scientificamerican--2020-11-05--Antarctic Commission Rejects Proposed Marine Sanctuaries

Delegates attending an international meeting meant to protect Antarctic ocean life dashed conservationists ' hopes for new marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean .
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources ( CCAMLR ) concluded Friday after a week of virtual negotiations among its 26 member nations .
It declined to approve three proposals for marine protected areas near Antarctica .
The commission , established in 1982 as part of the Antarctic Treaty System , is charged with conserving marine life around the southern continent and sustainably managing the region 's fish stocks .
Those responsibilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas , or MPAs , around Antarctica , if all member states collectively agree .
So far , there are just two in existence : one in the Ross Sea and one around the South Orkney Islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula .
This year 's meeting included proposals for three additional MPAs : one off the coast of East Antarctica , one in the Weddell Sea and one around the Antarctic Peninsula .
Scientists warn that a combination of climate change , fishing and other human activities around Antarctica could be disrupting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Antarctic Peninsula in particular is a region that may be especially vulnerable to human disturbances in the coming decades , researchers say ( Climatewire , Oct. 26 ) .
For decades , the peninsula was one of the fastest-warming parts of the globe .
In recent years , the warming trend has dampened , likely due in part to atmospheric changes caused by the recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole .
Still , temperatures there have already risen substantially — this year brought record-high temperatures to the peninsula — and scientists expect the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming decades .
As the waters warm and Antarctic sea ice declines , researchers are concerned that krill populations around the peninsula could start to shrink .
These tiny , shrimplike creatures form the backbone of the Antarctic ecosystem , providing food for everything from whales to penguins .
At the same time , krill fishing around the peninsula is on the rise .
Some scientists have expressed concern that the combination of increased fishing and climate change could be a major threat to Antarctic marine life .
A marine protected area , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the risk of overfishing and protect vital krill populations .
Earlier this month , a group of nine scientists published a comment in the journal Nature urging CCAMLR delegates to adopt the proposed Antarctic Peninsula MPA .
The meeting concluded Friday without designating any new MPAs .
All the proposed MPAs had been on the table for the past several years .
Each year , they 've all fallen short of the consensus needed to pass them .
That 's despite a show of support from most member nations this year , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Southern Ocean conservation work at the Pew Charitable Trusts , which advocates for more Southern Ocean MPAs .
Kavanagh attended the virtual proceedings last week .
The MPAs failed to gain the necessary support from Russia and China , she said , pointing to nations that have blocked proposed MPAs in the past .
But Kavanagh added that there may be hope for progress next year , which will be CCAMLR 's 40th meeting , and the 60th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty System .
`` [ A ] lthough no MPA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Uruguay signed on as new co-sponsors of the East Antarctic MPA , while Australia and Uruguay did the same for the Weddell Sea MPA , '' Kavanagh said in an email to E & E News .
`` It is some progress and I hope it sets us up for an increased diplomatic outreach at the highest levels to get these done in 2021 . ''
Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from E & E News .
E & E provides daily coverage of essential energy and environmental news at www.eenews.net .

Delegates attending an international meeting meant to protect Antarctic ocean life dashed conservationists' hopes for new marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) concluded Friday after a week of virtual negotiations among its 26 member nations. It declined to approve three proposals for marine protected areas near Antarctica.
The commission, established in 1982 as part of the Antarctic Treaty System, is charged with conserving marine life around the southern continent and sustainably managing the region's fish stocks.
Those responsibilities include the power to designate marine protected areas, or MPAs, around Antarctica, if all member states collectively agree. So far, there are just two in existence: one in the Ross Sea and one around the South Orkney Islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula.
This year's meeting included proposals for three additional MPAs: one off the coast of East Antarctica, one in the Weddell Sea and one around the Antarctic Peninsula. Scientists warn that a combination of climate change, fishing and other human activities around Antarctica could be disrupting the region's delicate ecosystems.
The Antarctic Peninsula in particular is a region that may be especially vulnerable to human disturbances in the coming decades, researchers say (Climatewire, Oct. 26).
For decades, the peninsula was one of the fastest-warming parts of the globe. In recent years, the warming trend has dampened, likely due in part to atmospheric changes caused by the recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole.
Still, temperatures there have already risen substantially — this year brought record-high temperatures to the peninsula — and scientists expect the region to continue heating up in the coming decades.
As the waters warm and Antarctic sea ice declines, researchers are concerned that krill populations around the peninsula could start to shrink. These tiny, shrimplike creatures form the backbone of the Antarctic ecosystem, providing food for everything from whales to penguins.
At the same time, krill fishing around the peninsula is on the rise. Some scientists have expressed concern that the combination of increased fishing and climate change could be a major threat to Antarctic marine life.
A marine protected area, according to some, could help reduce the risk of overfishing and protect vital krill populations. Earlier this month, a group of nine scientists published a comment in the journal Nature urging CCAMLR delegates to adopt the proposed Antarctic Peninsula MPA.
The meeting concluded Friday without designating any new MPAs.
All the proposed MPAs had been on the table for the past several years. Each year, they've all fallen short of the consensus needed to pass them.
That's despite a show of support from most member nations this year, according to Andrea Kavanagh, director of Antarctic and Southern Ocean conservation work at the Pew Charitable Trusts, which advocates for more Southern Ocean MPAs. Kavanagh attended the virtual proceedings last week.
The MPAs failed to gain the necessary support from Russia and China, she said, pointing to nations that have blocked proposed MPAs in the past.
But Kavanagh added that there may be hope for progress next year, which will be CCAMLR's 40th meeting, and the 60th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty System.
"[A]lthough no MPA designations took place this year, Norway and Uruguay signed on as new co-sponsors of the East Antarctic MPA, while Australia and Uruguay did the same for the Weddell Sea MPA," Kavanagh said in an email to E&E News. "It is some progress and I hope it sets us up for an increased diplomatic outreach at the highest levels to get these done in 2021."
Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from E&E News. E&E provides daily coverage of essential energy and environmental news at www.eenews.net.


scientificamerican--2020-11-05--There's No Good Evidence that Psychedelics Can Change Your Politics or Religion

Psychedelics are psychoactive substances that historically have attracted exaggerations of benefits as well as alarmism .
As with most subjects that bring out extreme views , the scientific data provide a more grounded perspective .
Sometimes , the scientific data require further clarification .
We are responding to a thought-provoking opinion piece by Eddie Jacobs published on October 11 , 2020 entitled “ What if a Pill Can Change Your Politics or Religious Beliefs ?
Some could mistakenly take away from the piece an unrealistic impression that is not supported by the scientific data .
We worry that this may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ piece raises ethical questions regarding emerging research suggesting psychedelics may be effective psychiatric treatments .
Specifically , the concern is that psychedelic therapy could shift patients ’ political beliefs “ in one direction along the political spectrum ” or “ change [ their ] religious beliefs.
” We agree that as with any emerging medical treatment , psychedelic therapy prompts important ethical considerations ; however , we believe that the possibility implied in the headline––that psychedelics prompt substantial change in political and religious beliefs or affiliations––is not supported by the current scientific data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not mention affiliations , but we believe readers might reasonably take away this interpretation .
We suggest that there is no evidence that people change political or religious affiliations from psychedelic treatments , and current evidence for other kinds of belief changes is weak .
Below , we address the three major studies mentioned in the original article .
The concern about political beliefs largely rests on evidence from a small pilot study of psilocybin for treating depression .
The study showed an average reduction on a measure of “ authoritarianism ” from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seven people .
Authoritarianism , as it is operationalized here using five questions that were reduced from the original version of the scale , likely does not fit neatly into a particular political party .
Many people , for example , would likely disagree with the scale item “ The law should always be obeyed , even if a particular law is wrong , ” regardless of political affiliation .
It is also not clear that a reduction in authoritarianism ( or increase in libertarianism or social/moral liberalism , the other end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to present political affiliations .
There are abundant historical examples of both left-wing and right-wing authoritarian governments ( for example , communism and fascism , respectively ) .
Moreover , in a country such as the United States , the major left-and right-leaning parties have generally had no universal leaning toward either individual freedom or state control .
The position taken along this continuum is highly dependent on the subject ( for example , business regulation , abortion , gun control , social constraints on sexual behavior ) .
In fact , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not to use the term “ liberal ” in reference to the scale because that term had a political meaning in the United States that went beyond what the scale measures .
Beyond the theoretical issues with mapping authoritarianism onto present political parties , there are also statistical concerns with this study .
The finding about reduced authoritarianism barely met the threshold of significance –– and with a one-tailed t-test .
A one-tailed test provides a lower standard for achieving significance compared to the much more common two-tailed test .
It is unclear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a two-tailed test .
In any case , the effect did not last .
At the 7–12 month follow-up the decrease was not significant , even according to the lower standards of the one-tailed test .
Jacobs ’ piece alluded to another study about political beliefs , a 1971 study exploring the association between LSD increased liberalism .
This study compared three groups : 1 ) people who had taken LSD as a medical treatment , 2 ) people who had taken LSD on their own , and 3 ) people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who had taken LSD on their own indicated more support for policies like “ individual freedom ” and “ foreign policy liberalism ” compared to those who had not taken LSD .
It is possible that those who were willing to take LSD outside of medical treatment may have already been more influenced by the liberal hippie movement that encouraged these beliefs at that time ( Jacobs notes that this is correlational and not causal data ) .
Importantly , no differences were found in this study between the political beliefs of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to those who did not take LSD .
Therefore , this study actually suggests that medical psychedelic treatments do not alter political beliefs !
In terms of religious beliefs , Jacobs ’ piece points to a concern about belief change on the basis of a survey study by our group at Johns Hopkins .
This survey specifically recruited individuals who had a “ God encounter experience ” after taking a psychedelic outside of a research context .
Before having such an experience during their psychedelic session , 21 percent retrospectively identified as atheist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the experience .
This decrease was accompanied by a decrease in identification with major religions , alongside increases in spiritual types of self-identification .
Crucially though , this study was in no way representative of the general public , as only people who reported encountering “ God ” or a similar phenomenon were included in the study .
This was a very specific sample of people reporting a special kind of experience or interpretation of experience .
The study can not provide an estimate of population rates .
Belief changes of a religious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ massively inflated in this sample , and it is therefore not appropriate to draw generalized conclusions about belief change from psychedelic treatments based on these data .
Lastly , the piece cites the observation that under clinical conditions psychedelics increase , on average , a personality trait called openness to experience , a finding first reported by our group at Johns Hopkins and now replicated by others .
Unlike the political and religious effects , this phenomenon appears more robust .
However , while psychedelics might be unique in their ability to prompt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a short-term clinical procedure , they are not the only clinical intervention that can cause changes in personality traits .
A large meta-analysis of over 200 published studies examining the effect of psychiatric treatments on personality traits found that personality was indeed changed .
Regardless of whether the intervention was a psychotherapy or a medication such as a traditional antidepressant drug , these changes reached a moderate effect size for increases in the trait of emotional stability , similar to the effect size observed for the increase in personality openness to experience from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ openness to experience and liberal political views is small , accounting for only around 2 percent of the relationship between the two variables .
In other words , the pathway from psychedelics through openness to experience to political belief change is , for all practical purposes , negligible .
While data from studies are always paramount , we note that in the first author ’ s experience interacting with hundreds of psilocybin study participants , he does not recall any spontaneous claims of changed political or religious affiliation in either direction .
Our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data do not suggest that meaningful changes in religious or political beliefs are likely from psychedelic therapy––and certainly not changes in political or religious affiliation .
There is some evidence that psychedelic therapy can prompt changes in one ’ s sense of spirituality , but this term is so broadly and variously defined that it does not even necessarily relate to supernatural beliefs , and it can refer to things like one ’ s values or sense of connection .
As with many interventions , there are cases in which individuals change in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a psychedelic experience .
The frequency and magnitude of these occurrences are empirical questions for future research to address , but the current data simply do not support the idea that psychedelic treatments result in meaningful changes in political or religious beliefs or affiliation .
Psychedelic medicine , like any new treatment , no doubt raises important and challenging ethical issues .
Consent procedures in psychedelic trials by our research group ( and by other groups to our knowledge ) already warn that personality and attitude changes are a possibility .
Of course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients if psychedelics are approved as medicine .
Psychedelic experiences are sometimes held as among the most meaningful in one ’ s life , and may be interpreted to have philosophical or spiritual import , likely depending on the orientation of the participant .
Such effects present the opportunity for ethical pitfalls by clinicians .
These and other challenges will call for important contributions from ethicists .
However , we must also be careful to keep any given concern in perspective and convey realistic risks to the public and patients .
From this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the data , that major shifts in political or religious orientation or beliefs are not among the likely risks associated with this treatment .
As psychedelic researchers , we believe it is important to remain vigilant against excesses in enthusiasm as well as alarmism .

Psychedelics are psychoactive substances that historically have attracted exaggerations of benefits as well as alarmism. As with most subjects that bring out extreme views, the scientific data provide a more grounded perspective. Sometimes, the scientific data require further clarification. We are responding to a thought-provoking opinion piece by Eddie Jacobs published on October 11, 2020 entitled “What if a Pill Can Change Your Politics or Religious Beliefs? Some could mistakenly take away from the piece an unrealistic impression that is not supported by the scientific data. We worry that this may lead to alarmist reactions.
Jacobs’ piece raises ethical questions regarding emerging research suggesting psychedelics may be effective psychiatric treatments. Specifically, the concern is that psychedelic therapy could shift patients’ political beliefs “in one direction along the political spectrum” or “change [their] religious beliefs.” We agree that as with any emerging medical treatment, psychedelic therapy prompts important ethical considerations; however, we believe that the possibility implied in the headline––that psychedelics prompt substantial change in political and religious beliefs or affiliations––is not supported by the current scientific data.
To be clear, Jacobs did not mention affiliations, but we believe readers might reasonably take away this interpretation. We suggest that there is no evidence that people change political or religious affiliations from psychedelic treatments, and current evidence for other kinds of belief changes is weak. Below, we address the three major studies mentioned in the original article.
The concern about political beliefs largely rests on evidence from a small pilot study of psilocybin for treating depression. The study showed an average reduction on a measure of “authoritarianism” from baseline to one week after psilocybin in seven people. Authoritarianism, as it is operationalized here using five questions that were reduced from the original version of the scale, likely does not fit neatly into a particular political party. Many people, for example, would likely disagree with the scale item “The law should always be obeyed, even if a particular law is wrong,” regardless of political affiliation.
It is also not clear that a reduction in authoritarianism (or increase in libertarianism or social/moral liberalism, the other end of the scale spectrum) holds a relation to present political affiliations. There are abundant historical examples of both left-wing and right-wing authoritarian governments (for example, communism and fascism, respectively). Moreover, in a country such as the United States, the major left-and right-leaning parties have generally had no universal leaning toward either individual freedom or state control. The position taken along this continuum is highly dependent on the subject (for example, business regulation, abortion, gun control, social constraints on sexual behavior). In fact, the developers of the scale in question preferred not to use the term “liberal” in reference to the scale because that term had a political meaning in the United States that went beyond what the scale measures.
Beyond the theoretical issues with mapping authoritarianism onto present political parties, there are also statistical concerns with this study. The finding about reduced authoritarianism barely met the threshold of significance –– and with a one-tailed t-test. A one-tailed test provides a lower standard for achieving significance compared to the much more common two-tailed test. It is unclear if the reduction would have been significant with a two-tailed test. In any case, the effect did not last. At the 7–12 month follow-up the decrease was not significant, even according to the lower standards of the one-tailed test.
Jacobs’ piece alluded to another study about political beliefs, a 1971 study exploring the association between LSD increased liberalism. This study compared three groups: 1) people who had taken LSD as a medical treatment, 2) people who had taken LSD on their own, and 3) people who had not used LSD. Only those who had taken LSD on their own indicated more support for policies like “individual freedom” and “foreign policy liberalism” compared to those who had not taken LSD.
It is possible that those who were willing to take LSD outside of medical treatment may have already been more influenced by the liberal hippie movement that encouraged these beliefs at that time (Jacobs notes that this is correlational and not causal data). Importantly, no differences were found in this study between the political beliefs of those who received LSD under medical treatment compared to those who did not take LSD. Therefore, this study actually suggests that medical psychedelic treatments do not alter political beliefs!
In terms of religious beliefs, Jacobs’ piece points to a concern about belief change on the basis of a survey study by our group at Johns Hopkins. This survey specifically recruited individuals who had a “God encounter experience” after taking a psychedelic outside of a research context. Before having such an experience during their psychedelic session, 21 percent retrospectively identified as atheist, whereas only 8 percent did after the experience. This decrease was accompanied by a decrease in identification with major religions, alongside increases in spiritual types of self-identification.
Crucially though, this study was in no way representative of the general public, as only people who reported encountering “God” or a similar phenomenon were included in the study. This was a very specific sample of people reporting a special kind of experience or interpretation of experience. The study cannot provide an estimate of population rates. Belief changes of a religious type would, of course, be massively inflated in this sample, and it is therefore not appropriate to draw generalized conclusions about belief change from psychedelic treatments based on these data.
Lastly, the piece cites the observation that under clinical conditions psychedelics increase, on average, a personality trait called openness to experience, a finding first reported by our group at Johns Hopkins and now replicated by others. Unlike the political and religious effects, this phenomenon appears more robust. However, while psychedelics might be unique in their ability to prompt a change in a personality trait with a short-term clinical procedure, they are not the only clinical intervention that can cause changes in personality traits. A large meta-analysis of over 200 published studies examining the effect of psychiatric treatments on personality traits found that personality was indeed changed.
Regardless of whether the intervention was a psychotherapy or a medication such as a traditional antidepressant drug, these changes reached a moderate effect size for increases in the trait of emotional stability, similar to the effect size observed for the increase in personality openness to experience from psilocybin. Lastly, the correlation between openness to experience and liberal political views is small, accounting for only around 2 percent of the relationship between the two variables. In other words, the pathway from psychedelics through openness to experience to political belief change is, for all practical purposes, negligible.
While data from studies are always paramount, we note that in the first author’s experience interacting with hundreds of psilocybin study participants, he does not recall any spontaneous claims of changed political or religious affiliation in either direction.
Our primary point here is that that existing data do not suggest that meaningful changes in religious or political beliefs are likely from psychedelic therapy––and certainly not changes in political or religious affiliation. There is some evidence that psychedelic therapy can prompt changes in one’s sense of spirituality, but this term is so broadly and variously defined that it does not even necessarily relate to supernatural beliefs, and it can refer to things like one’s values or sense of connection.
As with many interventions, there are cases in which individuals change in their values, attitudes and/or beliefs after a psychedelic experience. The frequency and magnitude of these occurrences are empirical questions for future research to address, but the current data simply do not support the idea that psychedelic treatments result in meaningful changes in political or religious beliefs or affiliation.
Psychedelic medicine, like any new treatment, no doubt raises important and challenging ethical issues. Consent procedures in psychedelic trials by our research group (and by other groups to our knowledge) already warn that personality and attitude changes are a possibility. Of course, this should also be done with patients if psychedelics are approved as medicine. Psychedelic experiences are sometimes held as among the most meaningful in one’s life, and may be interpreted to have philosophical or spiritual import, likely depending on the orientation of the participant. Such effects present the opportunity for ethical pitfalls by clinicians.
These and other challenges will call for important contributions from ethicists. However, we must also be careful to keep any given concern in perspective and convey realistic risks to the public and patients. From this perspective, we believe, based on the data, that major shifts in political or religious orientation or beliefs are not among the likely risks associated with this treatment. As psychedelic researchers, we believe it is important to remain vigilant against excesses in enthusiasm as well as alarmism.


scientificamerican--2020-11-06--Sharks Never Run Out of Teeth

Sharks Never Run Out of Teeth

How do sharks keep their teeth so sharp ?
And why does it matter ?
Unlike land predators , the fish don ’ t have claws—they use their teeth for catching prey .
If a shark ’ s teeth are lost or get dull with use over time , that presents a major problem to its survival .
So the animals have evolved a fascinating solution to this issue .
While humans just get baby teeth and adult teeth , sharks are constantly growing chompers throughout their entire life .
A set of new teeth is always developing in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forward like a conveyer belt .
In this colorized x-ray of a shark ’ s jaw , the teeth on the bottom are currently in use , while those on the top are in the process of growing and rotating forward .
As the teeth in use are worn down and lost , replacements emerge .
A single shark may go through as many as thousands of teeth in its lifetime .
It can continue to hunt and eat tough-skinned prey without fear of breaking or dulling its teeth—because there will always be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Science in Images is a new category of articles featuring photographs and videos from all the disciplines of science .
Click on the button below to see the full collection .

How do sharks keep their teeth so sharp? And why does it matter? Unlike land predators, the fish don’t have claws—they use their teeth for catching prey. If a shark’s teeth are lost or get dull with use over time, that presents a major problem to its survival. So the animals have evolved a fascinating solution to this issue.
While humans just get baby teeth and adult teeth, sharks are constantly growing chompers throughout their entire life. A set of new teeth is always developing in the predators’ jaw, and they rotate forward like a conveyer belt. In this colorized x-ray of a shark’s jaw, the teeth on the bottom are currently in use, while those on the top are in the process of growing and rotating forward. As the teeth in use are worn down and lost, replacements emerge. A single shark may go through as many as thousands of teeth in its lifetime. It can continue to hunt and eat tough-skinned prey without fear of breaking or dulling its teeth—because there will always be new ones waiting to take their place.
Science in Images is a new category of articles featuring photographs and videos from all the disciplines of science. Click on the button below to see the full collection.
Science in Images


scientificamerican--2020-11-06--Science Sound(E)scapes: Head-Banging and Howling in the Amazon

Today , the final episode in our three-part sound escape to the Amazon rainforest .
In today ’ s episode , we ’ re going into the trees .
And be sure to catch the other episodes of this podcast mini-series .
The first one was on the pink river dolphin .
The second was on the frog choruses .
Tim Weaver is back with us to finish our Amazon audio tour .
JD : And just to remind you , Tim is a professor of emergent digital practices and a multimedia and sound artist at the University of Denver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dolphins through drowned forests .
We ’ ve taken sonic strolls , very carefully , through the understory awash in frog music .
And now we ascend into the trees .
Tim , tell us a little bit about where we 're going and what we 're going to find up there .
TW : We ’ ve been through three layers of the Amazon : underwater to the forest floor story and now we 'll go up into the canopy .
It ’ s a totally different ecosystem up there and very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it 's incredibly bio-diverse .
There are mammals that live up there .
There 's species that have yet to be discovered up there .
And , of course , birds and amphibians lay their eggs up there in the bromeliads .
So the technology we ’ re using to do this is a small recorder that can be deployed for actually multiple months so you can schedule to take a recording every half hour from midnight to two in the morning or however you want to sample .
And what I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to record howler monkeys , which change their territory every morning .
They set the territory before dawn and it 's like the wakening of the world .
And the other species that 's very interesting in that canopy that is endangered and has gone extinct in North America is a family of woodpeckers called campephilus woodpeckers .
They 're the largest in the Americas .
They 're about the size of a red tail hawk .
They did go from the ivory bills in North America to the Imperials in the Sierras @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Southern Patagonian with the magellanic woodpeckers and this species is a crimson-crested .
They ’ re in the Amazon , they ’ re in the upper Amazon , in the cloud forests as well , so you 'll hear them drumming on trees .
They ’ re indicative of a very healthy forest because they have to live in a tree that they can have their nests in the middle of so they 're large and these are hardwood incredible hardwood forests , so you 'll hear them drumming .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ howler monkeys reset their territory and it just sounds like this incredible rushing of wind from the Gods coming to you and they clear out to set their territory in the canopy at the same time so there 's an inner dispersion of those two species .
JD : So how high do you have to climb to place the mics ?
TW : So we 're setting them in small trees that are fairly tall , so we can get up into them , not all the way in the canopy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And they 're above the forest floor so that nothing will climb up the trees and eat them .
So if we were in North America , we 'd worry about bears eating them ; if we 're in the canopy you would worry about things like macaws going down and being curious and cutting them open .
So you take a tree that 's a smaller tree , but is tall enough that is about 12 feet off the forest floor , so you can bend it down , set it and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s above the forest floor , but the canopy is 150 feet , so we 're getting the animals in the canopy , and their sound coming down to above our own head limit , but it 's not on the forest floor .
JD : Tell me a little bit about sounding a canopy .
We ’ re so used to hearing sounds that bounce off of hard surfaces all around us without realizing it -- walls , ceilings , ground , buildings -- what does it sound like when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TW : Well , there 's multiple types of reflection going on in the cloud forest and also in the rainforest as well and those surfaces are very waxy .
The leaves have a certain geometry and depending on the season , frogs and bats can you use a geometry of the leaves to strategically to hunt with .
So if bats are hunting at night they can ricochet their echolocation off of a leaf configuration and find moths that way .
The length of songs and the wavelength of songs and things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on those surfaces and they 're very different than a North American temperate forest .
So if you were recording and say British Columbia in the Sitka Spruce , the sound will go out and almost does n't come back because there 's so much organic on the trunks .
And that 's not the case in the Amazon .
The trunks of these Cebu trees and things like that are not covered with moss the same way they might be in the North American temperate forest , even though that 's incredibly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ territory for looking at ecologies , sound , so we 're really learning about that in so there 's a lot of enthusiastic people doing this work .
And these devices were talking about these audio moths are becoming really instrumental that if you can set out an array of one hundred of these and come back in a month and they 'll hold a charge for a month , and they 're really small he can fit them in the palm of your hand , you would gather more data than had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forest , so it 's so that 's good time for doing this work .
JD : So that 's a lot of data I imagine it 's not exactly easy to just pull the good stuff right out .
TW : So visually you can you can look at the spectagrams .
So once you understand what you know the visual print of the sound is then you could scroll through things , but scrolling through things for a month 's worth of data is very daunting .
So you can actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sound itself , but also on the spectrogram .
You can process this in the cloud when you get back here .
This is also something done with ocean recording , where they 're able to put out ocean recorders for a month to listen to mammalian communication with pinnipeds or whales or any of those things .
We really want to do this with long-term recordings for the pink river dolphins , but has the river goes up and down 20 to 30 feet every year we 're trying to figure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be out there as a big hard drive , recording , and bring it back to the studio and and then going through it with AI or visually to see where we can find interesting things happening .
JD : It sounds like we ’ re only beginning to understand what these ecosystems sound like and there 's so much more to discover .
TW : This is kind of the Golden Era right now for ecoacoustics .
But conversely , Bernie Krause , who 's been recording since the 1970s and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what he recorded has gone extinct already in terms of acoustic ecologies .
So it 's changing everyday like we know is happening in our world and what we 're trying to catch up to is disappearing as fast as we 're getting new data .
JD : With that I think it 's a good time to climb to where we can hear better .
[ Sounds of howler monkeys and woodpeckers in the trees ] JD : Thank you Tim for sharing you working sounds with this over the last three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And thank you to all the listeners for tuning in .
We will have more experimental features like this in the podcast in the future .
Until then , earphones on .
[ The above text is a transcript of this podcast . ]

Full Transcript
This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Jeff DelViscio.
Today: the final episode in our three-part sound escape to the Amazon rain forest. In today’s episode, we’re going into the trees. And be sure to catch the other episodes of this podcast miniseries. The first one was on the pink river dolphin. The second was on the frog choruses.
Tim Weaver is back with us to finish our Amazon audio tour.
“Thanks, Jeff.”
And just to remind you, Tim is a professor of emergent digital practices and a multimedia and sound artist at the University of Denver. Together, we chased pink river dolphins through drowned forests. We’ve taken sonic strolls, very carefully, through the understory, awash in frog music. And now we ascend into the trees. Tim, tell us a little bit about where we’re going and what we’re going to find up there.
“We’ve been through three layers of the Amazon: underwater to the forest-floor story. And now we’ll go up into the canopy. It’s a totally different ecosystem up there and very difficult to record up there but, again, it’s incredibly biodiverse. There are mammals that live up there. There’s species that have yet to be discovered up there. And of course, birds and amphibians lay their eggs up there in the bromeliads.
“So the technology we’re using to do this is a small recorder that can be deployed for actually multiple months. So you can schedule to take a recording every half hour from midnight to two in the morning or however you want to sample. And what I was interested in testing these out with was to record howler monkeys, which change their territory every morning. They set the territory before dawn, and it’s like the wakening of the world.
“And the other species that’s very interesting in that canopy that is endangered and has gone extinct in North America is a family of woodpeckers called Campephilus woodpeckers. They’re the largest in the Americas. They’re about the size of a red-tail hawk. They did go from the ivory bills in North America to the imperials in the sierras in Mexico, all the way down to southern Patagonian with the Magellanic woodpeckers, and this species is a crimson-crested. They’re in the Amazon. They’re in the upper Amazon, in the cloud forests as well. So you’ll hear them drumming on trees. They’re indicative of a very healthy forest because they have to live in a tree that they can have their nests in the middle of. So they’re large, and these are hardwood—incredible hardwood forests—so you’ll hear them drumming.
“This is could be in the afternoon when the howler monkeys reset their territory and it just sounds like this incredible rushing of wind from the Gods coming to you and they clear out to set their territory in the canopy at the same time so there's an inner dispersion of those two species.”
So how high do you have to climb to place the mics?
“So we’re setting them in small trees that are fairly tall, so we can get up into them—not all the way in the canopy, but we can hear the canopy. And they’re above the forest floor so that nothing will climb up the trees and eat them. So if we were in North America, we’d worry about bears eating them. If we’re in the canopy, you would worry about things like macaws going down and being curious and cutting them open. So you take a tree that’s a smaller tree but is tall enough that it is about 12 feet off the forest floor, so you can bend it down, set it and then let it come back up. It’s above the forest floor, but the canopy is 150 feet up, so we’re getting the animals in the canopy and their sound coming down to above our own head limit. But it’s not on the forest floor.”
Tell me a little bit about sounding a canopy. We’re so used to hearing sounds that bounce off of hard surfaces all around us without realizing it: walls, ceilings, ground, buildings. What does it sound like when you’re up in midair?
“Well, there’s multiple types of reflection going on in the cloud forest and also in the rain forest as well. And those surfaces are very waxy. The leaves have a certain geometry and, depending on the season, frogs and bats can use a geometry of the leaves to strategically to hunt with. So if bats are hunting at night, they can ricochet their echolocation off of a leaf configuration and find moths that way.
“The length of songs and the wavelength of songs and things like that and communication are really based on those surfaces. And they’re very different than a North American temperate forest. So if you were recording in, say, British Columbia in the Sitka spruce, the sound will go out and almost doesn’t come back because there’s so much organic on the trunks. And that’s not the case in the Amazon. The trunks of these Cebu trees and things like that are not covered with moss the same way they might be in the North American temperate forest, even though that’s incredibly wet.
“It’s also very new territory for looking at ecologies, sound, so we’re really learning about that. So there’s a lot of enthusiastic people doing this work. And these devices were talking about, these audio moths, are becoming really instrumental so that if you can set out an array of 100 of these and come back in a month—and they’ll hold a charge for a month, and they’re really small; you can fit them in the palm of your hand—you would gather more data than had ever been taken, in relation to this forest. So it’s a good time for doing this work.”
So that’s a lot of data. I imagine it’s not exactly easy to just pull the good stuff right out.
“So visually, you can you can look at the spectrograms. So once you understand what you know the visual print of the sound is, then you could scroll through things. But scrolling through things for a month’s worth of data is very daunting. So you can actually have an artificial intelligence training done on the sound itself but also on the spectrogram.
“You can process this in the cloud when you get back here. This is also something done with ocean recording, where they’re able to put out ocean recorders for a month to listen to mammalian communication with pinnipeds or whales or any of those things.
“We really want to do this with long-term recordings for the pink river dolphins. But because the river goes up and down 20 to 30 feet every year, we’re trying to figure out where we deploy those recorders that could be out there as a big hard drive recording and bring it back to the studio and then go through it with AI or visually to see where we can find interesting things happening.”
It sounds like we’re only beginning to understand what these ecosystems sound like, and there’s so much more to discover.
“This is kind of a golden era, right now, for ecoacoustics. But conversely, Bernie Krause, who’s been recording since the 1970s and 1980s, said that 85 percent of what he recorded has gone extinct already, in terms of acoustic ecologies. So it’s changing every day like we know is happening in our world. And what we’re trying to catch up to is disappearing as fast as we’re getting new data.”
With that, I think it’s a good time to climb to where we can hear better.
[CLIP: Howler monkeys and woodpeckers in the trees]
Thank you, Tim, for sharing you working sounds with us over the last three episodes of the 60-Second Science podcast. And thank you to all the listeners for tuning in. We will have more experimental features like this in the podcast in the future. Until then: earphones on.
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]


scientificamerican--2020-11-06--An Underappreciated Danger of the New Space Age: Global Air Pollution

The space industry is growing and innovating at a pace not seen since the days of the moon landings .
Fifty years ago , nearly everything related to space was a government-sponsored project .
In 21st-century space , launch vehicle and satellite finance are most often bottom-line corporate investments or public-private partnerships .
Untethered from government leashes , the global space industry looks and operates increasingly like global aviation .
Reusability .
Regular flight cadence .
Mass production of spacecraft and launch vehicles .
Analysts predict that the space industry ’ s contribution to global GDP could cross the 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reasonably construct future scenarios where the space and aviation industries have comparable economic clout .
A great deal of aviation ’ s remarkable airframe and propulsion developments since World War II have been guided by sustainability concerns , mainly focused on jet engine emissions .
Modern jet engines emit much less soot and gas pollutants than engines emitted 50 years ago .
The pressure to reduce jet emissions has been good for aviation because honing turbine combustion to near theoretical maximum efficiency has had the benefit of reducing fuel consumption .
Good for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Earth .
Sustainability has not much been a concern for space systems development .
Just like their jet engine cousins , rocket engines emit a variety of gases and particles into the atmosphere that can have regional and even global consequences .
Even so , launch vehicle environmental impacts are typically disregarded by comparing jet and rocket fuel consumption in an overly simplified way .
The argument goes like this : Rockets burn only 0.1 percent of the fuel that aircraft burn each year and are therefore only 0.1 percent of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is a case of false equivalence .
Careful understanding of every phase of space flight shows that space emissions can impact the atmosphere in ways that are wholly different from , and in some cases larger than , aviation emissions .
Unlike with aviation , every layer of the atmosphere sees space industry emissions .
While jet emissions into the troposphere are quickly washed away to the surface by precipitation , rocket emissions into the stratosphere clean away only slowly .
Stratospheric emissions accumulate year over year , adding up exhaust from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reentries over the past four or five years .
In fact , the fragile ozone layer resides in the stratosphere , near where rocket emissions accumulate .
Prospects for space travel have never been more thrilling .
Space industry advances , including high-performance smallsats , low-Earth-orbit megaconstellations , new rocket propellants , and lunar resource extraction , are driving the 21st-century New Space growth .
Expectations are high that these developments will bring forth the long-held ambition to make space travel as commonplace as air travel .
But are these new space technologies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ engine exhaust , like jet exhaust , is mostly carbon dioxide and water vapor and the global impacts of these emissions are well understood .
Carbon dioxide emitted at any altitude is a “ long-lived ” greenhouse gas ( GHG ) , adding to the atmospheric GHG burden .
Water vapor is a “ short-lived ” GHG .
The global impacts of these components of rocket exhaust are small , a fraction of a percent of aviation ’ s CO and H O global impacts .
Even though the major components of rocket @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some specific minor components require closer inspection .
Solid rocket motor ( SRM ) oxidizer , ammonium perchlorate , contains chlorine , the most serious threat to stratospheric ozone .
Direct plume sampling 20 years ago by NASA aircraft showed that SRM plumes create dramatic ozone “ miniholes ” that persist for several days after a launch .
The miniholes disappear however as the chlorine-laden plumes mix into the global stratosphere , and all the chlorine emitted by SRMs each year is small and short-lived compared to the chlorine released by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most likely not a serious threat to the ozone layer .
Scientists well understand how the CO , H O and Cl gas emissions from rockets affect climate and ozone .
And all this research indicates that these impacts are insignificant compared to other pollution sources and buried in the noise of the global atmosphere .
Even if these launch emissions increased by an order of magnitude , their impacts would be small .
However , there is another component to rocket exhaust that could be significant : particles of soot ( black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
Rockets famously display brilliant exhaust plumes .
Hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engine “ flame ” is mostly the incandescent glow of soot particles oxidizing in the hot plume .
Soot production in rocket engines is complicated and not very well understood .
Soot forms in fuel-rich combustion chambers , fuel-cooling nozzle walls and turbopump gas generators , and is partly consumed in the hot plumes .
Jet engines have none of these complexities and burn very clean compared to rocket engine .
Some types of hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engines emit hundreds of times more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than do their jet engine cousins .
And jets only occasionally fly in the stratosphere ; rockets fly there every launch .
What is the concern about soot in the stratosphere ?
Black carbon soot ( BC ) very efficiently absorbs sunlight .
The absorbed energy is transferred to surrounding air so that BC acts as a heat source , warming the stratosphere , which can in turn slightly change the circulation of the global atmosphere .
And since ozone concentration is inversely proportional to temperature , a warmer stratosphere equates to depletion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ BC emitted by the current global fleet of rockets great enough to have a significant impact on the global atmosphere ?
We do not yet know .
The required climate models are only now being assembled .
BC soot emission by hydrocarbon-fueled rockets , and its global impacts remain a mystery .
SRM plumes are even more brilliant than hydrocarbon-fueled plumes .
White hot alumina droplets leaving the nozzle are the source for the SRM “ flame .
As with the chlorine gas emission , SRM plumes diffuse and eventually mix into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are found in random stratospheric air samples from equator to poles .
In the 1990s , researchers discovered how ozone-destroying chemical reactions occur on the surface of SRM alumina particles , but alumina ’ s significance as a source of ozone depletion is not known .
SRMs emit ozone-destroying chlorine gas , too , of course , and the double-sided nature of SRM ozone depletion remains poorly described .
The 2018 World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) Ozone Assessment acknowledged the large knowledge gaps and noted that further research is `` warranted .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ largest ever flown , and it is often mistakenly assumed that the use of large solid rockets ended when the space shuttle retired .
In fact , SRMs are finding increasing launch applications around the planet .
The Space Launch System ’ s 144-inch diameter SRMs will be the most massive ever flown .
Even SLS will be eclipsed by a Chinese 156-inch SRM planned for 2025 debut .
SRMs present a growing and poorly known hazard to stratospheric ozone .
Contrary to many media stories about the latest space junk reentry spectacular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not “ disappear ” upon reentry .
Some parts of derelict spacecraft will survive reentry and reach the surface .
However , most of the reentering mass vaporizes into a hot gas that quickly condenses into a spray of small particles .
Thus , as with launch , bright plumes mean particle production .
Unlike the chemically simple particles from launch , particles from reentering space junk will be a zoo of complex chemical types .
Particles from vaporizing propellant tanks , computers , solar panels and other exotic materials will form around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accumulating in the stratosphere along with launch ’ s soot and alumina .
Reentry is as much of an “ emission ” as launch .
The growing LEO megaconstellations , with thousands of satellites in each constellation , use reentry vaporization as the satellite end-of-life disposal mechanism .
Once these constellations are deployed , hundreds of tons of nonfunctioning satellites will be “ brought in ” for disposal every year .
Most of this mass will become particles in the middle atmosphere .
Very little is known about reentry dust production , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dust could affect climate and ozone .
Space has entered a growth phase reminiscent of aviation ’ s early days .
Once a technology becomes normalized into the market economy , there is no limit to potential new applications .
And like its aviation industry big brother , the space industry emits gases and particles into the atmosphere from propulsion systems .
But a comparison between aviation emissions and space emissions must account for the vastly different ways that the two industries affect the Earth ’ s atmosphere .
CO emissions from jet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emissions from rocket engines for any foreseeable future .
This is reflected in well-meaning but misguided calculations of a conventional “ carbon footprint ” for space .
But CO is not where the action is for space pollution .
The particles emitted by rocket launches and space debris reentries cause much larger changes in atmospheric chemistry , dynamics and radiation than rocket CO emissions .
For the space industry , the “ carbon footprint ” is a complicated story that is yet to be appropriately defined .
The recent controversy over the brightness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how sustainability needs to become a fundamental aspect of space system development .
It will be easier to guarantee unimpeded use of space systems if the environmental impacts of every stage in a system ’ s life cycle are evaluated ahead of time .
This is how aviation contemplates sustainability .
Environmental concerns that appear after deployment encourages regulation .
Full and complete analysis before deployment inoculates against regulation .
Ironically , only space can provide the global perspective required to manage humanity ’ s stewardship of the Earth .
Apollo 8 ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the beginning of global environmentalism .
And yet space industry emissions themselves are too poorly known to answer fundamental questions about space ’ s global impacts and sustainability .
Space has some work to do regarding environmental impacts .
Looking to aviation , an appropriate scientific program would include measurements of launch and reentry plumes , detailed modeling of plumes from fresh emissions to steady state global mixing , and laboratory measurements of the microphysics of all the different particle types generated from launch to reentry .
The effort would be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry is poised to become a more significant part of the global economy just at a time when sustainability is becoming a common goal across the economy .
What would a sustainable space industry look like ?
What are the future regulatory threats to space development ?
We will not know the answers to these questions until a sustained program scientific research program , globally coordinated , on space industry emissions is carried out .

The space industry is growing and innovating at a pace not seen since the days of the moon landings. Fifty years ago nearly everything related to space was a government-sponsored project. In 21st-century space, rockets and satellites are most often corporate investments or public-private partnerships.
Untethered from government leashes, the global space industry looks and operates increasingly like global aviation. Reusability. Regular flight cadence. Mass production of spacecraft and launch vehicles. Analysts predict that the space industry's contribution to global GDP could cross the 1 percent threshold by 2040. We can reasonably construct future scenarios where the space and aviation industries have comparable economic clout.
A great deal of aviation's remarkable airframe and propulsion developments since World War II have been guided by sustainability concerns, mainly focused on jet engine emissions. Modern jet engines emit much less soot and gas pollutants than engines emitted 50 years ago. The pressure to reduce jet emissions has been good for aviation because honing turbine combustion to near theoretical maximum efficiency has had the benefit of reducing fuel consumption. Good for corporate bottom lines and good for planet Earth.
Sustainability has not been much of a concern for space systems development. Just like their jet engine cousins, rocket engines emit a variety of gases and particles into the atmosphere that can have regional and even global consequences. Even so, the environmental impacts of launch vehicles are typically disregarded by comparing jet and rocket fuel consumption in an overly simplified way.
The argument goes like this: Rockets burn only 0.1 percent of the fuel that aircraft burn every year and are therefore only 0.1 percent of the emissions problem that aviation presents. But this is a case of false equivalence. Careful understanding of every phase of space flight shows that space emissions can change the atmosphere in ways that are wholly different from, and in some cases worse than, aviation emissions.
Unlike with aviation, emissions produced by the space industry affect every layer of the atmosphere. Whereas jet emissions into the troposphere are quickly washed to the surface by precipitation, rocket emissions into the stratosphere are cleared away only slowly. Stratospheric emissions accumulate year over year, adding up exhaust from all of Earth's launches and reentries over the past four or five years. In fact, the fragile ozone layer resides in the stratosphere, near where rocket emissions accumulate.
Prospects for space travel have never been more thrilling. Advances in the space industry, including high-performance smallsats, low-Earth-orbit (LEO) mega constellations, new rocket propellants and lunar resource extraction, are driving the 21st-century “New Space” growth. These developments could realize the long-held ambition to make space travel as commonplace as air travel. But are these new space technologies on a sustainable path?
Gas Exhaust
Rocket engine exhaust, like jet exhaust, is mostly carbon dioxide and water vapor, and the global impacts of these emissions are well understood. Carbon dioxide emitted at any altitude is a “long-lived” greenhouse gas (GHG), adding to the atmospheric GHG burden. Water vapor is a “short-lived” GHG. These components of rocket exhaust are a small fraction of 1 percent of aviation's CO 2 and H 2 O outputs. Even though their current consequences are small, some minor rocket exhaust components require closer inspection.
Solid-rocket motor (SRM) oxidizer, ammonium perchlorate, contains chlorine, the most serious threat to stratospheric ozone. Direct plume sampling 20 years ago by NASA aircraft showed that SRM plumes create dramatic ozone “mini holes” that persist for several days after a launch. The mini holes disappear, however, as the chlorine-laden plumes mix into the global stratosphere, and all the chlorine emitted by SRMs every year is small and short-lived compared with the chlorine released by the notorious chlorofluorocarbons. Chlorine from SRMs is most likely not a serious threat to the ozone layer.
Scientists well understand how the CO 2 , H 2 O and Cl gas emissions from rockets affect climate and ozone. And all this research indicates that these impacts are insignificant compared with other pollution sources and are buried in the noise of the global atmosphere. Even if these launch emissions increased by an order of magnitude, their consequences would be small. Still, there is another component to rocket exhaust that could be significant: particles of black carbon (BC) soot and alumina.
Particle Emissions
Rockets famously display brilliant exhaust plumes. The “flame” of a hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engine is mostly the incandescent glow of soot particles oxidizing in the hot plume. Soot production in rocket engines is complicated and not very well understood. Soot forms in fuel-rich combustion chambers, fuel-cooling nozzle walls and turbopump gas generators and is partly consumed in the hot plumes. Jet engines have none of these complexities and burn very clean compared with rocket engines. Some types of hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engines emit hundreds of times more soot for each kilogram of fuel burned than do their jet engine cousins. And jets only occasionally fly in the stratosphere; rockets fly there every launch.
Astronauts launch toward the International Space Station onboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft propelled by a Falcon 9 rocket in November 2020. Credit: Red Huber Getty Images
What is the concern about soot in the stratosphere? Black carbon soot very efficiently absorbs sunlight. The absorbed energy is transferred to the surrounding air, so that BC soot acts as a heat source, warming the stratosphere, which can in turn slightly change the circulation of the global atmosphere. And because ozone concentration is inversely proportional to temperature, a warmer stratosphere equates to depletion of the ozone layer. Is the BC soot emitted by the current fleet of rockets great enough to have a significant effect on the atmosphere? We do not yet know. The required climate models are only now being assembled.
Solid-rocket motor plumes are even more brilliant than hydrocarbon-fueled plumes. White-hot alumina droplets leaving the nozzle are the source for the SRM flame. As with the chlorine gas emission, SRM plumes diffuse and eventually mix into the global atmosphere so that rocket alumina particles are found in random stratospheric air samples from equator to poles. In the 1990s researchers discovered how ozone-destroying chemical reactions occur on the surface of SRM alumina particles, but alumina's significance as a source of ozone depletion is not known. SRMs emit ozone-destroying chlorine gas, too, of course, and the double-sided nature of SRM ozone depletion is poorly described. The 2018 World Meteorological Organization ozone assessment acknowledged the large gaps in our understanding and noted that further research is “warranted.”
The space shuttle SRMs were the largest ever flown, and it is often mistakenly assumed that the use of large solid rockets ended when the space shuttle retired. In fact, SRMs are finding increasing launch applications around the planet. The Space Launch System's 144-inch-diameter SRMs will be the most massive ever flown when the next-generation nasa heavy-lift vehicle lifts off for the first time in November 2021. Even that rocket will be eclipsed by a Chinese 156-inch SRM planned for a 2025 debut. SRMs present a growing and poorly known hazard to stratospheric ozone.
What Goes up Comes Down
Space pollution doesn't stop when a rocket leaves the atmosphere. Contrary to many media stories about the latest spectacular space junk reentry, orbital debris returning to Earth does not “disappear” or “burn up” on reentry. Some parts of derelict spacecraft will survive reentry and reach the surface. Most of the reentering mass vaporizes into a hot gas that quickly condenses into a spray of small particles, however. Thus, as with launch, bright plumes mean particle production. Unlike the chemically simple particles from launch, particles from reentering space junk will be a zoo of complex chemical types. Particles from vaporizing propellant tanks, computers, solar panels and other exotic materials will form around an 85-kilometer altitude, then drift downward, accumulating in the stratosphere along with the launch's soot and alumina. Reentry is as much of an “emission” as a launch.
The growing low-Earth orbit mega constellations, with thousands of satellites in each constellation, use reentry vaporization as the satellite end-of-life disposal mechanism. Once these constellations are deployed, hundreds of tons of nonfunctioning satellites will be “brought in” for disposal every year. Most of this mass will become particles in the middle atmosphere. Very little is known about reentry dust production, the microphysics of the particles, and how reentry dust could affect climate and ozone.
Space has entered a growth phase reminiscent of aviation's early days. Once a technology becomes a normal part of the market economy, there is no limit to potential new applications. And like its aviation industry big brother, the space industry emits gases and particles into the atmosphere from propulsion systems. But a comparison between aviation emissions and space emissions must account for the vastly different ways that the two industries affect Earth's atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide emissions from jet engines will be much larger than CO 2 emissions from rocket engines for any foreseeable future. This is reflected in well-meaning but misguided calculations of a conventional “carbon footprint” for space. But CO 2 is not where the action is for space pollution. The particles emitted by rocket launches and space debris reentries cause much larger changes in atmospheric chemistry, dynamics and radiation than rocket CO 2 emissions. For the space industry, the carbon footprint is a complicated story that is yet to be appropriately defined.
The recent controversy over the brightness of LEO satellites highlights how sustainability needs to become a fundamental aspect of space system development. It will be easier to guarantee unimpeded use of space systems if the environmental impacts of every stage in a system's life cycle are evaluated ahead of time. This is how aviation contemplates sustainability. Environmental concerns that appear after deployment encourage regulation. Full and complete analysis before deployment inoculates against regulation.
Ironically, only space can provide the perspective required to manage humanity's stewardship of our planet. Apollo 8's view of Earthrise is often associated with the beginning of global environmentalism. And yet space industry emissions themselves are too poorly known to answer fundamental questions about space's environmental impact and sustainability. As we look to aviation, an appropriate scientific program would include measurements of launch and reentry plumes, detailed modeling of plumes from fresh emissions to steady state global mixing, and laboratory measurements of the microphysics of all the different particle types generated from launch to reentry. The effort should be a government and commercial partnership.
The space industry is poised to become a more significant part of the global economy just at a time when sustainability is becoming a common goal across the world. What would a sustainable space industry look like? What are the future regulatory threats to space development? We will not know the answers to these questions until we carry out a sustained, globally coordinated scientific research program on space industry emissions.


scientificamerican--2020-11-06--Earthshaking Signature 'Brawn Songs' and Movement, Developed over Time, Identify Seals

In the ferocious arena of a northern elephant seal colony , where few males ever get to mate , jostling suitors often face bloody battles over access to groups of females .
And these boisterous bulls have a dramatic way of making their presence known to rivals : individuals identify themselves via rhythmic , guttural calls , accompanied by body slams that literally shake the ground around them .
Now research indicates that the seals are not born with these identifying signals .
Rather they develop their unique brands of vocal bravado as they age , according to a recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ researchers recorded more than 440 calls from 47 male elephant seals at various stages of development in California 's Año Nuevo State Park .
In this colony of 2,000 animals , a dominant male may vie with 50 top competitors—each of whom possesses his own call .
These vocalizations develop around the same time as the seals carve out jealously guarded territories of about 20 square meters .
Less established younger males , in contrast , are “ acoustically inconspicuous ” and produce short , unstructured calls .
They seem to avoid standing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to mature , says lead author Caroline Casey , a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California , Santa Cruz .
At around the age of eight or nine , the seals finally settle on a personal song .
“ It 's really when they have a shot at reproducing and becoming socially competitive that these signature calls start to emerge , ” Casey says .
The resulting recognition comes in handy , as male seals appear to listen for—and avoid—individuals who have previously bested them in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ energies toward bulls with whom they know they are more evenly matched .
Casey suspects that the ruthless nature of male elephant seal society is what prompts the development of individualistic vocalizations .
To explore that difficult-to-prove connection , she says , she would like to also analyze seal calls from less tightly packed communities , which could be less competitive .
Luke Rendell , a biologist in the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St Andrews in Scotland , who was not involved in the study , agrees that this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ability to acoustically differentiate themselves from one another may even be something they learn from their elders around the point of reaching sexual maturity , he suggests .
“ My hunch is that there is some learning involved , ” Rendell says .
He praises the study for including enough data from seals in different age groups to clearly show the transition from indistinct to distinct calls : “ I thought it was a really significant contribution .
”

In the ferocious arena of a northern elephant seal colony, where few males ever get to mate, jostling suitors often face bloody battles over access to groups of females. And these boisterous bulls have a dramatic way of making their presence known to rivals: individuals identify themselves via rhythmic, guttural calls, accompanied by body slams that literally shake the ground around them.
Now research indicates that the seals are not born with these identifying signals. Rather they develop their unique brands of vocal bravado as they age, according to a recent paper published in Animal Behaviour.
The researchers recorded more than 440 calls from 47 male elephant seals at various stages of development in California's Año Nuevo State Park. In this colony of 2,000 animals, a dominant male may vie with 50 top competitors—each of whom possesses his own call. These vocalizations develop around the same time as the seals carve out jealously guarded territories of about 20 square meters.
Less established younger males, in contrast, are “acoustically inconspicuous” and produce short, unstructured calls. They seem to avoid standing out, which may help them gain time to mature, says lead author Caroline Casey, a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. At around the age of eight or nine, the seals finally settle on a personal song.
“It's really when they have a shot at reproducing and becoming socially competitive that these signature calls start to emerge,” Casey says.
The resulting recognition comes in handy, as male seals appear to listen for—and avoid—individuals who have previously bested them in fights. Instead they target their competitive energies toward bulls with whom they know they are more evenly matched.
Casey suspects that the ruthless nature of male elephant seal society is what prompts the development of individualistic vocalizations. To explore that difficult-to-prove connection, she says, she would like to also analyze seal calls from less tightly packed communities, which could be less competitive.
Luke Rendell, a biologist in the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who was not involved in the study, agrees that this motivation is a possibility. Rival seals’ ability to acoustically differentiate themselves from one another may even be something they learn from their elders around the point of reaching sexual maturity, he suggests.
“My hunch is that there is some learning involved,” Rendell says. He praises the study for including enough data from seals in different age groups to clearly show the transition from indistinct to distinct calls: “I thought it was a really significant contribution.”


scientificamerican--2020-11-06--Coronavirus News Roundup, October 31-November 6

The items below are highlights from the free newsletter , “ Smart , useful , science stuff about COVID-19.
” To receive newsletter issues daily in your inbox , sign up here .
Pregnant women with COVID-19 are at higher risk for outcomes such as intensive care admission , invasive ventilation , being put on a heart-lung bypass machine , and death than are non-pregnant women with COVID-19 , according to a large-sample study .
The study , conducted by more than a dozen U.S. Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ) researchers and others at a medical research company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CDC to add pregnancy to the list of conditions that put people with COVID-19 at increased risk for severe illness and death , reports Roni Caryn Rabin at The New York Times ( 11/2/20 ) .
According to the CDC study , pregnant women should seek prompt medical care if they have symptoms of COVID-19 .
One of the CDC study authors is quoted as saying in Rabin 's story , “ The absolute risk of these severe outcomes is low among women 15 to 44 , regardless of pregnancy status , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk associated with pregnancy.
” Scientific American editor Gary Stix tells the story of his experience as a plasma donor after learning in June that he had acquired antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 ( 11/3/20 ) .
It is unknown whether such “ convalescent plasma ” can help with the recovery of people with COVID-19 , but the treatment has received emergency approval for this purpose in the U.S. Knowing all this , Stix decided nonetheless to donate his plasma , in case it turns out to be helpful to others or even himself down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the face-mask requirements in U.S. states .
The 11/3/20 update states that 33 states and the District of Columbia require people to wear face-coverings in public .
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ) has asked U.S. states and territories to prepare to distribute an anticipated vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 , probably Pfizer ’ s , but many state officials say their states don ’ t have the money for the mammoth task and that they need a lot more federal funding , reports Lena H. Sun at The Washington Post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each jurisdiction to identify five sites for storing and administering an unidentified number of doses of a vaccine at ultra-cold temperatures , Sun reports .
“ Pfizer will not apply for any authorization of its vaccine sooner than the third week of November , ” the story states .
“ Local officials still need to recruit thousands of people to staff vaccine clinics and enroll and train providers .
They also have to ramp up information technology and data systems to track vaccine inventory and ordering to ensure people get the correct doses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will require two shots — and to monitor for adverse events , ” Sun writes .
While many high- and middle-income nations have made deals to purchase vaccines once they are ready , lower-income nations and billions of people might be left behind , reports Emily Rauhala at The Washington Post ( 11/2/20 ) .
“ People in low-income countries could be waiting until 2024 ” to obtain vaccine doses for their residents , Rauhala writes .
More than 150 nations have banded together to pool their purchasing power so they can make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equitably distribute doses worldwide .
But the effort , called Covax , is being undermined by wealthy participating nations that are also making their own independent deals with vaccine makers .
Japan , Canada , and the European Union are part of Covax , but the U.S. is not .
An interactive published 10/30/20 by Science clearly illustrates the impact and irregular patterns of SARS-CoV-2 superspreading events , such as those that have occurred on cruise ships and at bars , parties , restaurants , barbecues , churches , gyms , and factories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a virus infects two people on average ( this transmission average is called R , or the reproduction rate ) , actual transmission patterns can be hard to predict : “ one person may infect four people , two of those may not transmit the disease to anyone else .
One might pass it on to three others , and the fourth one may infect 21 people .
Of those 21 , many may not pass the virus on to anyone else .
But perhaps one will pass it on to 18 others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the case for the new coronavirus and many other infectious diseases , and this “ superspreading appears to be particularly important ” with the coronavirus , the piece states .
For this reason , many public health researchers advise that we avoid the “ three C ’ s ” — closed spaces with poor ventilation , crowds , and close-contact settings .
The insight also holds implications for contact tracing strategies , explain Martin Enserink , Kai Kupferschmidt , and Nirja Desai : https : //vis.sciencemag.org/covid-clusters/ .
An additive or multi-layer approach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is reflected in a graphic illustration created by virologist Ian M. Mackay at the University of Queensland .
He tweeted an updated version of the graphic on 10/24/20 , with some explanation and commentary in the thread .
Don ’ t miss the “ misinformation mouse.
” Different versions and translations can be downloaded here .
With cooler weather in the U.S. this autumn , some restaurants are setting up outdoor “ dining bubbles ” for patrons .
SARS-CoV-2 transmission among diners and servers inside these “ clear , igloo-like structures ” is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain precautions are taken , ” experts say , according to an 11/2/20 story by Allyson Chiu in The Washington Post .
Droplets carrying particles of the virus could hang in the air inside these bubbles , says airborne transmission researcher Linsey Marr of Virginia Tech , especially if the air in the bubble grows stale .
For ventilation , fans could be “ placed facing outward near a tent ’ s openings , ” Marr is described as suggesting .
But adjacent parties of diners in separate bubbles are not likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Women ’ s Hospital doctor who specializes in infectious diseases is quoted as saying .
“ Restaurants have attempted to make indoor dining safer by requiring masks , reducing capacity and spacing out tables , but a growing body of evidence suggests it is still a high-risk activity , ” Chiu writes .
Dining bubbles might be safer for members of the same family or pod , compared with larger groups outside of one ’ s household , if pod or family members are all committed to strict behavioral controls , the story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In retrospect , maybe surveying fifteen people outside of a Publix in Sarasota was a bad way to conduct a statewide poll , ” by Carlos Greaves , for The New Yorker ( 11/4/20 ) .

The items below are highlights from the free newsletter, “Smart, useful, science stuff about COVID-19.” To receive newsletter issues daily in your inbox, sign up here.
Pregnant women with COVID-19 are at higher risk for outcomes such as intensive care admission, invasive ventilation, being put on a heart-lung bypass machine, and death than are non-pregnant women with COVID-19, according to a large-sample study. The study, conducted by more than a dozen U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) researchers and others at a medical research company called Eagle Global Scientific, prompted the CDC to add pregnancy to the list of conditions that put people with COVID-19 at increased risk for severe illness and death, reports Roni Caryn Rabin at The New York Times (11/2/20). According to the CDC study, pregnant women should seek prompt medical care if they have symptoms of COVID-19. One of the CDC study authors is quoted as saying in Rabin's story, “The absolute risk of these severe outcomes is low among women 15 to 44, regardless of pregnancy status, but what we do see is an increased risk associated with pregnancy.”
Scientific American editor Gary Stix tells the story of his experience as a plasma donor after learning in June that he had acquired antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (11/3/20). It is unknown whether such “convalescent plasma” can help with the recovery of people with COVID-19, but the treatment has received emergency approval for this purpose in the U.S. Knowing all this, Stix decided nonetheless to donate his plasma, in case it turns out to be helpful to others or even himself down the line.
AARP publishes a guide to the face-mask requirements in U.S. states. The 11/3/20 update states that 33 states and the District of Columbia require people to wear face-coverings in public.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has asked U.S. states and territories to prepare to distribute an anticipated vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, probably Pfizer’s, but many state officials say their states don’t have the money for the mammoth task and that they need a lot more federal funding, reports Lena H. Sun at The Washington Post (10/30/20). The CDC expects each jurisdiction to identify five sites for storing and administering an unidentified number of doses of a vaccine at ultra-cold temperatures, Sun reports. “Pfizer will not apply for any authorization of its vaccine sooner than the third week of November,” the story states. “Local officials still need to recruit thousands of people to staff vaccine clinics and enroll and train providers. They also have to ramp up information technology and data systems to track vaccine inventory and ordering to ensure people get the correct doses at the right times — most vaccines will require two shots — and to monitor for adverse events,” Sun writes.
While many high- and middle-income nations have made deals to purchase vaccines once they are ready, lower-income nations and billions of people might be left behind, reports Emily Rauhala at The Washington Post (11/2/20). “People in low-income countries could be waiting until 2024” to obtain vaccine doses for their residents, Rauhala writes. More than 150 nations have banded together to pool their purchasing power so they can make big collective deals with vaccine-makers and then equitably distribute doses worldwide. But the effort, called Covax, is being undermined by wealthy participating nations that are also making their own independent deals with vaccine makers. Japan, Canada, and the European Union are part of Covax, but the U.S. is not.
An interactive published 10/30/20 by Science clearly illustrates the impact and irregular patterns of SARS-CoV-2 superspreading events, such as those that have occurred on cruise ships and at bars, parties, restaurants, barbecues, churches, gyms, and factories. Even if each person infected with a virus infects two people on average (this transmission average is called R, or the reproduction rate), actual transmission patterns can be hard to predict: “one person may infect four people, two of those may not transmit the disease to anyone else. One might pass it on to three others, and the fourth one may infect 21 people. Of those 21, many may not pass the virus on to anyone else. But perhaps one will pass it on to 18 others,” the piece states. This is the case for the new coronavirus and many other infectious diseases, and this “superspreading appears to be particularly important” with the coronavirus, the piece states. For this reason, many public health researchers advise that we avoid the “three C’s” — closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowds, and close-contact settings. The insight also holds implications for contact tracing strategies, explain Martin Enserink, Kai Kupferschmidt, and Nirja Desai: https://vis.sciencemag.org/covid-clusters/.
An additive or multi-layer approach to reducing the risk of spreading SARS-CoV-2 is reflected in a graphic illustration created by virologist Ian M. Mackay at the University of Queensland. He tweeted an updated version of the graphic on 10/24/20, with some explanation and commentary in the thread. Don’t miss the “misinformation mouse.” Different versions and translations can be downloaded here.
With cooler weather in the U.S. this autumn, some restaurants are setting up outdoor “dining bubbles” for patrons. SARS-CoV-2 transmission among diners and servers inside these “clear, igloo-like structures” is “relatively low-risk, as long as certain precautions are taken,” experts say, according to an 11/2/20 story by Allyson Chiu in The Washington Post. Droplets carrying particles of the virus could hang in the air inside these bubbles, says airborne transmission researcher Linsey Marr of Virginia Tech, especially if the air in the bubble grows stale. For ventilation, fans could be “placed facing outward near a tent’s openings,” Marr is described as suggesting. But adjacent parties of diners in separate bubbles are not likely to infect one another, a Brigham and Women’s Hospital doctor who specializes in infectious diseases is quoted as saying. “Restaurants have attempted to make indoor dining safer by requiring masks, reducing capacity and spacing out tables, but a growing body of evidence suggests it is still a high-risk activity,” Chiu writes. Dining bubbles might be safer for members of the same family or pod, compared with larger groups outside of one’s household, if pod or family members are all committed to strict behavioral controls, the story suggests.
You might enjoy, “In retrospect, maybe surveying fifteen people outside of a Publix in Sarasota was a bad way to conduct a statewide poll,” by Carlos Greaves, for The New Yorker (11/4/20).


scientificamerican--2020-11-06--Mark Kelly Becomes 4th Astronaut Elected to Congress

Mark Kelly has won a seat in the U.S. Senate , making him only the fourth NASA astronaut to be elected to Congress .
Kelly , who launched four times into space before pursuing a career in politics , was successful in his bid to represent the state of Arizona in the U.S. Senate .
Kelly , a Democrat , ran against incumbent Martha McSally , a Republican and former U.S. Air Force combat pilot .
The special election was held to complete the six-year term of Senator John McCain , who died in 2018 ( McSally was temporarily appointed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death ) .
`` When we launched this campaign from this very spot , right here , 619 days ago , I could have never anticipated just how many Arizonians would be part of this mission , '' said Kelly , addressing supporters at the Hotel Congress in Tucson on Tuesday night ( Nov. 3 ) .
`` This mission does not end when the last vote is counted .
It is only the beginning . ''
Kelly won the election by a margin of 52.63 percent , according to the Secretary of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` When I was at NASA , we would train for two years for a space shuttle mission .
From being in the space shuttle simulator and flying and training , two years of focusing on the details .
Two years before we were on the launchpad ready to go .
And then the work started , '' he said .
`` Now the work starts . ''
Kelly , who is married to former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords , moved to Tucson in 2012 after he retired from NASA and Giffords survived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Together , the couple co-founded `` Giffords '' to advocate for reduced gun violence and to help make communities safer .
Kelly could possibly take office as soon as the end of the month , pending the state certifying the results of the election .
When he is sworn in , Kelly will become the only active member of Congress who has flown in space .
He is preceded in the legislative branch of the U.S. government by three former NASA astronauts and two members of Congress who flew on the space shuttle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former captain in the U.S. Navy , a naval aviator and test pilot who flew combat missions in Operation Desert Storm , was selected for NASA 's 1996 class of astronaut candidates — the same group that included his twin brother , Scott .
Kelly logged more than 54 days in space on four shuttle missions .
He served as the pilot on his first flight , STS-108 , launching on the space shuttle Endeavour to deliver supplies to the International Space Station in 2001 .
Five years later , Kelly flew as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , NASA 's second return-to-flight mission after the loss of the orbiter Columbia and its crew in 2003 .
Kelly commanded Discovery 's STS-124 crew in 2008 , which installed Japan 's Kibo laboratory on the space station .
His fourth and final mission , STS-134 , marked the last flight of Endeavour and delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer , a cosmic ray detector , to be mounted to the station 's backbone truss .
After leaving NASA , Kelly volunteered for one more `` mission , '' allowing the agency 's scientists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while his brother provided the same during a year aboard the space station .
The landmark `` twins study '' helped further reveal the effects that long-duration space travel has on the human body .
The first astronaut to trade his spacecraft couch for a seat in Congress was John Glenn , the first American to orbit Earth .
One of the original Mercury 7 astronauts , Glenn served as a U.S .
Senator representing the state of Ohio as a Democrat for four terms , from 1974 to 1999 .
After leaving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flew into orbit again , launching on space shuttle Discovery as a payload specialist .
Apollo 13 command module pilot John `` Jack '' Swigert was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Colorado 's 6th district as a Republican in 1982 , but tragically died of cancer before he could take office .
Apollo 17 lunar module pilot Harrison `` Jack '' Schmitt followed up being one of the two last people to walk on the moon in 1972 by serving the state of New Mexico in the Senate as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 1983 .
Following the opposite path , Senator Jake Garn ( R-UT ) and Representative Bill Nelson ( D-FL ) were chosen to fly on the space shuttle as congressional observers and payload specialists at a time when NASA was working towards opening up spaceflight to `` citizen '' passengers .
Garn joined the STS-51D crew on Discovery for a week-long mission to deploy two communications satellites in 1985 .
Nelson , who later was elected to the Senate , flew on Columbia with the STS-61C crew .
The six-day mission , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the shuttle Challenger tragedy , deployed a satellite and conducted science in 1986 .
In addition to those five space explorers and Kelly , four other U.S. astronauts ran for Congress , but were unsuccessful in their bids .
Apollo 15 command module pilot Al Worden campaigned for but lost the Republican primary for Florida 's 12th district seat in the House of Representatives in 1982 .
Skylab and space shuttle crew member Jack Lousma won the Republican primary , but lost the election to be a senator from Michigan in 1984 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ STS-90 payload specialist on Columbia , withdrew his bid for a New Hampshire Senate seat prior to the Democratic primary in 2008 .
Two years later , STS-128 mission specialist José Hernández won the Democratic nomination but lost the election for California 's 10th district seat in the House of Representatives .
Copyright 2020 Space.com , a Future company .
All rights reserved .
This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten or redistributed .

Mark Kelly has won a seat in the U.S. Senate, making him only the fourth NASA astronaut to be elected to Congress.
Kelly, who launched four times into space before pursuing a career in politics, was successful in his bid to represent the state of Arizona in the U.S. Senate. Kelly, a Democrat, ran against incumbent Martha McSally, a Republican and former U.S. Air Force combat pilot. The special election was held to complete the six-year term of Senator John McCain, who died in 2018 (McSally was temporarily appointed by Arizona's governor after McCain's death).
"When we launched this campaign from this very spot, right here, 619 days ago, I could have never anticipated just how many Arizonians would be part of this mission," said Kelly, addressing supporters at the Hotel Congress in Tucson on Tuesday night (Nov. 3). "This mission does not end when the last vote is counted. It is only the beginning."
Kelly won the election by a margin of 52.63 percent, according to the Secretary of State for the state of Arizona.
"When I was at NASA, we would train for two years for a space shuttle mission. From being in the space shuttle simulator and flying and training, two years of focusing on the details. Two years before we were on the launchpad ready to go. And then the work started," he said. "Now the work starts."
Kelly, who is married to former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, moved to Tucson in 2012 after he retired from NASA and Giffords survived an assassination attempt the year earlier. Together, the couple co-founded "Giffords" to advocate for reduced gun violence and to help make communities safer.
Kelly could possibly take office as soon as the end of the month, pending the state certifying the results of the election. When he is sworn in, Kelly will become the only active member of Congress who has flown in space. He is preceded in the legislative branch of the U.S. government by three former NASA astronauts and two members of Congress who flew on the space shuttle as payload specialists.
Full speed ahead
Kelly, a former captain in the U.S. Navy, a naval aviator and test pilot who flew combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, was selected for NASA's 1996 class of astronaut candidates — the same group that included his twin brother, Scott.
Kelly logged more than 54 days in space on four shuttle missions. He served as the pilot on his first flight, STS-108, launching on the space shuttle Endeavour to deliver supplies to the International Space Station in 2001. Five years later, Kelly flew as pilot of the shuttle Discovery on STS-121, NASA's second return-to-flight mission after the loss of the orbiter Columbia and its crew in 2003.
Kelly commanded Discovery's STS-124 crew in 2008, which installed Japan's Kibo laboratory on the space station. His fourth and final mission, STS-134, marked the last flight of Endeavour and delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a cosmic ray detector, to be mounted to the station's backbone truss.
After leaving NASA, Kelly volunteered for one more "mission," allowing the agency's scientists to collect his physiological and medical data while his brother provided the same during a year aboard the space station. The landmark "twins study" helped further reveal the effects that long-duration space travel has on the human body.
Science + data + facts
The first astronaut to trade his spacecraft couch for a seat in Congress was John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. One of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, Glenn served as a U.S. Senator representing the state of Ohio as a Democrat for four terms, from 1974 to 1999. After leaving office, Glenn, then 77, flew into orbit again, launching on space shuttle Discovery as a payload specialist.
Apollo 13 command module pilot John "Jack" Swigert was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Colorado's 6th district as a Republican in 1982, but tragically died of cancer before he could take office.
Apollo 17 lunar module pilot Harrison "Jack" Schmitt followed up being one of the two last people to walk on the moon in 1972 by serving the state of New Mexico in the Senate as a Republican for six years, from 1977 to 1983.
Following the opposite path, Senator Jake Garn (R-UT) and Representative Bill Nelson (D-FL) were chosen to fly on the space shuttle as congressional observers and payload specialists at a time when NASA was working towards opening up spaceflight to "citizen" passengers. Garn joined the STS-51D crew on Discovery for a week-long mission to deploy two communications satellites in 1985.
Nelson, who later was elected to the Senate, flew on Columbia with the STS-61C crew. The six-day mission, which was the last to fly before the shuttle Challenger tragedy, deployed a satellite and conducted science in 1986.
In addition to those five space explorers and Kelly, four other U.S. astronauts ran for Congress, but were unsuccessful in their bids.
Apollo 15 command module pilot Al Worden campaigned for but lost the Republican primary for Florida's 12th district seat in the House of Representatives in 1982. Skylab and space shuttle crew member Jack Lousma won the Republican primary, but lost the election to be a senator from Michigan in 1984.
Jay Buckey, who flew as an STS-90 payload specialist on Columbia, withdrew his bid for a New Hampshire Senate seat prior to the Democratic primary in 2008. Two years later, STS-128 mission specialist José Hernández won the Democratic nomination but lost the election for California's 10th district seat in the House of Representatives.
Copyright 2020 Space.com, a Future company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.