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Nye: Hello there, and welcome to YouTube Space Lab live.
I'm Bill Nye the Science Guy,
broadcasting live from right here on earth
in the Google Creator Space in London
to space lovers all over the globe.
Now, over the next 40 earth minutes,
we'll be creating our own chaos theory here in the studio,
and helping me are a bunch of very special Hangout guests
and bona fide space geeks
whom we'll meet a little bit later.
Plus, the piece de resistance of this space-tastic show--
we'll be linking up live with the International Station,
which is 250 miles away... that way,
hurtling through space
and talking to a live astronaut, Sunita Williams.
So if you have any questions
you've ever wanted to ask a real live astronaut,
you can send them in to us via Twitter, Facebook,
or Google+ right now.
But why, exactly, are we all here?
Well, last year, YouTube and those clever folks at NASA
came together to launch an amazing competition
which gave you guys the chance to get all creative
and dream up an experiment
to be conducted by NASA astronauts
on the International Space Station.
But what I want to know is
how do you come up with these far out ideas?
Well, I'm joined by Space Lab creator Zahaan Bharmal
to tell us a little bit more.
So what is Space Lab?
Bharmal: YouTube Space Lab is a global competition
where we asked students around the world
to come up with an idea for an experiment
that could be carried out in space.
Professor Stephen Hawking, one of my childhood heroes,
and other brilliant minds picked the best,
and here we are today in the world's largest,
coolest scientific classroom
to see the two winning experiments in action.
Nye: And this was your idea.
Bharmal: It was, it was.
Nye: So how did you come up with this? I mean...
Bharmal: I think the Space Lab was born out of a desire
to inspire the next generation.
When I was the same age as our Space Lab winners,
space inspired me, and so my hope is
that Space Lab will inspire the next generation
and that today's Space Lab winners
could be tomorrow's space explorers.
Nye: The people who'll one day walk on Mars
are maybe kids right now.
Bharmal: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Nye: It's pretty great. Well, thank you very much.
Bharmal: Thank you.
Nye: So let's head into my laboratory, okay?
Hey, you guys, follow me.
Now, the Space Lab story began about a year ago
and armed with only a whiteboard, a camera,
and a selection of colored markers,
thousands of young science enthusiasts
set out to create experiments fit for NASA'S finest.
But, unfortunately, only two experiments
could win the ultimate prize.
Chen: My name is Dorothy Chen. I'm 16 years old.
Ma: I'm Sara Ma. I'm 16 years old
from Troy High School in Troy, Michigan.
Mohamed: Hello. My name is Amr.
I'm 18 years old. I come from Alexandria, Egypt,
and I'm currently in a gap year.
Ma: We got the inspiration for our experiment
from previous research on salmonella.
A strain of this bacterium was grown in space.
When it was brought back down to earth,
it proved to be more virulent than the original strain.
In our research, we found that phosphate ions
prevented the increased virulence of salmonella.
So we wondered if the same inhibitor
could curb B. subtilis's effectiveness.
We are planning to send the QST 713 strain
of bacillus subtilis into space
to see if it will become more virulent to fungi,
like salmonella was to mice.
Mohamed: My experiment is designed to investigate
the effect of microgravity on the way the jumping spider,
specifically the Zebra spider, Salticus scenicus,
catches its prey.
Will the Salticus scenicus be able to catch its prey
in microgravity?
I don't think so.
Nye: And here they are, our worthy winners!
Amr Mohamed from Alexandria, Egypt,
and Dorothy Chen and Sara Ma from Michigan
in the USA.
Guys, first and foremost, congratulations!
all: Thank you. Nye: This is fantastic!
These entry videos must seem like
a long time ago now.
Chen and Ma: Yes. Nye: Now, Amr,
let's boldly discuss where a few men, women,
a dog, a monkey, and now, thanks to you,
some jumping spiders have gone before--
outer space.
What is it about space that grabs you?
Mohamed: Well, I like space because,
unlike any other science,
everywhere you look in space, there's a new mystery,
a new unknown, a new interesting question
to inspire one's look for an answer.
And any other science, you have to go further than that
very deep into the science
to come up with a really inspiring question.
Nye: That's cool. That's great. Dorothy?
Dorothy, Sara, how does it feel
to know that an experiment that you thought up
is being carried out by NASA astronauts
on the International Space Station in space?
Ma: It's definitely really surreal
to think that our idea, you know,
the one that we were brainstorming so many months ago
is actually being conducted on the I.S.S.
Chen: It's really such an honor. Nye: It's your thing.
It's cool.
Look at you. It's great, you guys.
Chen: We're excited. Nye: That's very nice.
We're gonna see the results in just a few minutes.
So Amr, this isn't the extend of your prize.
I mean, there's more to it.
You also went to Russia, didn't you?
And you experienced the training needed to become
a fully qualified cosmonaut.
So let's see how you did.
Mohamed: I've always been fascinated by science
because with a handful of equations,
I can explain the world around me.
The idea of sending an experiment to space
is the most exciting thing
that I have ever heard in my life.
I'm very grateful to be here in Star City
and to try all their cosmonaut activities.
It has been amazing to experience the G-force
of the insertion and the landing.
Also, I'm really looking forward to the space flights.
I was very surprised by the amount of equipment
that the astronauts have to study
before wearing the space suit in simulated zero gravity.
It's harder than it seems.
It has been amazing to try the space suit
and come here to Star City
and try all the cosmonaut activities.
It definitely has changed me.
Nye: Not bad.
Amr, did that give you a taste for becoming a cosmonaut?
Mohamed: It has been fascinating,
and now I have to become a cosmonaut, I think.
Nye: We're all looking forward.
Wave to us when you get up there.
Mohamed: All right. Nye: So Dorothy, Sara,
you guys headed over to Japan, right,
to watch your rocket go with your experiment.
I guess you had to trust them to get it right.
Ma: Yeah. Chen: We knew they would get it.
Nye: So let's take a look.
Chen: What I'm most looking forward to
during my visit to Japan
is probably the rocket launch.
I mean, I think that's something
that normal people just don't get to see.
That's not something you get to witness.
Ma: This is the closest
that we're ever gonna be able to go
and see a rocket launch,
and I've always wanted to see one
ever since I was a little kid.
Chen: I think it's very exciting
that our experiment is currently on board.
- Whoo!
It was a very exciting moment to see, like, the rocket
with our project in it and like
just finally, finally we launch.
Ma: You could feel the vibrations,
and you could see the fire and the smoke,
and it was so... it was great!
Dreams really do come true.
Our experiment is actually going into space,
and we were just brainstorming it in a little classroom
in Troy, Michigan,
and now it's actually going on the I.S.S.
Nye: Wow, you guys, that looked--
That just looked amazing. That was cool.
How did you feel knowing your thing's launched up in space?
Chen: It was an incredible feeling.
I mean, it's--there's a lot of pride in it,
a lot of gratefulness.
There's a lot of grateful, like wow, like...
I'm so glad that we had this opportunity.
Ma: Yeah. So thrilling, definitely.
Nye: And so we're gonna see the results
in just a few minutes.
Somebody's gonna report to us from orbit,
for crying out loud.
So now, as I mentioned before,
we are being joined by some VIPs
from the Space Lab community via our Google Hangouts.
So joining me are Space Lab judge and educator Becky Parker.
Parker: Hi! Nye: Greetings.
European Space Agency astronaut and former Space Commander
of the International Space Station, Frank De Winne.
[laughter]
Okay.
You with us, you with us? Greetings, Greetings.
De Winne: Absolutely I'm with you. Absolutely.
Nye: Ah, good.
And then we have an eminent scientist
who studies spiders--
Peter Smithers from Plymouth University.
Smithers: Hi, there.
Nye: And from BioServe, Stefanie Countryman.
You--there you are. Greetings.
Countryman: Hi.
Nye: So thank you all
for hanging out with us on the Hangout.
Becky, I'd like to start with you.
You're a teacher.
How important is it to try to engage kids with science
and especially the space industry?
Parker: Well, the study of space
is so mind-blowingly fantastic, and studying the universe,
so you want to study it anyway,
but it's really essential that we get young people
interested in science and able to solve
some of the big problems like energy production and food.
And so we actually need them to be scientists
studying problems here down on earth as well.
Nye: Exactly. It's fantastic.
Peter, I wanna bring you in here.
Do you think science can make the advancements needed
without space exploration?
Smithers: It can make some advances.
You're absolutely right.
But it's a bit like trying to understand our entire planet
by taking a stroll around your garden.
We need to get out into space if we're gonna fully understand
the mysteries and the wonders of the universe.
Nye: Fabulous. Now, Frank,
you're a former commander of the Space Station.
Why is it so important to you?
Why is it vital that we explore space?
De Winne: Well, it's very vital.
If you look in the past,
any time that societies have progressed,
it's because they started to exploring.
It's because they gained new knowledge,
new experiences.
So we have so many problems here on earth,
and if we want to solve those problems
and really advance humanity, we need to continue to explore.
And, of course, the next frontier is space,
so space is one of the areas
in which we absolutely need to go further and to explore.
Nye: Fabulous!
You crystallized my thoughts.
Stefanie, can you remember
what turned you on,
why you got excited about science and space?
Countryman: Yes. I've been fascinated by science
since I was a little kid.
I can remember as far back as then being interested
particularly in nature and the living organisms
and trying to understand how they work.
And since I started working for BioServe 13 years ago,
being able to look at living organisms in space
has just been a unique opportunity
that is--I hope a lot of other people get to have.
Nye: It changes you. It's fantastic.
So listen, I've been the CEO,
the Executive Director of the Planetary Society
for a couple of years now.
I've been a member for 32 years.
So I am very excited about what's going on today.
Guys, we're gonna have to leave it here
because I'm getting word
that we will be checking in with the I.S.S.
in just a few moments.
It's, uh...
just over the Atlantic right now.
So for you International Space Station fact finding buffs,
I want to remind you it's going 28,000 kilometers a hour.
That's 470 kilometers a minute,
8 kilometers a second.
That's like 17,500 miles an hour.
It's ten times faster than a bullet.
So I hope our satellites can keep up.
Ha ha!
No, I'm kidding.
They're actually going a little bit faster.
So now we're gonna link up with the I.S.S.
and our astronaut Sunny, Sunita Williams,
in just about... ten minutes.
So I thought we should look at our winning experiments
which are currently hurtling through space.
Amr, can you bring over
your jumping spider experiment there off the shelf?
Mohamed: Sure.
Nye: What exactly were you trying to find out
with your spider cage in space?
Mohamed: So I was trying to find out the effects
microgravity will have on the jumping spiders
when they hunt their preys.
I chose this habitat because it had a chamber
where the spider can stay until the box make it
to the International Space Station.
The chamber supports the spider and--
Nye: There's water and-- Mohamed: Provides everything
that the spider needs to thrive.
It has another chamber for the fruit flies,
which I'd chosen as preys.
Nye: Ah! Mohamed: And--[laughs]
And once in space and ready to begin,
the astronaut uses the plunger system
to release the fruit flies... Nye: Oh, release. Uh-huh.
Mohamed: into the main chamber, and the experiment can begin.
Nye: So let's take a look at your eight-legged friend here.
This is the zebra spider,
zebra because it's got the happy stripes on its, uh...
Mohamed: It's Salticus scenicus, the zebra spider.
It has four pairs of large eyes,
curved legs, eight curved legs,
and spinnerets. Nye: For making silk.
Spinnerets, yep. Mohamed: To glue silk threads.
Nye: So, uh, these eyes, this is a special deal for them.
Whoa! Whoa! That's a lot of eyes.
Mohamed: So the four pairs of eyes
provide the spider with a very wide view of--
a very wide view.
And it's actually wider than the human eyes.
So wherever the prey is,
it's always in the spider's radar screen.
And the spider can locate the prey and it has--
its eyes are actually almost as good as human eyes.
Nye: And they see in color. Mohamed: Yep.
Nye: Wow. So here's a representation.
The spider is eyeing its prey.
A hapless fruit fly. And the plan is
I guess the spider's gonna jump like this, right?
Mohamed: Here on earth, the spider can approximate dis--
it can estimate the distance and can adjust the trajectory
to compensate for gravity and land precisely on the prey.
Nye: So what's this right here?
Mohamed: So before it jumps, the spider glues a silk thread
to the surface that it's jumping from
so that if it misses the target,
it can climb up this thread and try again.
Nye: Yeah, it's one thing on a flat surface,
but if it's jumping like from a plant or--
Mohamed: From a flower example. Nye: Yeah.
Mohamed: It can really save its life.
Nye: So here we have a representation
of comparing the spider jump
to the Olympic broad jumper or long jumper.
And I see the spider goes-- no, that's the human
that goes 8 meters .31.
8 meters...
And so that was this year's gold medal.
And that is about... sort of four human body lengths.
But this jumping spider goes a lot farther than that
in body lengths, right? Mohamed: So in terms of
of body length, the spider can do a lot more
than four body lengths in its jump,
using no special muscles.
Nye: And no running start. Mohamed: It doesn't have to.
Nye: So the idea is that
you predicted the spider would have to make some adaptations
in space, right?
Mohamed: So in order to survive, it has to adapt,
because I suggest for the first free trial,
the spider was just... Nye: Too straight.
Mohamed: Yeah. It will compensate for gravity
as it does here on earth,
so it will miss the target and just continue going.
Nye: The target shown here. But you think that after a while
maybe we'll see if the spider can adapt, right?
Mohamed: So sometimes I thought they might die,
but I really hope they adapt.
Nye: Yeah, we'll see. But look, you guys.
Come on-- spiders on a space station.
The screenplay is gonna write itself!
Whoo! [girls giggling]
So you're saying this is an exact replica
of the spider cage?
Mohamed: As the one in space.
Nye: Spider habitat.
Uh, everything's fine, but there's no spider in there.
Mohamed: Oh, there's not? Where are they?
Nye: Did you guys see that? Did you see that?
One small step for Amr,
one giant leap for jumping spider kind.
That's really good. Thanks, man, that's great.
Mohamed: Thanks. Nye: Thank you, Amr.
All right, let's move on to the other experiment.
Dorothy, Sara,
your experiment was inspired by previous work
that was carried out by NASA
on the International Space Station
on the most stomach-churning of bacteria--
salmonella.
Right? Ooh, gives me the creeps.
So astronauts find that these bacteria that have been in orbit
and came back to earth
were somehow more sick-making,
what scientists call more virulent
than they had been before they left.
So Sara, Dorothy,
how did you come up with this?
What was the idea? What grabs you about this?
Chen: Well, what we wanted to find out
was because the salmonella becomes bad,
more and more bad in space, more virulent,
we thought if that could happen,
why not make the "good" bacteria more good
and more virulent
but in a way that would be beneficial to humans?
So these two bacteria both of a common gene
called the HFQ gene, which-- Nye: Our good friend the HFQ.
Yes. Chen: It's a good friend, yeah.
Nye: Hey, can you get the gizmo off the shelf there?
Chen: Sure. Ma: Yeah.
Nye: So this is--somehow you got the bacteria
packed in these fabulous space-worthy tubes, right?
Chen: Right. We put them in the top
and then Sunita Williams, the astronaut,
she cranks it, and then once they're in space,
that lowers the bacteria into the bottom chamber
where we have different mediums for them to grow in.
Nye: So you don't want them mixing before you leave.
That would sort of mess up the experiment.
Ma: Yeah, it's gonna be purely growth in space.
Nye: So this is what Bacillus subtilis looks like.
Correct me if I'm wrong--
the real ones aren't quite this big, right?
Chen: Right. Ma: No.
Nye: So I would think maybe that if they--
you know, bacteria just divide themselves in half--
they'd split down here like when you barbecue a hot dog--
but these go like this, right?
Chen: Yeah. Nye: They split this way.
They remind me very much of Cheetos.
And we're in Britain.
I gotta tell you, they don't call them Cheetos.
They call them Wotsits.
So then you would say, Wotsit?
And I would say yes. [girls giggling]
Would you like one? Chen: Not a fan.
[giggling]
Nye: I've never, uh, I've never, that I know of,
tried Bacillus subtilis,
but these-- these probably taste better.
So the idea is these things multiply really fast, right?
They're bacteria, so... Ma: Yes.
Nye: Once they're in space,
they're...they're dividing and dividing.
First you get 2, then you get 4,
then 8, 16, 32, 64!
Hut, hut! You get a lot of them.
So somehow you're thinking that they will get...
they'll reproduce better,
they'll get more fit, be stronger,
more excited sub-- Bacillus subtilis.
Chen: Yeah.
Nye: So they'd multiply like this, very fast,
many, many, many of them.
But the idea was something can hold them back, right?
So you came up with a set of...
test tubes, if you will. Ma: Yeah.
Yeah, so for the control, we were thinking like
that would be the normal growth for Bacillus.
Nye: Over here? Ma: Yeah.
Nye: This is what it'd look like on earth.
Ma: Yes. And then unaltered,
which would be the same test tube as the control,
only it'd be in space.
Nye: This one here. Ma: Yeah.
Nye: So this represent-- this would be
just a few little bacteria here, many, many bacteria...
Ma: Yes. Nye: And then so you...
these things, you mixed some stuff in with 'em, right?
Ma: Yeah. We thought since like a phosphate ion
was thought to have curbed the growth
in the virulence of the salmonella bacteria--
Nye: Oh, in another experiment.
Ma: Yeah, on the previous experiment.
We thought that maybe if it's the same gene,
you know, the phosphate will help curb the growth
in the virulence of the B. subtilis that we have.
Nye: So Dorothy, what's going on with that one?
Chen: So we're thinking that the fertilizer with--
it has phosphate ions,
'cause that's what fertilizer's made of,
but it also has other impurities, other chemicals,
that are added to the fertilizer.
Nye: That might be similar like nitrates, phosphates.
Chen: Right. So we're thinking those might also interfere
and curb its growth even more.
Nye: So, you guys, in just a few minutes,
we'll see what happened! Very cool.
So let's get back to the Hangout,
Frank, if the hypothesis is correct,
does this mean that the results of these experiments
will make it easier for astronauts
to be in space longer and go farther
and deeper than ever before?
De Winne: Well, we hope so.
At least it's one of the things that we, of course,
are working on.
Today we are flying around the earth,
but of course, we want to go further.
We want to really explore, go back to the moon,
go to Mars-- who knows where we will end up?
But there are a lot of questions
that we will need to answer to do that.
But the interesting part is, of course,
that, if we can answer all those questions,
all those scientific things,
that this will not only bring benefits to astronauts
flying further-- to the moon, to Mars--
but it will also bring a lot of benefits
to the people on Earth.
And this is really the interesting part
of everything that is linked to space exploration.
Nye: Well, interesting. You've been in space, right?
What's it like?
De Winne: Oh, it's great to be in space.
First of all, you can float,
and much like the spiders in the beginning, of course,
you have to adapt, because, if you aim for something,
you normally miss it in the beginning.
And our human brain can adapt.
It will be interesting to see if the spiders can adapt.
Then seeing our-- Nye: How long would--
When you were in space
and you tried to hand something to somebody,
how long did it take you to figure it out?
De Winne: Well, uh, a couple of times.
Not--not so much,
because our human brain is, of course, very evolved
and we are a very adaptable species.
So it would be interesting to see
how a spider brain or reflexes would adapt to that.
But the other interesting part, I wanted to say,
in being in space is exactly observing our Earth from above.
Because, when you are there, you really realize that--
actually, I was an astronaut, I was in space in a spaceship--
but we are all astronauts on Spaceship Earth.
This is really important.
We are just a very tiny ball
in this immense universe. Nye: I know, it's amazing.
It's, uh, it's overwhelming, and you've been there.
I-I'm sorry, Frank, we've got to keep moving,
because I just got word
that we're gonna talk to your colleagues
up on the international space station very, very soon.
Thank you so much, sir. Carry on.
Uh, you guys, it's not bad.
Let's go to the other side of the lab,
to the laboratory den.
We'll go through the secret door.
Well, it's not secret. I mean, it's right here.
Hey, this isn't bad, huh?
So, right away, Becky, you were one of the judges.
What was it about the winners that made them stand out?
Parker: Well, three things, really.
If you think they've really exploited in an original way
the opportunities for being in micro-gravity.
There's a lot of really rigorous science there.
They've shown some really good scientific method.
And also they're just so enthusiastic.
They're going to be brilliant scientists for the future,
so they stood out as fantastic entrants.
Nye: So, Stefanie, these are young people and so on,
but are these experiments worthy of space?
I mean, are they just as good as other experiments
on the International Space Station?
Countryman: Yes, they are very similar
to the types of life science experiments
that we do up on the space station.
And they all had a scientific basis
for being conducted in a micro-gravity environment,
so they're very typical
and very worthy of being conducted in space.
Nye: That's great.
Yeah, you guys, we've got to leave it right there,
because I can see that
the International Space Station is just crossing the orbit
of our communications satellite.
And although I am not an astronaut--
I applied-- but I can say, at least,
we have a laptop that's just as cool
as the one that they have,
so let's go over to NASA Mission Control
and link up with the space station.
So, you guys, look at these people.
They're at Mission Control. [laughter]
And I presume they are doing, what, controlling the mission.
So they're thinking deep t--
look at, they're just sitting there nonchalantly.
The thing's going 28,000--
it's going 10 kilometers a second.
"Oh, yeah, whatever."
8 kilometers a second, ten times as fast as a bullet,
and we're just, "Yeah, mm-hmm."
And so... [indistinct radio chatter]
I think we got it right here.
Uh, Houston? Houston, it's Bill in London.
Can you hear us?
woman: Houston station on two. We're ready for the event.
YouTube Space Lab, this is Houston.
Please call station for a voice check.
Nye: So, station, can you read us?
This is Bill Nye at the YouTube headquarters in London.
Do you hear us?
Uh, Sunny-- Williams: We've got you loud
in here on the International Space Station.
Nye: Oh, that's great.
Williams: How you doing, Bill Nye the Science Guy?
Nye: Uh, we're fabulous.
You're looking great. It's very exciting 'cause--
Can you just reassure us, you know,
that you really are in the space station?
You're not suspended by hidden wires in a closet someplace.
Uh, maybe your hair alone kind of gives it away.
[laughter]
[indistinct radio chatter]
Yeah, it's pretty good. It's pretty good.
Williams: There would be a lot of wires
holding my hair up right now if that was what it takes.
But I guarantee you, we're up in space.
I don't think--
I'm not a gymnast, so in normal life,
I don't think I could do this.
Nye: Wow, very nice, very nice. [applause]
And you were able to do it in slow motion.
Williams: Here I can do it-- here I can do it as a 10.
Nye: Very nice.
No, I really appreciate you taking time--
Very ni--very-- she stuck the landing.
Very nice for taking time out of your schedule.
You got a lot going on up there.
I'd like to introduce you to a few people
we have here back on earth.
We have the winners of the YouTube Space Lab Competition.
We have Dorothy and Sara and Amr.
Greetings, everybody.
Greetings, greetings, greetings.
Uh, now, Sunny,
you've been working on their experiments, right?
Williams: I'm excited to be here with you guys.
I was happy to have met you guys in Washington, D.C.,
and congratulations.
I think it's been a little bit of a whirlwind for you,
since that time, so I hope you're enjoying yourself,
and we're enjoying your experiments up here,
so thank you.
Nye: So you look very relaxed,
and you set your microphone down.
That's very nice.
Or...set your microphone up?
Or where is up?
But what is a day like? Is it--
I get the impression you guys are busy all the time.
Williams: Well, every day is different,
and we are busy all the time.
We have a general working day, same as--time as you, GMT.
We usually get up around 6:00
and try to go to sleep around 10:00,
but every day is different. We're doing science experiments,
we're exercising, we're out doing space walks,
we're doing robotics stuff.
We just launched H-- or, um, HTV,
the Japanese module that was up here left us yesterday.
So it's one thing after another.
Every day is a little bit different.
It's awesome.
Nye: Now, um, space walks, launching Japanese modules,
making scientific discoveries, that's routine.
But do you have any other stuff you have to do,
like the laundry and dishes and things like that?
Williams: Well, luckily enough,
most of our food is in containers,
and then we throw it away,
so we don't really have dishes up here.
If you think about it, dishes aren't going
to work up in space, so we just sort of eat our food
out of different types of containers,
so we don't have to do that.
Nye: What sort of food do you eat?
Williams: And, um, there's not a lot of dirt up here,
so your clothes don't get dirty, for the most part.
Nye: What sort of food do you get to eat up there?
That delay is from the speed of light.
Williams: We have a wide variety of food,
which is really great. You know, just in this--
[faint echo of Nye speaking]
[laughs]
In this little packet, I have beef fajitas,
which we usually eat with tortillas,
'cause bread is a little crumby and then it makes a mess
and gets in your hair and stuff.
A lot of freeze-dried stuff,
or dehydrated stuff, I should say,
and we have a hydrator right above me.
This is cauliflower and also spinach in here,
because my mom's probably watching
and wants to know I'm eating my vegetables.
[laughter]
And then, of course, there's things in a can,
and of course, we have candy
and other things like that,
which are--you know, everybody likes to eat on Earth.
Nye: Uh, it does look like, uh...
It does look delicious, but how about the experiments?
Can you show us the experiments?
Oh. Mm-mmm.
[laughter]
Williams: Certainly. I think--
I think you're thinking about the experiments
that, uh, these guys sent up, right?
Amr's experiments... Nye: Yeah.
Williams: And Dorothy and Sara's experiments,
and they're right here with me.
So I have them here in space.
This is a gap.
This is Dorothy and Sara's.
And it shows a little bit change of color
from when, you remember, it launched.
It was, before, a little bit more red,
and then we combined them in the gap experiment.
And so now, obviously, with the dye,
they've changed, which means there's some--
definitely some indication of growth.
But we'll have to see how that goes
when they get returned to Earth on Space X,
coming up at the end of October.
Nye: So this is where there's a dye
that changes with the acidity,
and so when, as the bacteria metabolize--whoa!
As they metabolize, it changes color, yeah.
So do you guys have a question for her right now?
Williams: Exactly. And the other experiment's--
Nye: Oh, sorry, sorry.
Williams: Which I think, uh...
The other experiment which I think you guys
want to take a look at, if we can get it--
the camera to focus,
is, of course, our little Nefertiti here.
Let's see if she can get in focus, hold on.
Nye: She's pretty and-- Williams: Can you see her?
Nye: She's in focus, yeah.
I see a lot of dead flies.
Williams: She's a little scary.
I think she's been eating well.
[chuckling]
Nye: So, Amr, do you have a question
about your spider here?
Mohamed: Uh, yeah, I'll ask you a question.
So I see there are a lot of dead flies
hanging around in the silk threads.
Did you get to see her actually do the jump?
Williams: Oh, yeah.
You know, she was in the CGBA--
I mean, I'm sorry, um-- in her habitat there,
and then also in the locker
where the payload folks were able to see her with the camera,
and that was--that's what this is contained right here.
But every now and then, of course,
I took her and Cleopatra out
and fed them, you know, by opening the plungers
and opening so more fruit flies would come out.
And one day, I was doing that.
I had the light on like this,
because, as you know, they hunt in the daytime.
And I wanted to take a look and see if I could see her.
And, my gosh, I saw her stalking a fruit fly,
unbeknownst to that poor little fruit fly,
and she was looking at it and she was going real close,
and all of a sudden, she jumped right on her.
It was amazing,
and so I think the spiders absolutely adapted to space.
It was incredible to watch.
Nye: Wow. That--I mean...
I'm watching you. You're very impressed.
That's--really, no, that's very cool.
So they were ab-- the spider's able to adapt,
just as you predicted, Amr.
So, uh, Sara, Dorothy,
do you have a question for Sunny?
Chen: Yeah. Um, hi, Sunny.
We were wondering, can you see any differences
in, like, how yellow each test tube is
to show the levels, perhaps,
that our bacteria has grown, depending on the medium it's in?
[laughter]
Williams: I'm sorry, can you repeat your question
one more time? Chen: Oh, are there, like--
Ma: Different levels of yellow.
Can you see the different color changes
or are they all the same color?
Williams: No, they're all different.
Actually, this one came--I just randomly picked number five,
you know, but they all have a slightly different color.
This one is really nice and orange,
but some are a lighter color
and some are a darker color of red,
so, yeah, they all have a little bit different,
so, um, you know, I didn't get the--
I was wondering about all the data points
that you guys picked, because I was wondering
why they were all the different colors,
and I noticed it pretty much the first time I took them out
and looked at them, when I was taking the pictures,
that they were definitely different ones,
had different colors, so you're gonna see
some interesting results when you get these back.
And, you know, right now, we're keeping them
at four degrees in this chamber,
so it should maintain its, you know, where it is
until it gets back on the Earth for you.
Ma: That sounds great.
Nye: So that's what you guys predicted, yeah?
Ma: Yeah. Chen: Yes.
Nye: That's not bad, people. girls: Yeah.
Nye: Look at you, both of you--
both experiments came out
pretty much the way you predicted.
And, Sunny, you are an extraordinary part of this,
and we very much appreciate it. Chen: Thank you.
Ma: Yeah, thank you so much.
Nye: So it's not just that these guys here
have been hoping to ask you questions,
and thank you for answering, but we have some questions
from their classmates in Michigan in the United States.
Here we go.
girl: Hey, Dorothy and Sara.
second girl: And everyone in the studio.
woman: We're back here in Troy, Michigan,
and we also have a question for Sunny the astronaut.
boy: Obviously the Olympics were this summer,
but we were wondering how international relations changed
after you found out who got the gold medals.
[laughter]
Williams: Very interesting question.
We actually, you know,
we have a little bit delayed TV up here,
if we get streaming video.
It's called K.U.
And so, during the Olympics, we would get K.U.
and get all of the highlights of the Olympics
at dinnertime, which was great.
As a group, we would gather around the table
and watch the Olympics,
and I thought it was more of a bonding experience
between all of us as we were cheering for each other's teams.
With--when, like, Japan would win
and when Russia would win, we'd all be, like,
psyched for each other.
And I think that that's really good
for international relations.
It was not, you know, anything bad.
It was more like we were supporting each other,
and, you know, got to know each other's athletes
through the knowledge of the other crewmate on board,
so it was really fun.
Nye: That's very good news.
Very good news, because our next question
comes from an Olympic gold medalist,
the guy who-- competing with spiders--
was the long jumper who won, Greg Rutherford.
Greg.
Rutherford: Hi, Sunny. Greg Rutherford here.
Just want to ask you a quick question.
If Amr's a spider was my size,
she could out-jump me on Earth.
But could she out-jump me in space?
Nye: Uh, uh, we've cut to Stefanie--
Now it's all good. Here she is.
Williams: I think, just by mass,
I think you could probably out-jump the spider.
[laughter] Nye: Oh, good, that's good.
That's good to know.
Our next question comes from the flight director
of the Mars Curiosity rover mission,
Bobak Ferdowski, the Mohawk Man.
Bobak.
Ferdowski: Here at the jet propulsion lab,
we work on robotic missions.
What we'd like to know is,
how can we further improve robotic missions
to help human exploration?
Williams: That's a really great question,
because some people sometimes think
that robotics and human spaceflight
are a little bit, you know, back and forth.
There's some type of competition there.
But I think robotics are awesome,
because they'll take the first step
where we haven't had the technology developed quite yet
for humans to go, and then, the second thing they can do,
once humans get there, they can take on repetitive tasks
and do repetitive tasks, such that the humans
can take, then, the next step in exploration.
So I think robotics and humans can step-by-step
and leapfrog each other so we get further and further
and understand more about our universe.
So I think robotics and human spaceflight together
are an awesome combination.
Nye: That's fantastic.
You know, as the CEO of The Planetary Society,
this is something we advocate.
I'm delighted you feel that way, Sunny.
It's just, it's great. Let's change the world.
So this is good, but we've got tons of questions
from our livestream viewers from all over the world,
so we're gonna start with Pecka Ulala.
"What is the most beautiful thing you've seen in space?"
What is the biggest insight you've had, Sunny?
Williams: Well, I tell you, what really is humbling
is when you look out the window
and you see something like the Aurora Borealis
or the, you know, the lights in the southern hemisphere also.
It's just amazing, because it really puts us in our place,
that we're, um, you know,
the energy around us and in the universe is overwhelming,
and more than we can even imagine with our minds,
and there's more and more for us to discover out there.
And then, of course, looking at our planet.
It's just pretty.
I mean, it's blue, it's green, it's purple.
The clouds are forming, the ice is forming.
It is just spectacular.
And I've said it a number of times.
I wish everybody would be able to take a lap around the planet,
and then they'd have a much better appreciation for it
and the people who live there.
And it's just so peaceful and pretty.
Nye: Oh, that's great,
You are our ambassador, you are our woman in space.
Thank you.
We have another question, this one from Kaden
or "Kayden" Cuchera.
"Does it ever bother you to be in such a small area,
in such a confined space up there?"
Williams: Oh, gosh, no. You know, this place is great,
and I was here when it was a little bit smaller
and we only had three people in.
Now we have six, but we have, you know, over ten modules,
And, you know, it goes different directions
from the front of the spacecraft
all the way back to the Russian segment back there.
It's like a five-story house.
There's windows to look out of.
You know, everything in space is more fun.
Cleaning is fun, so you don't get tired of being inside,
because there's always a lot of things to do.
And every now and then, you get to go outside, too,
so that's a lot of fun as well.
So, no, I never get tired of being inside here.
It's--it's great. Nye: That's cool.
We have another question from Broyanna Paige Henderson.
"About how long is your training?"
How long did you work to get ready for this
and what are some of the things you had to do to prepare?
Williams: You know, that's a great question.
I think people don't realize that it, you know,
the space station, like I said, is big
and there are a lot of things.
You know, we don't have electricians and plumbers
and computer-- you know, I.T. folks up here.
We do it all ourselves.
So the training is about 2 1/2 years,
and it consists of learning about the U.S. segments--
modules-- the Japanese,
the European, the Russian.
So that means a lot of travel around the world,
learning the Russian language also,
because we fly up in a Russian Soyuz vehicle.
We learn about how that spacecraft works,
and so the training is pretty extensive on skills base,
so we can be able to do all that plumbing,
electrical stuff, water stuff, science stuff.
So it's a lot of skills base, but it's about 2 1/2 years
and it's--it's a lot of fun.
That's when you get to know your crew,
because we all train together.
Nye: Now, speaking of getting to know your crew,
we--I think none of us could miss,
somebody went flying over your right shoulder.
Who was that?
Williams: So that was Aki.
You know, of course he represents
the Japanese space agency here.
Him and myself and Yuri Malenchenko
from the Russian space agency flew up on the Soyuz,
but also who's up here on a different Soyuz,
getting ready to go home on Sunday,
is Joe Acaba, another American,
and then two Russians, Gennady Padalka
and Sergei Revin.
So we've got an assorted and sundry of people,
and in another month or so, another Soyuz will come up
with another American and two Russians.
So it's pretty busy up here with spacecraft coming and going
and people flying in, flying out.
This is a laboratory. We're working here,
so you're gonna see people moving around.
Nye: But they move around in extraordinary ways, Sunny.
I mean, they're all flying. This is pretty cool.
So we have another question from our social media.
This is from Douglas Martin.
"What does Sirius look like
when you're up there, when you're closer to the star?"
Sirius is a star.
Or what does any other star look like, really?
Williams: So it's an interesting question,
and, you know, we're only about, you know, 250 miles--
you know, 400 kilometers-- above the earth,
so when you're thinking relatively,
that's not very far from the surface of the earth,
when you're thinking about how far
other planets are and stars are.
So size is about the same as you would see from Earth.
However, without any atmosphere, the universe is crystal clear.
You can really see the 3D
of the darkness that's going out there.
I mean, it doesn't look like a black sheet.
It's like it just goes on and on.
Likewise, stars are crystal clear
and they're bright,
and so you see definitely different sizes,
just like you do on Earth, of stars,
that some are smaller and some are bigger.
But they are just crystal clear,
and at night, it's --you know, it's like
millions and millions of stars. You know, it's...
In some place you've been where there's no light pollution,
and it's just a crystal clear day.
It's beautiful.
Nye: That's just cool. So, you guys...
do you have any other questions?
Mohamed: I-- Nye: You've got her right here.
Or right there. Ma: Yeah.
Mohamed: I have a question.
How many sunrises do you see in a day?
In a 24 hour...
Williams: So in 24 hours, we go around the earth 16 times,
so you'll see 16 sunrises and sunsets.
Here in the laboratory, we've got a window below us,
but it's taking some really nice pictures,
and so we have it covered up with a black cover
so the pictures will come out real well.
The cupola is around the corner,
and you can--sometimes it's right where the gym is,
and so when you're lifting and working out,
you can see the sunrise and sunset right above you.
But I'll tell you, when we're on a space walk,
you can really tell the difference.
Just the heating and cooling from the time when the sun is up
and the time when it's dark is unbelievable.
Before the sun even shines on you,
you can feel the heat start to generate around your body.
So it's impressive, the vacuum of space,
how much heating and cooling goes on out there
and how much sun changes things. Nye: That's fantastic.
And I remind you, it's not magic.
It's science! That's pretty cool, Sunny.
Thank you so much.
I'm afraid we're about to lose you.
Our satellites are gonna lose touch with you.
But do you have any final words for the winners?
For Dorothy, Sara, and Amr. Thank you so much.
Williams: Well, of course, congratulations to you guys.
Your experiments were awesome up here.
I know that there were thousands of other wonderful participants
in this contest, or this, I think,
more of a gathering of scientific minds of our future,
so thanks to everybody who participated.
You guys all made the contest awesome.
We're just honored to have been part of it.
So thank you. Nye: Thank you, Sunny.
That's just great. Thank you so much.
We'll let you get back to work.
Oh, wow, that was just wonderful, wasn't it?
She's flying in space, you guys! Come on.
Thanks, Mission Control. Thank you very much.
We'll let you get back to work as well.
I mean, how cool was that?
[laughter] Chen: Is she...
Nye: Nah, it's routine. God, how amazing.
I've tried that, but it's much harder for me.
So that was-- I don't know about you guys--
that was my first live link-up with an astronaut.
You guys, that's your day at the office, is it?
[laughter]
That was pretty good. Ma: Not quite yet.
Nye: So how do you feel? Your experiments are flying.
Ma: It's weird. It's like...
We saw the prototype for our, um--
for our bacteria container, and now it's like,
she's holding it, and it's just really surreal.
Chen: To see it work is just mind-blowing.
Ma: Yeah, it's mind-blowing. Nye: It's really cool.
Mohamed: It's a great honor, to have--
I mean, the best scientists and astronauts
are the ones who work in the International Space Station,
and it's an honor to have my own experiment be done there.
Nye: So, you guys, that leads me to something.
Stefanie, if you're there, how much work goes into this?
I mean, these guys, the students, had an idea,
but you've got to get it up on the space station.
How much work and how hard is that?
Countryman: It's a very complex process
to develop an experiment to be conducted on the space station,
from designing the hardware to support a living organism
that typically lives in an environment outside
to live in an environment as naturally as possible.
Now they have to live in an unnatural environment,
so designing the hardware is complicated.
And then also then training the crew
and meeting all of the safety requirements
so that the astronauts are safe
when they conduct the experiment--
it's quite a long and complex process,
but it's also exciting.
Nye: And you pulled it off. And I could see the experiments,
they're working just as you planned.
It's fantastic.
So, uh, going over to Peter now.
Peter, are you gonna pack up your day job with spiders
and become an astronaut?
Smithers: Well, it would be cool
to be an arachnological astronaut.
I must admit, that's very tempting.
But I must confess,
the food doesn't sound that wonderful.
[laughter] I might pass this once.
Nye: Now, when you say "the food,"
are you talking about what Sunny was eating
or what, uh-- the spiders were eating?
No, I-I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
I hope. Well, I'm sort of kidding.
So, uh, Becky, Becky, do you hope this will get
more people involved? More people...
Young people especially,
you want to support space exploration.
Parker: Well, I mean, how inspirational
that those young people's experiments
are up there, working brilliantly.
It will surely inspire more people,
and we need more opportunities for our students
to do experiments in space.
I think that's what we need to inspire yet more people
to be scientists.
Nye: Becky, you got to pull back.
You got to give us some enthusiasm.
Come on. No, it was fantastic.
Um, one last--Frank?
Frank, while you're there,
what do you hope for next in space exploration?
What do you see coming up?
De Winne: Well, in space exploration,
there are a couple of things that we need to do next.
First of all, we need to go further away from our planet.
We need to go back to the moon, to Mars,
and of course, we know that
this will require a lot of resources,
so we need to bring everybody around the world together.
We now have an international space station,
but there are so many other nations still in the world
that do not participate in space exploration,
and we also need to integrate them.
This is a big wish of our European Space Agency,
to bring a lot more nations
into this magnificent world of space exploration,
of science, of inspiration for young people,
and of bringing this planet back forward.
Nye: That's fantastic.
You know, space brings out the best in us.
It raises our expectations of everybody in the world.
It makes humans worthy of our place in space.
It's fantastic. Thank you all very much.
Thank you for coming.
It brings us to the end of our livestream.
And there's just enough time
to thank Sunny, our astronaut,
NASA, Space Adventures,
JAXA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency,
ESA, the European Space Agency,
Lenovo, and of course, all of you guys for watching
and uploading your videos and ideas for the competition.
Space Lab does not end today. Oh, no.
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We want to make it the place online
to keep up to date with all things scientific,
so make sure you keep checking in.
We're gonna sign off now
with our Space Lab tribute to a legend.
I'm sure you're all aware,
science and space exploration lost a true icon recently.
I was on my knees as a 13-year-old,
looking at the black-and-white television,
and now I'm the CEO of The Planetary Society.
And it all started with a guy who,
on the 20th of July, 1969,
with one small footstep for a man,
changed the way we look at our place in space.
It changed us. It changed ourselves forever.
So thank you all very much for watching.
I'm Bill Nye, and we'll see you next time
on YouTube Space Lab.
Armstrong: That's one small step for a man...
one giant leap for mankind.
We came in peace for all mankind.