Mary Roach (Packing for Mars) discusses the practical issues involved in a death during a long space mission such as an expedition to Mars: Death in Space - Boing Boing - Sept.2.10.

Brian Swiderski posts a review of Mary Roach's book Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in The Void from a space enthusiast's point of view: Exploring The Explorers: A Review of "Packing for Mars" - Daily Kos - Aug.23.10.

BTW: I've collected reviews and interviews with the Mary Roach here.

Here's an interesting report (with video) about an ISS experiment that found that a certain type of bacteria could survive in fragments of rock place on the outside of the station for a year and half: Beer microbes live 553 days outside ISS - BBC - Aug.23.10.

Jonathan Amos writes about potential applications in space for such microbes such as producing oxygen in closed-loop life-support systems, bio-mining, and lunar dust filtering: Spaceman: Bugs and humans will team up to explore space - BBC - Aug.23.10.

Improved exercise systems and pharmaceuticals will help but I expect that daily rides in a centrifuge or rotating the whole spacecraft will offer the simplest solution to the challenges of long duration spaceflight: Study suggests better exercise needed for astronauts - The Space Shot/CNET News - Aug.18.10.

For example, Human Centrifuge Preserves Muscle at Zero-G - Wired.com - July.23.09
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If colonists do manage to get to Mars with most of their muscle mass, they can stay in shape by working down on the farm: Martian Environment Is Ideally Suited For Crop Farming, Study Says - Popular Science - Aug.18.10

Here's an excerpt from the book Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach that is getting so much attention: The last word: My escape from gravity: For author Mary Roach, weightlessness was a giddy-making lesson in the profound effects of Earth’s pull - The Week.

It ends with this judgment on her parabolic flight experience:

On the ceiling is a red numerical display of the type you see at deli counters, telling patrons which number is being served. This one is counting our parabolas—27 so far. Three more and it’s over. We were told not to “go Superman-ing around the cabin,” but I have to break the rules. As gravity fades out on the 28th parabola, I pull up my legs, crouch on a windowpane, and then gently uncoil, launching myself across the cabin of the plane. It’s like pushing off from the wall of a swimming pool, but the pool is empty and it’s air you’re gliding through. It’s probably the coolest moment of my entire life.

Check out also her conversation with David Livingston on The Space Show.

Mary Roach' s new book Packing For Mars gets not one but two reviews in the NY Times:
/-- Books of The Times - In Mary Roach's "Packing for Mars" - All the Right Stuff and the Gross Stuff - NYTimes.com
/-- Book Review - Packing for Mars - By Mary Roach - NYTimes.com - Aug.6.10

BTW: Her recent interview on The Space Show will be replayed on Monday (2-3:30 pm PT) and then be available in the Podcast archive.
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NASA needs to stop postponing crucial R&D needed for long term human residence in space:
/-- John Kelly: Science put on the back burner: Ship-building, mission operations get funding priority with NASA - Florida Today
/-- The Science and Politics of Space - Space KSC

Update: A discussion of efforts underway at NASA to revitalize its tech programs: Space To Grow - Critical Mass/CongressDaily - Aug.6.10.

Mary Roach' s new Packing For Mars is getting a lot of attention.
/-- Interview on The Space Show - Wednesday - August 4, 2010 9:30-11am PDT
/-- Take an astronaut and rocket away from normality - CultureLab
/-- Mary Roach Talks Turds In Space On Jon Stewart (VIDEO) - Huffington Post
/-- Review: Mary Roach's "Packing for Mars" demystifies space science with laughter - The Canadian Press
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The NASA Moonbase Alpha game gets a negative review and more at Pop Mech: Why NASA's New Video Game Completely Misses the Point - NASA Moonbase Alpha Video Game Review - Popular Mechanics.

For Rand Simberg, though, the reviewer extrapolates way too far from the failings of this game: Missing The Point - Transterrestrial Musings.

Phil Putnam has posted a nice graphic displaying the number of people in orbit versus year. It shows both the average number as well as values at particular points in time: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:People_in_space_plot.png (tiff, svg).

Phil can be reached at pputman [at] rocketmail.com if you have suggestions or questions regarding the plot.

Until we get space habitats that implement spin gravity for the whole structure, other techniques will be needed to keep space residents in shape. E.g.
/-- New Artificial Gravity Tests in Space Could Help Astronauts - SPACE.com

/-- NASA Studies Suggest that Omega-3 Fish Oil Mitigates Bone Loss in Astronauts - On Space/Aviation Week

/-- NASA Studies Find Omega-3 May Help Reduce Bone Loss - NASA - May.10.10

Paul Spudis gives a nice review of the various places where water seems to reside on the Moon, ranging from a "monolayer on lunar dust grains" to "'pure' water ice deposits" in some crater floors in permanent darkness at the poles: The Four Flavors of Lunar Water - The Once and Future Moon/Air & Space Mag.
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Some info on interesting bio-science experiments on the ISS: Space experiments may aid earthly ailments - CNN.com - Apr.29.10. Find more here about a vaccine derived from the space salmonella research.

The Astroprof is posting an informative series on space radiation and its implications for human spaceflight:
/-- Space Radiation
/-- What is Radiation?
/-- Cosmic Rays
/-- Space Radiation and Humans
/-- Electrostatic Radiation Shielding