Presenting the IRIS International Space Station Experiment at the Canadian Space Summit 2009 on behalf of a 50 member team from 14 nations. See http://iris.isunet.edu for more information

1. IRIS – IMAGE REVERSAL IN SPACE
SPACE STATION EDUCATION
MERALI T., DEMEL M., STEINBERG M., THIRSK R., CLEMENT G.
IRIS Team CSS’09

2. Agenda
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ISU Brief
Origins of Iris
Experiment Set Up
Set-Up
Testing, Verification and Certification Process
Ground Based St di
G d B d Studies
ISS Trials and Support Operations
Preliminary Findings
Future Steps & Outreach Spinoffs
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

3. ISU Brief
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Established in 1987 with 1st session at MIT
International, Interdisciplinary, Intercultural
Offers 2 distinct programs
Space Studies Program (SSP)
9 week
9-week comprehensive space course in a different location
every summer NASA Ames (09), Barcelona (08), Beijing (07)
Masters of Science in Space Studies/Space
Management (M.Sc)
12-month M.Sc program based in Strasbourg, France with
3-month internship in space industry
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

4. Origins of Iris
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Spring 2008 – Canadian Astronaut Dr. Robert Thirsk
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expressed interest in a student experiment on his long duration
ISS mission (Expedition 20 & 21)
Approached International Space University for its I
A h dI i lS U i i f i International,
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Interdisciplinary, Intercultural approach to space activities
Goals:
Aid student understanding of processes & procedures required to place
human-rated payload into orbit
Develop l tf
D l platform f f t
for future ISS l t d academic projects
ISS-related d i j t
Gather useable data to aid long duration spaceflight research
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

5. Experiment Set-up
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Iris – Image Reversal In Space – is
a neurovestibular experiment
designed to test effect of
microgravity on human perception
of optical illusions
Ambiguous figures – a figure in
which the brain sees 2 distinct
images – are used to determine
the time required for brain to
realize each image.
10 figures – 1 minute each
Powerpoint DVD
Hypothesis – time lag between
each image will increase in
microgravity
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

6. Experiment Set-up
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Neurovestibular
physiology includes
otholith organs of the
inner-ear responsible for
body’s tilt
In i
I microgravity, otholiths
i h li h
become confused with
other sensory preceptors
to determine body’s
orientation
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

7. Testing, Verification
& Certification
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Iris Mission Timelines
Timelines, Payload Safety
Expedition 20 Mission
Crew Training Plans, documentation,
Briefings
Crew Operations Ex & Ops finalized,
Procedures, ISS Payload Directorate
Software Developed Approval
Winter 2008/2009 –
Fall 2008 – CSA
July 2008 – ISU CSA/NASA
Iris Flight Iris Payload
Crew Training Readiness loaded on
Reviews Shuttle
Ops Reviewed (FRR) Endeavour
Pre-flight data & STS-127
March 2009 – NASA May 2009 – June 2009 –
NASA NASA
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

8. Ground Based Studies
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ISU Study
Following Iris crew
procedures with ISU Masters
2009 class
ESA 50th Parabolic Flight
SA 0 h b l l h
Campaign
Simulated weightlessness
trials
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Most realistic comparison to
in-orbit trials
AsMA Study
A MA S d
Unique test of supine
(inverted) position
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

9. ISS Trials &
Support Operations
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Soyuz TMA-15 May 27
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2009
STS-127 Launch July
15th 2009
Two in-flight sessions
FD+40 (July 10 2009)
FD R-40 (September 17
2009)
ISU Ex-Ops support via
NASA ARC
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

10. ISS Downlink – NASA Ames
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Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

11. Preliminary Findings
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Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

12. Preliminary Findings
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Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

13. Future Steps
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Iris In-flight Sessions #1 Data Analysis
Ground Based
Iris In-flight Session #2 Publications
Studies
Crew Debrief Closeout
On-going
Summer / Fall 2009 – Winter 2009 / Spring
2009 – ISU
ISU/CSA/NASA 2010 – ISU
Next ISS
Academic
Experiment
Kick-off
Summer 2010+ - ??
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

14. Outreach Spin-Offs
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Launching today:
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http://iris.isunet.edu
//
Comprehensive
archive
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

15. Outreach Spin-Offs
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Launching today:
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Iris iPod application
Developed by Jack Cackler
(SSP09)
M.Sc Statistics, Stanford University
Informs, engages, delivers
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Data delivered via PhP to server
Under review by Apple App store
Image credit: Jack Crackler/ISU
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

16. Media Impressions
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Canadian Newspapers
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CSA, NASA, ESA mission
docs and website
BBC Radio 4
Discovery Now podcast
Blogs and space-related
news listings
Newsletters and
magazines
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

17. ESA Erasmus
Experiment Database
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Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

18. Thank You
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This opportunity would not be possible without the
dedication and resilience of 100+ individuals across
ISU, CSA, NASA & ESA
Special thanks to D R b t Thirsk Dr. Gilles Clement f
S i l th k t Dr. Robert Thi k & D Gill Cl t for
sharing their vision and expertise
http://iris.isunet.edu tahir.merali@gmail.com
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

19. 18
IrisRollA
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09

20. 19
IrisRollA
Space Station Education – CSS’09 22/11/09