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Don Pettit Space Chronicles

IMAGE: Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit
Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit.

Saturday Morning Science Videos

"There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere." - Isaac Asimov

Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit used his time while living aboard the International Space Station to shed the light of science on a variety of subjects. Saturdays aboard the station are usually free time for crewmembers, who often take the opportunity to do some housecleaning and then look out the window, read a book or write a letter.

Pettit spent some of his Saturday mornings conducting his own series of scientific experiments, and he videotaped some of them and downlinked them to the Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas. He also logged the results of some experiments and penned his personal musings, which can be found in his Space Chronicles.

VIDEOS
The Aurora Borealis at the Earth's limb

Jan. 21, 2003 - NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit narrates two Earth observation videos of the Aurora Borealis and city lights.

Read Pettit's Space Chronicle #1 and #12.
Surface tension of water demonstration

Jan. 25, 2003 - In two videos, Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit performs experiments demonstrating the surface tension of water.

Read Pettit's Space Chronicle #2.

City lights at nightFeb. 18, 2003 - Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit narrates video he took of city lights at night.
Water film experiment

Feb. 19, 2003 - Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit conducts a series of experiments using a film of water in a wire loop.

Read Pettit's Space Chronicle #5.

Astrophotography

March 1, 2003 - Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit narrates this video downlink of astrophotography images taken from the International Space Station.

Read Space Station Astrophotography.
Water sphere experiment

March 8, 2003 - NASA ISS Science Officer and Expedition Six Flight Engineer Don Pettit creates vortex rings inside a sphere of water. The vortex rings were created using tracer particles injected into a sphere of water attached to a wire loop.

Read Pettit's Space Chronicle #8.

HoneyMarch 15, 2003 - Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit demonstrates how the International Space Station crew prepares and eats snacks.
Antacid tablet

March 22, 2003 - Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit gets fizzy results when he introduces effervescent antacid tablets to spheres of water in this series of four videos.

Read Pettit's Space Chronicle #15.

Water surface tension experiment

April 12, 2003 - Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit performs a water surface tension experiment with a soldering iron, producing convection patterns.

Read Pettit's Space Chronicle #18.
Spin stabilization experimentApril 26, 2003 - In his final episode of Saturday Morning Science, Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit demonstrates gyroscopic spin stabilization. Pettit floats several portable compact disc players in microgravity that are spinning and not spinning.

Curator: Kim Dismukes | Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty | Updated: 05/14/2003
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