Happy Friday! Today's question is from Ben:
Can you access things such as the Internet and cable TV from space?
-- Ben (Team Mercury)
MAGNUS: We cannot access TV, although the mission control center can send us electronic files of TV shows and movies. Also, there is an experiment on our mission to see how an Internet access would work. We can only get email, uplinks of electronic files and IP phone when we have a satellite connection with mission control. The internet experiment has one computer, completely stand alone and not connected to our on-board network, set up to go through the satellite and connect to the Internet via mission control. It is important that we keep our computer standalone so we do not import any viruses from the ground.
Nov 21
2008
I heard that you were answering these from space while I was at Missouri S&T for aerospace camp. How do you get internet connection? Is there a special satellite that is up there? I also had to do a dream job project recently and was wondering what sort of requirements and degrees and things like that you have to have to be an astronaut.
Nov 26
2008
Do you have really good signal strength with the methods of communication that you are using no versus the old audio clips we have heard in the past? It seems like broadband would not be a difficult task since you are so much closer there.
Nov 28
2008
First, we thank God for making your second space exploration and sojourning there for months possible; and secondly, thanking you for giving up yourself for the experiments and the blogging from space - it is indeed a tremendous and terrific opportunity for us to learn.
The question I have for you is what is the ultimate goal of your staying in space for those months and also what is going to be the effects of those stay on your health when you return to earth?
Another question is that is it true that eventually, rich people and those that can afford the money will be able to go to space for vacation and stay there for as long as they want and can afford?
Thank you very much for your answers.