/MS

SS

The Mars rover Curiosity took this picture of itself while exploring Mars.

®

Rookie Cookie’s RecipeTurkey and Cheese Noodle CasseroleYou’ll need:• 1 (12-ounce) package egg noodles• 1 pound ground turkey• 1 cup onion, chopped• 1 cup green pepper, choppedWhat to do:1.  Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.2.  Brown ground turkey with onion and green pepper in large skillet.3. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and sour cream.4.  Pour noodles into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and mix with one cup spaghetti 

sauce.5.  Mix remaining sauce with turkey and vegetables. Spread on top of noodles.6.  Layer cream cheese mixture next, spreading evenly over turkey mixture.7. Top with cheddar cheese.8.  Bake in 350-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and 

casserole is bubbling.9.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting into squares. Serves 8.You will need an adult’s help with this recipe. from The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

from The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

Meet Heidi Swedberg    Heidi Swedberg plays the ukulele (yoo-kuh-LAY-lee), acts, sings and teaches. Her latest CD is “My Cup of Tea.” She made the CD with the Sukey Jump Band.    Heidi has acted in several TV shows, including “The Wizards of Waverly Place.” She has also acted in several movies, including “Galaxy Quest” and “Kindergarten Cop.”    She teaches ukulele classes at elementary schools in Los Angeles. She taught the ukulele to kids at an orphanage in Haiti. She has 

worked with Outside, a group that brings music to places such as senior centers and care homes for the elderly.    Heidi, 47, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and grew up in Albuquerque, N.M. She began playing the ukulele when she was 5. She majored in theater in college. After college, she trained at a theater in Kentucky and then moved to New York City to act in films.

from The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

Sam:  How do lambs travel as astronauts?

Stan: In spacesheeps!

Sophie:  Where do you park at the space station?

Sia: At a parking meteor!

TM

All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category?

Shelly:  How do you organize a flight to the space station?

Simon: You need to plan-et carefully!

Mini Spy . . .Mini Spy and Basset Brown are watching the International Space Station cross the night sky. See if you can find:• ladder  • comb  • exclamation  • cup • heart• strawberry  • pig  • kite     mark  • word MINI• cupcake  • tooth  • number 2  • knife• feather  • fork  • spoon  • arrow• cherry  • cane  • sock  • pencil  • needle

from The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

TM

• 1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese• 1 (8-ounce) carton reduced-fat sour cream• 1 (24-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

phot

o by

Phi

lip H

olah

an

from The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

Supersport: Max ScherzerHeight: 6-3 Birthdate: 7-27-84Weight: 220 Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.    Every time Max Scherzer steps on the pitcher’s mound, Detroit Tigers fans expect a victory.    Why not? After all, the All-Star right-hander had charged to a big-league best 19-2 record by early September, a major reason the Tigers led their division.    Scherzer, a former college All-American at the University 

of Missouri, baffles batters with different pitches, including a blazing fastball. He recorded 209 strikeouts in his first 190-plus innings.    Detroit likes Scherzer for other reasons. He’s actively involved in charities such as Dreams Come True and Gloves for Kids, and has taken time to visit children in hospitals and participate in a team caravan tour in the offseason.    He’s a good guy — but he’s one tough Tiger on the mound.

TM

from The Mini Page © 2013 Universal Uclick

®

Protecting our health    Some of the most important research onboard the ISS has involved the study of humans living in space. For example, studies have shown that people’s immune systems, or the systems battling disease, are weaker in microgravity. This is a problem for people living in space for long periods.     Astronauts lose about 2 percent of their bone mass each month they are in space. This is much higher than bone loss on Earth.    After 40 years of experimenting in space, researchers from the U.S. have found the right mix of exercise and nutrition to prevent bone loss in astronauts.These findings are helping to treat bedridden patients and the elderly on Earth, who are in special danger for bone loss.

Technology    Experiments on the ISS have helped experts make better machines for use on Earth. For example, knowledge gained from building the station’s robotic arm has led to a special robot. It can perform surgery too tiny and precise for a human surgeon.     This technology is especially useful for performing surgeries on children and babies and has saved dozens of lives.    Experimenters are working to develop techniques to refuel satellites. Now, satellites may work for about 25 years, but then they quit working.

Humans in Space

Cells of the body    Animal and human cells act very differently in space. Cells form into more circular shapes. Because fluids flow differently in microgravity, the fluids in cells act differently. Cells do not communicate with each other in the same way.     These different ways of acting can cause problems for scientists. But they can also help researchers see things in new ways. For example, by studying how cells act in space, scientists hope to learn how to better control cancer cells, which also act differently than normal cells.

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

phot

o co

urte

sy N

AS

A

Each year, students compete to create the best computer code to guide little satellites called SPHERES. ISS crew members hold a competition with the winning SPHERES in free-fall conditions on the station.More than 43 million students from 49 countries have worked with researchers on space station experiments. Middle school, high school and college students all work on ISS experiments.

Salmonella bacteria, which cause food poisoning, are especially dangerous

in space. ISS researchers are trying to find a vaccine against them.

The Mini Page thanks Camille Alleyne, assistant program scientist for the International Space Station, for help with this issue.

Look through your newspaper for stories about outer space.Next week, The Mini Page is about the interstate highway system.

phot

o co

urte

sy N

AS

A

Astronaut Leland Melvin exercises with a resistance tool on the space station. It doesn’t help astronauts to lift weights in space because weights seem to weigh almost nothing.

phot

o co

urte

sy R

ocky

Mou

ntai

n La

bora

tori

es, N

IAID

, NIH