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This is JAXA's Japanese astronaut primary activity report for January 2007.
Survival Training in Russia |
| (From left to right) Astronaut Wakata, cosmonaut Sharipov and astronaut Noguchi (©GCTC) |
As part of their training for long duration missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts Wakata and Noguchi participated in survival training conducted near the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC).
The astronauts participate in survival training so as to learn how to survive, until they are rescued, in the unlikely event that a Soyuz spacecraft is forced to make an emergency landing after launch or upon returning to Earth.
The just completed training utilized a full-scale mockup of the Soyuz spacecraft Descent module. The training simulated the astronauts surviving on their own for a period of three days and two nights. The astronauts simulated an emergency where their capsule had landed in an extremely cold location.
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| Astronaut Wakata, chopping wood (©GCTC) | Astronaut Wakata (right), communicating with the rescue unit (© GCTC) |
The twelve astronauts and cosmonauts who participated in the training included JAXA astronauts Wakata and Noguchi as well as those from the Russian Federal Space Agency (FKA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the European Space Agency (ESA). The astronauts and cosmonauts were divided into 4 teams of three members each. Astronauts Wakata and Noguchi were part of a team that included cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov, who stayed aboard the ISS as an Expedition 10 crewmember.
The three started their survival training by donning their heat-insulating suits. By utilizing the Soyuz survival kits, which includes water, food, emergency medical kits, a radio, smoke candles, hatchet, and matches, the team was able to utilize their knowledge and skills that they had acquired during the preliminary portion of their training in selecting camping sites, setting up shelters, making and maintaining fires and other survival techniques.
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The training curriculum was very well conceived and it illustrated the depth of the Russian human spaceflight experience. We astronauts were able to learn the survival techniques to use in the event that a Russian Soyuz spacecraft may be forced into an emergency landing, in a very effective and short period of time. |
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Space Food Tasting |
| Astronauts Wakata (left) and Noguchi (right), sampling a variety of space foods. |
Astronauts Wakata and Noguchi, as well as, other astronauts who are in training for long duration missions aboard the ISS, participated in sampling a variety of space foods at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC).
For the astronauts who stay aboard the ISS for several months, a wide variety of space food is believed to be essential for not only nutritional value, but also for psychology reasons as well.
During the sampling of the space food, more than 120 different kinds of food items were provided. The astronauts tasted and then evaluated each item on a 1 to 9 scale basis. The results will be used to select the food items for the participating astronauts for when they will have the opportunity to stay aboard the ISS as expedition crewmembers.
Many new types of food items that NASA had just developed for the expedition crews were provided. These items included: "peanut cream chicken", "Cajun-style shrimp etouffee" and "seafood seasoned stir-fried tofu". The astronauts wholeheartedly and enthusiastically consumed and evaluated the food.
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