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1、The weightless Hawking floats on air with just an apple for company Stephen Hawkingzero-gravity flightThursday April 26, 2007Stephen Hawking, the 65-year-old Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University who has done ground-breaking work on cosmic black holes and the origins of the unive
2、rse, today became the first person with a disability to experience weightlessness in a zero-gravity inducing flight laid on, as a commercial enterprise, by the Florida based Zero Gravity Corp.On the flight, which took off and landed from the space shuttle runway at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape C
3、anaveral, Stephen Hawking was accompanied by two doctors, and three nurses, (also heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen and carbon dioxide measuring monitors!), to make sure he was physically safe and comfortable during the experience.His assistant brought a card with the letters of the alphabet in cas
4、e he wanted to communicate beyond facial expressions.While Professor Hawking was enjoying zero gravity, aides also allowed an apple to float free in the aircraft as a tribute to Sir Isaac Newton, the British physicist who discovered the laws of gravity. He had been inspired to work out his Universal
5、 Law of Gravitation after watching an apple fall from a tree. He was doing gold-medal gymnastics in zero-g. It was incredible, said Peter Diamandis, chairman of Zero Gravity Corp. When asked if he was enjoying himself his eyebrows went up and there was a big grin, meaning yes.he was grinning the ent
6、ire time. Zero Gravity Corp. had offered the ride, which normally costs $3500, to Stephen Hawking as a courtesy. Prior to the flight Hawking had told journalists that I have wanted to fly in space all of my life, and that for someone like me whose muscles dont work very well, it will be bliss to be
7、weightless. After the flight Hawking enthused:- It was amazing. The zero-g bit was wonderful.I could have gone on and on. Space, here I come. Hawking hopes the zero-gravity flight is a step toward going on a suborbital flight, which may be offered by private space companies by the end of the decade.
8、 Hawking said he had an ulterior motive for going on the flight besides raising money, (more than $144,000!), for charities and the thrill of weightlessness. He said he wants to increase public interest in space, since he believes humans survival depends on going into space. Hawking expressed hopes
9、that the cost of space flight will drop and that humanity will be able to gain access to the resources of space. He suggested that a spread of humanity beyond the Earth was desireable and necessary:- I think life on Earth is at an increased risk of being wiped out by disaster, such as sudden global
10、warming, nuclear war or a genetically engineered virus or other dangers.I think the human race has no future if it doesnt go into space. Wang Yue, a 28 year-old Chinese astronaut, is in a special training for the Mars-500 mission, known as the first simulated flight to Mars, which is due to launch a
11、t early June. Photo: YNET.comChinese astronaut Wang Yue and volunteers from five other countries are in the final stages before they enter the windowless capsule.Wang Yue is proud and happy to be selected as one of the crew members in the Mars simulation mission. After he puts on his space suit, he
12、tells us his feelings.Wang Yue, crew member from China, said, I feel Ok wearing these clothes, but its a little bit heavier.Five crew members from five different countries will also go into the capsule with him. Wang Yue wants to be the facilitator of the team.A band has been organized by the volunt
13、eers in order to pass dull time over more than five-hundred days.Wang Yue said, Firstly, everyone loves music. Secondly, it helps to relax after work. Thirdly, it is a good idea to increase coordination in the team.Finally, Wang Yue expresses his ambition to turn pressure into motivation. Wang Yue s
14、aid, I feel pressure indeed. But I am motivated because I feel proud to represent China to take part in this mission.Facing the Mars life in the coming days, Wang Yue will record his experience by writing in his diary everyday.It has been announced that a Chinese volunteer will take part in the firs
15、t simulated flight to Mars, along with five other crew members from Europe and Russia, Beijing Youth Daily reports.The report says Mars-500 is a 520-day simulated mission to Mars. The sealed mock-up includes an interplanetary spaceship, a Mars lander and a Martian landscape. Housed in Russias Instit
16、ute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow, the modules provide 550 cubic metersof living space.The record-breaking mission seeks to explore the relationship between human beings and their environment, as well as testing work capability and health conditions over such a long period of relative isolation.The experiment also aims to acquire statistics and test technologies under extre
