Status Report

iPod Sighting Aboard the International Space Station

By SpaceRef Editor
December 10, 2006
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iPod Sighting Aboard the International Space Station
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Editor’s note: If you look carefully at the large version of this image you will see an iPod attached to a Belkin external battery pack on the equipment rack directly in front of Thomas Reiter.

Image caption: ISS014-E-08795 (29 Nov. 2006) — European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter, Expedition 14 flight engineer, works with the Cognitive Cardiovascular (Cardiocog-2) experiment in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station. Cardiocog-2 will determine the impact of weightlessness on the cardiovascular system and respiratory system and the cognitive reactions of crewmembers. The results of this study will be used to develop additional countermeasures that will continue to keep crewmembers healthy during long-duration space exploration.

Editor’s update: Apple’s HotNews features a link to our little news item. We also made it into Wired’s Cult of Mac Blog.

[click image to enlarge] iPods have certainly managed to get around. Back in 2003, during a stint at the Haughton Mars Project on Devon Island (at 79 degrees N), I am willing to bet that there were times when I had the northernmost iPod on Earth. Of couse, some people flew higher – above Earth. This image of me and my first generation iPod was taken in front of the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse.

And yes, that is a Ron Jon’s license plate on the ATV in back of me. Of course, Ron Jon’s stuff is notorious for showing up in the oddest places. Gee, I wonder how this item found its way up to Devon Island?

Editor’s update: If you look at the left hand side of this image taken on Monday, 11 December, you will see an iPod and a Belkin external battery pack velcored to a panel next to the Discovery’s toilet located in the Shuttle’s middeck. The iPod is connected to a set of external speakers. It can also be seen in this image.

Image caption: S116-E-05405 (11 Dec. 2006) — Astronaut Nicholas J. M. Patrick, STS-116 mission specialist, holds food packages near the galley on the middeck of Space Shuttle Discovery.

There is also another iPod (marked “PLT”) velcroed to the upper right control panel on the Discovery’s flight deck as seen in this image

Image caption: S116-E-05401 (11 Dec. 2006) — Astronaut William A. (Bill) Oefelein, STS-116 pilot, occupies the pilot’s station on the flight deck of Space Shuttle Discovery during flight day three activities.


SpaceRef staff editor.