Headed to space? There's an app for that!

For the astronauts headed to space this week in NASA’s final space shuttle launch, there is much to keep track of. Thankfully it won’t be such a huge task because along with the other gear headed to space will be an iPhone, complete with a specially designed space application or app. This will be the first time an iPhone has traveled to space, aboard the space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-135 mission. The app, created by a Houston company called Odyssey Space Research will help astronauts track their scientific findings while in space and maybe one day will help in navigation.



The app is called SpaceLab for iOS and is even available for download to Earthbound Smartphone users who’d like to perform the same experiments using microgravity. Wondering what other items are heading to space this week with the shuttle crew? A flag from the first shuttle flight in 1981 as well as a U.S. honor flag will be included, honoring the victims of September 11th.

Another unique item traveling to space is a recipe card with one of the dishes served at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Crew Quarters in Florida. This is a time-honored tradition with shuttle crews, but with the iPhone and the multitude of recipe apps available, they might not even use it!

{image of shuttle crew & official patch via NASA.gov}