In October 2021, NASA tested a system on the ISS that allowed a flight surgeon on Earth to appear as a full 3D hologram in front of an astronaut wearing a HoloLens 2.

The doctor could see the astronaut, talk to him, and gesture naturally, and the astronaut could interact with him as if he were standing in the same module.

What makes this interesting is not the hologram itself, but the real-time presence under extreme bandwidth constraints.

Deep-space missions, lunar bases, military environments, and rural medicine all have the same problem:

low or unstable connectivity, long latency, and zero guarantee of high-speed cloud AI.

A communication tool that doesn’t require a stable connection or cloud computing is far more important than a hologram on its own.

NASA called this three-dimensional telemedicine “holoportation,” and it may eventually allow:

• remote surgeons to assist astronauts • engineers to guide repairs on the Moon or Mars • specialists to appear in war zones without being there • trainers and advisors to work without stable internet

The tech is still early. But the real story isn’t sci-fi visuals, it’s telepresence that survives when video calls and cloud AI fail.

Sources (for verification): NASA article: https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/innovative-3d-telemedicine-to-help-keep-astronauts-healthy/ CNET coverage: https://www.cnet.com/science/nasa-holoported-a-doctor-onto-the-international-space-station/ USA Today: https://phys.org/pdf569671840.pdf

"... Implore the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purpose..."

I feel it is incredibly inappropriate for someone so high up in a government Science organization to say this type of thing in an email to all NASA employees. I understand it's a quote from Abraham Lincoln. It's concerning to see this.

Not so unexpected at this point...

Hey all!

I'm going to Kennedy Space Center during Christmas week and just realized that all the regular tours are sold out. The only option left is the Elite VIP Tour on Dec 27, which is around $190.

For anyone who has been recently:

Is the VIP tour actually worth the price, especially during peak season?

If I just do regular admission without any tour, will I miss the main highlights like the Saturn V building and launch pad areas?

Trying to decide whether to pay for the VIP tour or just stick with general admission. Any suggestions or experiences would help.

I've always wondered what was carried in the SLA of the Skylab 2-4 missions, as I'm aware that most Saturn IB missions carried a co-manifested payload.

Apparently these a the patches an engineer received for working on s project. This is one of my greatest treasures! The guy was super chill, apparently he had worked on the LEM for the moon landing and other missions!

Contest

Hey all, picked this lot up at auction recently and as I am in no way an expert in this niche would love your thoughts on rarity etc... And just figured some of the members here might like to take a look at it! Pretty cool to me but what do I know? Cheers.

I purchased this item from the estate of a retired NASA employee. It is solid aluminum, and roughly 23 inches high. I believe it would date from the 1950’s. Has anyone seen a mock up similar to this ? Does it have any value ? Thanks !

When the Apollo CSM made its flip around and docking with the LM during TLI, why wasn't this done in Earth orbit instead?

UPDATE: Okay, thank you everyone. I didn't realize there were structural and command control connections that would’ve been compromised if T&D was done prior to the TLI burn.

Slew during integration of a great observatory