NASA: Scientific American, that is Mission Management, Houston.
Rachel Feltman: Station, that is Scientific American. How do you hear me?
Matthew Dominick: Loud and clear. Welcome to the cupola on the house station.
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Feltman: Matthew Dominick simply desires to provide us all a little bit little bit of house. Because the commander and flight engineer of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission, he’s had a great deal of technical duties to take care of and science experiments to assist out with whereas aboard the Worldwide House Station—together with one which meant he was banned from utilizing the ISS treadmill, however extra on that later.
Nonetheless, all through his mission, he’s discovered loads of time to take and share beautiful pictures, movies and time-lapses from orbit.
For Scientific American’s Science Shortly, I’m Rachel Feltman. I recorded this episode dwell with Matt on September 5, when he joined us by way of video name from precise house—I do know, proper? So cool. Should you wanna see the video—which, belief me, you positively do—try our present notes for a hyperlink to the entire interview on YouTube.
Matt, thanks a lot for taking the time to speak with me at the moment.
Dominick: So excited to take action.
Feltman: Yeah, so the place precisely are you, are you calling in from? As a result of I perceive it’s a, a fairly large deal—and never simply since you’re in house proper now.
Dominick: Superior. We’re attempting out one thing new at the moment. We’re on the Worldwide House Station, in fact, however we’re within the cupola, which is among the astronauts’ favourite locations and—to hang around. It’s a seven-windowed setting on the underside of the house station, so while you see us, you already know, we form of look the other way up relative to Earth. However that’s how we are available in: our head goes down in the direction of the Earth, and we get to look out and see our stunning Earth via these seven home windows. Within the view proper now you’re seeing 4 of these home windows. And as we undergo this dialog, we get to see a dynamic occasion, which is sundown.
So I might take days and days to explain it, however—which is among the causes that drives me to take action a lot images, ’trigger—to simply attempt to seize what we see. However tremendous excited to come back to you from the cupola at the moment.
Feltman: Superior, yeah, and I perceive it took some, like, particular tools, some new window filters to make this attainable. Might you inform me extra about why that’s?
Dominick: Oh, completely. It’s extremely vivid—the truth is, proper now as we’re going via sundown, in the event you’re watching on video, the solar is arising on the right-hand aspect of my face. It’s actually vivid as we’re getting near sundown, and the—via the course of our dialog at the moment, we’ll go from, you already know, a full day to full night time. And we’ll see the darkness—the “terminator,” we name it; the day-night transition—come excessive of me, and so I’m gonna simply shut [laughs] certainly one of our shutters proper now to guard the correct aspect of my face from the searing solar and activate a light-weight.
However the cupola is absolutely vivid, and we, we not too long ago obtained one thing shipped as much as us known as neutral-density filters, and [they’re] these little movies that we put over the home windows—for images nerds these are 4 stops. So these are—these present 4 stops of, of publicity change that we’re capable of put in entrance of the home windows to assist expose—for footage, if we wish to take an image of one thing each contained in the cupola but additionally be capable of see the Earth on the surface. So we’re attempting that out at the moment.
Feltman: Very cool. Now talking of images nerds, you’re an engineer, a pilot and naturally, an astronaut, however you’re additionally a prolific photographer. So how did you get into images?
Dominick: So many paths led to that. I imply, to begin once I was younger, my dad was a photographer and a journalist and producer-director for, for native stuff rising up in Colorado. He truly began doing that within the Air Power—he was a photographer, ran a movement image unit for the US Air Power. And simply seeing how he took images and, and the way he composed issues and, and cropped issues and arrange photographs—I didn’t do quite a lot of it rising up, however I used to be round it.
After which becoming a member of NASA, we obtained, we obtained educated by our, our photograph/TV division the right way to take footage, after which there’s some very distinct moments I keep in mind as a part of my spaceflight—now we’ve been up right here for 5 – 6 months in the past—however issues that basically stick in my thoughts: you already know, clearly the rocket lifting you off the launchpad, however that first time floating out of your seat and going to the window, I instantly wished to simply spend [laughs] a lot time attempting to seize what I noticed with my eye with a digicam.
I really feel immense duty to share what we see. So few individuals are fortunate sufficient to come back up into house, I really feel an immense obligation to take footage and share all the things we see with the world. And with the instruments we’ve got, the cameras we’ve got up right here, doing my best possible to attempt to share what we see with the world.
Feltman: And the way totally different is it taking pictures in house versus on Earth?
Dominick: Oh, man, there are good elements, and there are laborious elements. The dynamic element of the lighting is mostly a problem. However you’re additionally fortunate that, you already know, we—in images they discuss in regards to the golden hour, or proper there at, at dawn or sundown. Of us prefer to take quite a lot of footage at these occasions; the lighting is simply unbelievable. And we’re fortunate to get 16 of these a day. We’re going [about] 17,500 miles an hour. We’re making a lap across the Earth each 90 minutes. So if I don’t get the lighting proper or the setup proper on a go, I can wait 90 minutes, and I’ll get an opportunity to do it once more. In reality, we’re going via it proper now—proper above the highest of my head, it’s getting darkish in a short time. The solar is searing out the correct aspect of this hatch.
However capturing in house will also be a problem since you’re capturing via home windows. And so you need to handle quite a lot of odd reflections, and so we’ve got shrouds that we put up across the cameras to form of block out inside lights from reflections. Taking pictures via the glass could be troublesome.
You already know, and you need to shoot actually quick shutter speeds typically simply because we’re going so quick. Of us who do astrophotography on Earth would possibly be capable of expose 10, 15 seconds with out seeing star trails, relying on what lenses they’re utilizing. Up right here, you already know, I used to be [taking] footage the opposite day; in a half-second publicity I used to be seeing streaks in metropolis lights.
So it presents some distinctive challenges, however we’ve got nice instructors that train us the right way to do it, and it’s quite a lot of enjoyable.
Feltman: Very cool. Do you utilize any particular tools?
Dominick: So a lot—so many cool toys. I’m a large nerd. I’m prepared to confess it …
Feltman: [Laughs]
Dominick: We not too long ago, you already know, we—[laughs] I’m completely prepared to confess it.
We’ve, you already know, these huge full-frame mirrorless cameras. That is an 85mm lens, super-fast lens: 1.4. That’s tremendous enjoyable.
You already know, we’ve got cameras which can be nice for taking footage of the Earth through the daytime. That is a type of. It is a 50-500 zoom lens. Love utilizing this man for daytime images—tremendous versatile.
We obtained a brand new lens, and so I’ve been posting quite a lot of pictures on-line with this lens. It’s a 15mm lens that’s tremendous quick. It doesn’t use f-stops, it makes use of T-stops, however it’s about an f/1.2 or 1.4, and it’s a T1.8. Love this factor. This has yielded so many unbelievable images.
So plenty of nice tools up right here and many follow. And fortuitously it’s not analog anymore, so you possibly can shoot loads and never really feel too dangerous about losing movie.
Feltman: Completely. So I do know there are, like, fairly strict guidelines about how a lot weight an astronaut can convey up into house. Did you need to make any powerful choices about what tools to convey with you?
Dominick: Fortunately all of the photograph/TV tools is supplied via, via the Worldwide House Station. That’s up right here already. We don’t convey our personal tools. It’s all up right here already, and we share it and go it round, and, you already know, it’s a blast. We’ve an unbelievable set of apparatus. In reality, these—we get new tools on a regular basis. This lens simply got here up perhaps a month in the past and a pair different lenses and so completely loving it.
Feltman: Inform me extra about coaching that you just obtained particularly for house images. You already know, what varieties of latest expertise did you should be taught? What’s—what does NASA need astronauts to find out about taking pictures in house?
Dominick: I believe the important thing to taking pictures in house, or anyplace for that matter, is knowing the fundamentals, proper: how aperture, publicity, ISO and—how all of them play collectively and the way you commerce these three. Since you by no means actually fairly know the precise scenario you’re gonna be in. NASA does an incredible job growing procedures for particular conditions, however when you get in that lighting scenario, you already know, you gotta actually perceive the right way to manipulate these on the digicam, what lens you’re utilizing to combine them collectively to get what you need.
We do, you already know, some inventive images up right here. I actually prefer to take footage of house station construction with the Earth within the background, the curvature of the Earth. In reality, watching proper now, you’re watching the sundown, which is wonderful, proper behind me. And this can be a actually dynamic occasion. You may see the darkness of night time coming and taking up the day of the Earth. It’s a extremely dynamic occasion. A sundown on Earth, you might need minutes. Right here, you already know, you will have little or no time to seize a sundown since you’re going so quick. However NASA trains us these fundamentals, and from these fundamentals you possibly can increase so far as you wanna go.
Additionally they train us technical images. We’re up right here conducting analysis in science. And so typically you need to take technical images to indicate the researchers on Earth what you’re doing or what their—the results of their experiment. So we do quite a lot of macrophotography; we get in shut. And we’ve got an entire set of lenses and lights to take footage each contained in the house station and out of doors the house station.
Feltman: What are a few of your favourite issues to {photograph} from the ISS?
Dominick: I believe my favourite factor is the factor I’m not anticipating. The issues that I do anticipate to see or hope to see quite a lot of is aurora. I like seeing lights from Earth mirrored off station construction. I took an image actually not too long ago that I completely love the place aurora and metropolis lights are reflecting off the blue photo voltaic arrays which can be on the service module. I simply love these reflections, the interplay of Earth lights reflecting off of station construction.
However a few of my favourite footage are those I don’t anticipate. I used to be in right here with my crewmate Mike a pair weeks in the past, and I don’t keep in mind what we have been capturing. We have been capturing one thing else, and swiftly I noticed the moon on the brink of set. And I shortly grabbed a unique digicam, swapped the lenses, put the settings in and was capturing over Mike’s shoulder and ended up getting an incredible publicity of, of the moon setting on the Earth and simply cherished it. And so the sudden are a few of my favourite photographs.
Feltman: Do you will have a favourite {photograph} or time-lapse particularly out of your time on ISS?
Dominick: I believe I’m gonna undergo from recency bias there. I’ve quite a lot of footage. I do prefer to take quite a lot of candid footage contained in the house station of crewmates at work or, or catch them once they’re having enjoyable. However exterior images, I most likely undergo from recency bias right here. Simply arrange a time-lapse the opposite day, capturing certainly one of my favourite issues, which is Southeast Asia fishing boats. Truly, no, it wasn’t that image, sorry [laughs]. Taking pictures the Nile River. There’s too many issues to be enthusiastic about.
I like capturing the Nile River at night time or coming over Europe and seeing the Mediterranean and the Nile River. And we have been arising over Africa with lightning, and I like taking footage of lightning. And we come up over the Nile River, after which we go over Israel—and it was a time-lapse. I used to be attempting a brand new approach. I used to be attempting to, you already know, actually crank the achieve up and see what would occur with ISO and went to evaluation the photographs later over the dinner desk on the digicam, and I used to be simply blown away as a result of I caught a meteor, an enormous meteor, coming into the environment out of simply sheer luck and exploding within the environment, and it simply emits this large inexperienced glow that was a number of sizes occasions greater than Israel. And it was simply an unbelievable, simply fortunate shot. So it’s all the time one thing new.
Feltman: What are you hoping that folks assume or really feel once they see your pictures?
Dominick: I really feel like individuals are occupied with what you’re doing while you’re occupied with it and while you’re speaking about it and sharing it. And I simply wanna share what we see. I really feel this immense obligation to share what we’re seeing up right here in house. I’m tremendous fortunate to be right here. Not lots of people get to come back up right here, and I simply wanna share with the world what humanity can do once they come collectively to do one thing. So many countries labored collectively to place collectively this Worldwide House Station throughout seemingly unattainable boundaries throughout nations, and look what we get to do and we get to see outdoors the window.
And from the second I first appeared out the window, I wished to attempt to seize what my eyeball sees, and I’ve but to fully do it with the digicam. It’s very tough. The human eye is absolutely—can present such a deep dynamic vary that I haven’t been capable of seize fairly but with the digicam.
However I need individuals to assume no matter they wanna assume. I simply wanna share what I see.
Feltman: Yeah. So that you’re coming to the tip of your mission on ISS. What’s one thing that you just’re actually gonna miss while you’re again on Earth?
Dominick: So many issues. I benefit from the brief commute. I can get up a pair minutes earlier than the beginning of the day and be out of my crew quarters and at work in only a couple minutes [laughs]. And I get to drift to work, which is tremendous superior. I like flipping. Why would you float straight when you possibly can flip the entire time? So I spend quite a lot of time flipping all over the place on the house station. I’m gonna miss that immensely. I’m gonna miss having all of those cameras in my fingertips. It’s wonderful—I’ve obtained 5 – 6 cameras in my fingertips that I can select from to take a shot.
There, there’s quite a lot of facets of house I’m gonna miss. I—it’s powerful to nail one particular person factor down.
Feltman: What are you trying ahead to again on Earth?
Dominick: [Laughs] I imply, clearly I wish to go be at residence for a little bit little bit of time with my spouse and daughters. I wish to take a bathe; I haven’t taken a bathe since March. I’m a part of a analysis experiment the place I don’t use the treadmill up right here, so I haven’t walked since March. I’d prefer to stroll perhaps a few times [laughs] or perhaps loads.
However there’s so many issues. However I like, I like each locations: I like the house station, and I like being on Earth. The Earth—while you look out these home windows and also you have a look at Earth, it simply blows you away with its magnificence.
Feltman: Wow. I’d love to listen to extra about that analysis venture. So what number of months has it been because you walked once more?
Dominick: In order a part of the analysis venture, the final time I walked was once I walked into the spacecraft, the Dragon, in March. There’s a treadmill up right here that we use for understanding, however I volunteered for a analysis program the place I don’t use the treadmill. I exploit our, our resistance system, our coaching system, and a bicycle. The reason is is a treadmill takes up quite a lot of house and quite a lot of mass that could possibly be tough on long-duration missions to the moon or to Mars. And so we wanna see what occurs to the human physique in the event you aren’t uncovered to that ambulation.
Oh, by the best way, the lighting is wonderful proper now. We’re simply now going via sundown right here. And certainly one of my favourite issues to look at is the lighting on individuals’s faces, so I’ve turned off the inner lights in right here so you possibly can simply watch the lighting on somebody’s face throughout a sundown. I like watching it on my crewmates’ faces.
Feltman: Wow, very cool. So what do you assume you’re gonna {photograph} while you’re again on Earth, you already know, now that you just’ve skilled house images from house?
Dominick: Properly, NASA does this actually cool factor to assist us get higher at images and taking fast footage, and that’s: they allow us to borrow the cameras. And so I follow taking footage of issues that don’t sit nonetheless, like my children—oh, or otheir sporting occasions or these sorts of issues that may be difficult. These are form of enjoyable. Or simply work at NASA or these sorts of issues to maintain your follow up. However there’s so many stunning issues to take footage on Earth, simply as there are in house.
Feltman: And apart from images, what’s your favourite factor to do on ISS?
Dominick: Favourite factor to do? I imply, apart from images—you’re, you’re asking me powerful questions right here, to rank and stack issues.
I actually, like I stated earlier than, I like flipping and floating via the lab. I like enjoying in zero-g and simply seeing how issues react. And I don’t want loads to entertain me. A stick and a few mud works on Earth typically. However one time I used to be up right here simply enjoying with a bolt and a nut and see how they spin and work collectively and see in the event you can catch the 2. And it’s simply a lot enjoyable to play in zero-g—or play with water. Each time I discuss with certainly one of my daughters on video chat, she’s all the time saying, “Hey, Dad, do the water factor.” And we make huge bubbles of water and play with them. And we don’t simply do these issues once we’re doing [Public Affairs Office] occasions; we do these issues for enjoyable ’trigger it’s a lot enjoyable to play with.
Feltman: My final query is simply: Is there something you haven’t gotten to {photograph} on ISS but that you just’re hoping to catch whilst you’re up there?
Dominick: I’m planning to take some movies of just a few fundamental physics issues contained in the house station that you would be able to solely do up right here in zero-g. I’m desirous about how we’re gonna do propellant switch from one rocket to a different, and I’ve been desirous about the way you, you already know, that’s actually necessary for the way forward for spaceflight proper now. Rockets launch, they usually use all their gas, they usually—you don’t refuel in house as a lot. And we do have some small circumstances—the truth is, the house station does on-orbit refueling—however refueling on massive scales, and I’ve been desirous about how you progress fluids round. So making movies of how fluids transfer round in zero-g, amongst different issues. I’m trying ahead to creating quite a lot of movies, to be trustworthy.
Feltman: Superior. Properly, thanks a lot for taking the time to speak at the moment and for, you already know, pushing to assist us see this house dwell. It’s such a cool view, so I do know I actually admire it, and I’m certain everyone else watching does, too.
Dominick: Superior. Thanks a lot. I’m, I’m tremendous glad to share with you—you already know, we began within the daytime. We went via this whole interview within the sundown, dynamic adjustments, and I believe that basically exhibits simply form of the setting we dwell in.
And, you already know, half-hour from now the solar’s gonna be rising once more, and we’re gonna be in one other dawn. And it’s tremendous enjoyable to be part of and grateful that you’d be a part of us at the moment.
Feltman: That’s all for at the moment, of us. We’ll be again on Monday with our regular science information roundup. Within the meantime, do us a favor and depart us a fast remark or ranking or evaluation, or click on that subscribe button—no matter you’re capable of do in your podcast platform of option to allow them to know that you just like our present. It’s also possible to ship us any questions or feedback at ScienceQuickly@sciam.com.
Science Shortly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, together with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our present. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for extra up-to-date and in-depth science information.
For Scientific American, that is Rachel Feltman. Have an incredible weekend!
NASA: Station, that is Houston ACR.
Worldwide House Station: Station, we’re now resuming operational audio communications.
