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112-742: Activities on the trail include hiking, biking, boating, and geocaching on the Star-Spangled Banner Geotrail. Sites on the trail include towns raided and/or burned by the British, battles and engagements, museums, and forts. It was authorized by the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 . This National Park Service related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Geocaching Geocaching ( / ˈ dʒ iː oʊ k æ ʃ ɪ ŋ / , JEE -oh- KASH -ing )

224-572: A Proton rocket on 20 November 1998. Zarya provided propulsion, attitude control , communications, and electrical power. Two weeks later on 4 December 1998, the American-made Unity was ferried aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-88 and joined with Zarya . Unity provided the connection between the Russian and US segments of the station and would provide ports to connect future modules and visiting spacecraft. While

336-434: A Travel Bug (the first geocaching trackable item in space), which stayed on the station until it was brought back to earth in 2013. Due to fire restrictions on board the station, the geocache contained no official paper logbook. As of June 2024, only one confirmed geocacher (on November 17, 2013) has actually found the geocache, although others have claimed to have found it providing varying amounts of evidence. To commemorate

448-464: A geochecker in which users can put their name into an algorithm to see if they qualify without the need of physically checking all of one's previous finds. These geocheckers can be requested using the ProjectGC forums where volunteers can write and create scripts for specific challenges. Groundspeak also has been more strict into what types of challenges are published. For example, prior to 2017 it

560-763: A location-based game . A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and sometimes a pen or pencil. The geocacher signs the log with their established code name/username and dates it, in order to prove that they found the cache. After signing the log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers ( Tupperware or similar) or ammo boxes can also contain items for trading, such as toys or trinkets, usually of more sentimental worth than financial. Geocaching shares many aspects with benchmarking , trigpointing , orienteering , treasure hunting , letterboxing , trail blazing , and another type of location-based game called Munzee . Geocaching

672-690: A virtual reality exhibit called The Infinite featuring life aboard the ISS was announced. The International Space Station is a product of global collaboration, with its components manufactured across the world. The modules of the Russian Orbital Segment , including Zarya and Zvezda , were produced at the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center in Moscow. Zvezda was initially manufactured in 1985 as

784-475: A "shorter version" of MARS-500 may be carried out on the ISS. In 2009, noting the value of the partnership framework itself, Sergey Krasnov wrote, "When compared with partners acting separately, partners developing complementary abilities and resources could give us much more assurance of the success and safety of space exploration. The ISS is helping further advance near-Earth space exploration and realisation of prospective programmes of research and exploration of

896-445: A 'puzzle cache', players might need to solve a puzzle or bring a special tool to reveal the next waypoint or final coordinates. Most often, the final container is not at the posted coordinates which is noted in the cache description. Some puzzles can be easy and involve basic math operations or they can be quite difficult, with some of the more challenging ones requiring a firm understanding of computer programming . Geocaching Toolbox,

1008-518: A GPS-located cache took place on May 3, 2000, by Dave Ulmer in Beavercreek, Oregon . The location was posted on the Usenet newsgroup sci.geo.satellite-nav at 45°17.460′N 122°24.800′W  /  45.291000°N 122.413333°W  / 45.291000; -122.413333 . Within three days, the cache had been found twice, first by Mike Teague. According to Dave Ulmer's message, this cache

1120-410: A Reverse cache, a locationless cache is similar to a scavenger hunt . A description is given for something to find, such as a one-room schoolhouse, and the finder locates an example of this object. The finder records the location using their GPS receiver and often takes a picture at the location showing the named object with their GPS receiver. Typically others are not allowed to log that same location as

1232-474: A Wherigo "cartridge" to guide players to find a physical cache sometime during cartridge play, usually at the end. However, not all Wherigo cartridges incorporate geocaches into gameplay. Wherigo caches are unique to the geocaching.com website. Wherigo is a GPS location-aware software platform initially released in January 2008. Authors can develop self-enclosed story files (called "cartridges") that are read by

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1344-611: A certain cache a long distance from home, or to travel to a certain country, or to travel faster and farther than other hitchhikers in a race. Less common trends are site-specific information pages about the historic significance of the site, types of trees, birds in the area or other such information. Higher-value items are occasionally included in geocaches as a reward for the First to Find (called "FTF"), or in locations which are harder to reach. Dangerous or illegal items, including weapons and drugs, are not allowed and are specifically against

1456-777: A component for the Mir-2 space station, which was never launched. Much of the US Orbital Segment , including the Destiny and Unity modules, the Integrated Truss Structure , and solar arrays , were built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans . These components underwent final assembly and processing for launch at

1568-554: A dozen Japanese universities conducted experiments in diverse fields. Cultural activities are another major objective of the ISS programme. Tetsuo Tanaka, the director of JAXA's Space Environment and Utilization Center, has said: "There is something about space that touches even people who are not interested in science." Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) is a volunteer programme that encourages students worldwide to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, through amateur radio communications opportunities with

1680-408: A find. Since 2005, all locationless caches have been archived and locked, meaning they are unable to be logged. However, with geocaching's 20th anniversary in 2020 Groundspeak decided to publish a special locationless cache for geocachers to "find" at various Mega- and Giga-Events around the world. The first locationless cache in 15 years (GC8FR0G) required finders to take a picture of themselves with

1792-412: A geocache and a letterbox in the same container. Letterboxes involve a rubber stamp and logbook that are not supposed to be traded and taken instead of tradable items, but letterbox hybrids may or may not include trade items. Letterboxers carry their own stamp with them, to stamp the letterbox's logbook and inversely stamp their personal logbook with the letterbox stamp. The letterbox hybrid cache contains

1904-417: A geocache without a physical printout of the cache description. Traditionally, this means that the seeker has an electronic means of viewing the cache information in the field, such as pre-downloading the information to a PDA or other electronic device. Various applications can directly upload and read GPX files without further conversion. Newer GPS devices released by Garmin , DeLorme , and Magellan have

2016-408: A geocache. It consists of a container with a log sheet, and is located at the posted coordinates. Cache containers come in many different sizes. These caches are intended to be found at night, usually by use of a UV torch. These caches include at least one stage in addition to the physical final container with a log sheet. The posted coordinates for a multi-cache are the first stage. At each stage,

2128-657: A geographic area based on criteria such as ZIP code or coordinates , downloading the results as an email attachment on a schedule. In recent years, Android and iPhone users can download apps such as GeoBeagle that allow them to use their 3G and GPS-enabled devices to actively search for and download new caches. A variety of geocaching applications are available for geocache data management, file-type translation, and personalization. Geocaching software can assign special icons or search (filter) for caches based on certain criteria (e.g. distance from an assigned point, difficulty, date last found). Paperless geocaching means hunting

2240-650: A lengthy interplanetary cruise, such as the six-month interval required to travel to Mars . Medical studies are conducted aboard the ISS on behalf of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity study in which astronauts perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts. The study considers

2352-481: A location in the relative safety of low Earth orbit to test spacecraft systems that will be required for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars. This provides experience in operations, maintenance, and repair and replacement activities on-orbit. This will help develop essential skills in operating spacecraft farther from Earth, reduce mission risks, and advance the capabilities of interplanetary spacecraft. Referring to

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2464-399: A picture which can be developed and uploaded to a geocaching web site listed below. Also common are objects that are moved from cache to cache called "hitchhikers", such as Travel Bugs or geocoins, whose travels may be logged and followed online. Cachers who initially place a Travel Bug or Geocoin(s) often assign specific goals for their trackable items. Examples of goals are to be placed in

2576-561: A place that requires people to pay a fee to visit such as airports or theme parks may get the Adventure permanently removed from the Adventure Lab app. There are several kinds of events geocaches. While encouraged, events do not require visitors to sign their name a logbook to prove they attended an event. Attendees of event caches can log that they 'attended', which will increment their number of found caches. Event caches can be of

2688-457: A player can type into the RWIG cartridge. Instead of following a story or interacting with characters, and RWIG gives you the distance to the final cache, but not direction. It requires geocachers to get closer to the final geocache by process of elimination. Once you are within 25 metres, the final coordinates are given to provide a more accurate location for the geocache. This is a combination of

2800-555: A series of education guides, students develop a deeper understanding of the past and near-term future of crewed space flight, as well as that of Earth and life. In the JAXA "Seeds in Space" experiments, the mutation effects of spaceflight on plant seeds aboard the ISS are explored by growing sunflower seeds that have flown on the ISS for about nine months. In the first phase of Kibō utilisation from 2008 to mid-2010, researchers from more than

2912-411: A small battery, it is able to transmit a signal detectable on Garmin devices. The Chirp stores hints, multicache coordinates, counts visitors, and can confirm the cache is nearby. These caches caused considerable discussion and some controversy at Groundspeak, where they were ultimately given a new "attribute". These types of geocaches can also be listed as a traditional, multi-cache, or letterbox. It

3024-519: A third set of arrays were delivered on STS-116 , STS-117 , and STS-118 . As a result of the major expansion of the station's power-generating capabilities, more modules could be accommodated, and the US Harmony module and Columbus European laboratory were added. These were soon followed by the first two components of the Japanese Kibō laboratory. In March 2009, STS-119 completed

3136-404: A trial version with limited functionality. The site promotes mobile applications, and lists over two dozen applications (both mobile and browser/desktop based) that are using their proprietary but royalty-free public application programming interface ( API ). Developers at c:geo have criticised Groundspeak for being incompatible with open-source development. Additionally, "c:geo - opensource"

3248-413: A virtual cache generally requires one to email the cache hider with information such as a date or a name on a plaque, or to post a picture of oneself at the site with a GPS receiver in hand. As of 2005, new virtual caches are no longer allowed by Groundspeak as it is considered a legacy cache. On August 24, 2017, Groundspeak announced "Virtual Rewards", allowing 4000 new virtual caches to be placed during

3360-532: A walking tour of a city or park. An example would be Route 66 or the Lincoln Highway , which are a nationwide series of Adventure Lab sets of 10 that stretch the entire route across the United States . Adventure labs were first introduced in 2014 as a way to test market ideas through Groundspeak. Initially, geocachers would find a key word at a designated site where they could then enter it onto

3472-436: A website dedicated to create and solve puzzle geocaches, provides a comprehensive list of common puzzle cache ciphers. There are also some subcategories of the mystery cache, which are normally listed as a Mystery Type, which are listed below. This requires a geocacher to complete a reasonably attainable geocaching-related task before being able to log the cache as a find online. It does not restrict geocachers from finding

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3584-513: A website to claim "credit". Soon after, they were made available to "find" at select Mega-Events. In 2020, Groundspeak released the "Adventure Lab" app, separate from the geocaching app. The app made it possible to enter a geo-fence when, once inside, a question will appear that can be answered either in the form of a written answer or a multiple choice answer. This question can be answered at anytime once activated, however, some Adventure Labs must be completed sequentially implying that one must answer

3696-445: A wide range of free teaching materials that can be downloaded for use in classrooms. In one lesson, students can navigate a 3D model of the interior and exterior of the ISS, and face spontaneous challenges to solve in real time. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aims to inspire children to "pursue craftsmanship" and to heighten their "awareness of the importance of life and their responsibilities in society". Through

3808-467: Is a free opensource full function application for Android phones that is very popular. This app includes similar features to the official Geocaching mobile application, such as: View caches on a live map ( Google Maps or OpenStreetMap), navigation using a compass, map, or other applications, logging finds online and offline, etc. International Space Station This is an accepted version of this page The International Space Station ( ISS )

3920-402: Is a large space station that was assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada). The ISS is the largest space station ever built. Its primary purpose is to perform microgravity and space environment experiments. Operationally,

4032-431: Is an important ISS research activity, with the objective of reaping economic benefits through the improvement of techniques used on Earth. Other areas of interest include the effect of low gravity on combustion, through the study of the efficiency of burning and control of emissions and pollutants. These findings may improve knowledge about energy production and lead to economic and environmental benefits. The ISS provides

4144-424: Is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called geocaches or caches , at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. The first geocache was placed in 2000, and by 2023 there were over 3 million active caches worldwide. Geocaching can be considered

4256-495: Is composed of all Wherigo application developers who, up until that time, had been acting and developing separately. Their goal is to provide a consistent Wherigo experience across platforms, connect Wherigo applications via an API , and add modern features to the Wherigo platform. While Groundspeak is aware of this project, the company has yet to take a position. An RWIG provides three lines of code composed of 9 digits each that

4368-575: Is highly resistant to environmental hazards , were found to survive for three years in outer space , based on studies conducted on the International Space Station. These findings supported the notion of panspermia , the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe , distributed in various ways, including space dust , meteoroids , asteroids , comets , planetoids or contaminated spacecraft . Remote sensing of

4480-534: Is intended to detect dark matter and answer other fundamental questions about our universe. According to NASA, the AMS is as important as the Hubble Space Telescope . Currently docked on station, it could not have been easily accommodated on a free flying satellite platform because of its power and bandwidth needs. On 3 April 2013, scientists reported that hints of dark matter may have been detected by

4592-501: Is likely to be a global effort." Currently, US federal legislation prevents NASA co-operation with China on space projects without approval by the FBI and Congress. The ISS crew provides opportunities for students on Earth by running student-developed experiments, making educational demonstrations, allowing for student participation in classroom versions of ISS experiments, and directly engaging students using radio, and email. ESA offers

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4704-749: Is published not by a local reviewer, but by a volunteer regional reviewer associated with the Geological Society of America . The geocacher usually has to perform a task which teaches an education lesson about the geology of the cache area. Visitors must answer geological questions to complete the cache which can be as simple as describing the color and thickness of layers in an outcrop or can be as complicated as taking measurements of stream velocities or fault offsets. Earthcaches covers geologic topics such as: rock formation , mineralogy , earthquakes , fluvial processes , erosion , volcanology , and planetary science (among others). Otherwise known as

4816-513: Is similar to the game letterboxing (originating in 1854), which uses clues and references to landmarks embedded in stories. Geocaching was conceived shortly after the removal of Selective Availability from the Global Positioning System on May 2, 2000 ( Blue Switch Day ), because the improved accuracy of the system allowed for a small container to be specifically placed and located. The first documented placement of

4928-425: Is the second most logged geocache in history. The second published locationless cache since 2005 (GC8NEAT) required visitors to take a photo of them picking up trash and cleaning up their local area. geocachers were able to log this cache from 6 February 2021 through 31 December 2022. It has been logged over 33,500 times and holds the title for the most "found" geocache. On 17 August 2022, Geocaching.com made available

5040-575: Is up to the cache owner to designated the cache type for wireless beacon caches. This is an official geocache located inside the Groundspeak headquarters office in Seattle, Washington . It is technically classified as a separate cache type under mystery caches, with its own unique icon both on the geocaching app and on one's profile statistics tab. Since publication in 2004, it has over 20,000 finds as of June 2024. A multi-stage cache hunt that uses

5152-560: Is usually used. The Wherigo site offers a builder application and a database of adventures free for download, though the builder has remained in its Alpha version since its last release in May 2008. The official player is only available for Pocket PC . A built-in player is available on Garmin Colorado and Oregon GPS models. The Wherigo Foundation was organized in December 2012. The group

5264-566: The Canadarm2 and Dextre , a joint Canadian-U.S. endeavor. All of these components were shipped to the SSPF for launch processing. The assembly of the International Space Station, a major endeavour in space architecture , began in November 1998. Modules in the Russian segment launched and docked autonomously, with the exception of Rassvet . Other modules and components were delivered by

5376-581: The Columbus programme, the most ambitious effort in space undertaken by that organization at the time. The plan spearheaded by Germany and Italy included a module which would be attached to Freedom , and with the capability to evolve into a full-fledged European orbital outpost before the end of the century. Increasing costs threw these plans into doubt in the early 1990s. Congress was unwilling to provide enough money to build and operate Freedom , and demanded NASA increase international participation to defray

5488-515: The GPS stash hunt or gpsstashing. This was changed shortly after the original hide when it was suggested in the gpsstash eGroup that "stash" could have negative connotations and the term geocaching was adopted. Over time, a variety of different hide-and-seek-type activities have been created or abandoned, so that "Geocaching" may now refer to hiding and seeking containers, or locations or information without containers. An independent accounting of

5600-537: The MARS-500 experiment, a crew isolation experiment conducted on Earth, ESA states, "Whereas the ISS is essential for answering questions concerning the possible impact of weightlessness, radiation and other space-specific factors, aspects such as the effect of long-term isolation and confinement can be more appropriately addressed via ground-based simulations". Sergey Krasnov, the head of human space flight programmes for Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, in 2011 suggested

5712-577: The Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) , and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer . Gravity at the altitude of the ISS is approximately 90% as strong as at Earth's surface, but objects in orbit are in a continuous state of freefall , resulting in an apparent state of weightlessness . This perceived weightlessness is disturbed by five effects: Researchers are investigating the effect of the station's near-weightless environment on

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5824-1034: The Operations and Checkout Building and the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The US Orbital Segment also hosts the Columbus module contributed by the European Space Agency and built in Germany, the Kibō module contributed by Japan and built at the Tsukuba Space Center and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science , along with

5936-543: The Space Shuttle , which then had to be installed by astronauts either remotely using robotic arms or during spacewalks, more formally known as extra-vehicular activities (EVAs). By 5 June 2011 astronauts had made over 159 EVAs to add components to the station, totaling more than 1,000 hours in space. The foundation for the ISS was laid with the launch of the Russian-built Zarya module atop

6048-414: The "wheelchair accessible" attribute. A bonus cache requires the finder to have found an amount of caches, usually by the same hider, before finding the bonus cache. The cache can be any type, however a bonus cache cannot be required for a second bonus cache. These were found at a listed set of coordinates. The finder hides the cache in a different location, and updates the listing, essentially becoming

6160-407: The 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project , the first docking of spacecraft from two different spacefaring nations. The ASTP was considered a success, and further joint missions were also contemplated. One such concept was International Skylab, which proposed launching the backup Skylab B space station for a mission that would see multiple visits by both Apollo and Soyuz crew vehicles. More ambitious

6272-583: The 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes . There were 14 APE geocaches placed around the world and each one contained a prop from the film. As of 2023, only 2 APE caches are still active with one near Seattle, Washington ('Tunnel of Light', GC1169) and the other in Brazil ('Southern Bowl', GCC67). Of those two, the Brazil APE cache is the only surviving original APE cache because GC1169 was muggled in 2016. However,

6384-785: The AMS. According to the scientists, "The first results from the space-borne Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer confirm an unexplained excess of high-energy positrons in Earth-bound cosmic rays". The space environment is hostile to life. Unprotected presence in space is characterised by an intense radiation field (consisting primarily of protons and other subatomic charged particles from the solar wind , in addition to cosmic rays ), high vacuum, extreme temperatures, and microgravity. Some simple forms of life called extremophiles , as well as small invertebrates called tardigrades can survive in this environment in an extremely dry state through desiccation . Medical research improves knowledge about

6496-526: The Earth, astronomy, and deep space research on the ISS have significantly increased during the 2010s after the completion of the US Orbital Segment in 2011. Throughout the more than 20 years of the ISS program, researchers aboard the ISS and on the ground have examined aerosols , ozone , lightning , and oxides in Earth's atmosphere, as well as the Sun , cosmic rays, cosmic dust , antimatter , and dark matter in

6608-531: The ISS crew. ARISS is an international working group, consisting of delegations from nine countries including several in Europe, as well as Japan, Russia, Canada, and the United States. In areas where radio equipment cannot be used, speakerphones connect students to ground stations which then connect the calls to the space station. First Orbit is a 2011 feature-length documentary film about Vostok 1 ,

6720-606: The ISS was given additional roles of serving commercial, diplomatic, and educational purposes. The ISS provides a platform to conduct scientific research, with power, data, cooling, and crew available to support experiments. Small uncrewed spacecraft can also provide platforms for experiments, especially those involving zero gravity and exposure to space, but space stations offer a long-term environment where studies can be performed potentially for decades, combined with ready access by human researchers. The ISS simplifies individual experiments by allowing groups of experiments to share

6832-765: The Integrated Truss Structure with the installation of the fourth and final set of solar arrays. The final section of Kibō was delivered in July 2009 on STS-127 , followed by the Russian Poisk module. The US Tranquility module was delivered in February 2010 during STS-130 , alongside the Cupola , followed by the penultimate Russian module, Rassvet , in May 2010. Rassvet was delivered by Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-132 in exchange for

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6944-789: The Original Stash Tribute Plaque, now sits at the site. Geocaching company Groundspeak allows extraterrestrial caches, e.g. the Moon or Mars , although presently, the website provides only earthbound coordinates. The first published extraterrestrial geocache was GC1BE91, which was placed on the International Space Station by Richard Garriott in 2008. It used the Baikonur launch area in Kazakhstan as its position. The original cache contained

7056-684: The Russian Proton delivery of the US-funded Zarya module in 1998. The last pressurised module of the USOS, Leonardo , was brought to the station in February 2011 on the final flight of Discovery , STS-133 . Russia's new primary research module Nauka docked in July 2021, along with the European Robotic Arm which can relocate itself to different parts of the Russian modules of the station. Russia's latest addition,

7168-485: The Russian State Archive. Nespoli is credited as the director of photography for this documentary film, as he recorded the majority of the footage himself during Expedition 26 / 27 . The film was streamed in a global YouTube premiere in 2011 under a free licence through the website firstorbit.org . In May 2013, commander Chris Hadfield shot a music video of David Bowie 's " Space Oddity " on board

7280-694: The Salyut and Mir space stations. In 1984 the ESA was invited to participate in Space Station Freedom , and the ESA approved the Columbus laboratory by 1987. The Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), or Kibō , was announced in 1985, as part of the Freedom space station in response to a NASA request in 1982. In early 1985, science ministers from the European Space Agency (ESA) countries approved

7392-500: The Solar system, including the Moon and Mars." A crewed mission to Mars may be a multinational effort involving space agencies and countries outside the current ISS partnership. In 2010, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain stated his agency was ready to propose to the other four partners that China, India, and South Korea be invited to join the ISS partnership. NASA chief Charles Bolden stated in February 2011, "Any mission to Mars

7504-515: The Soviet Union. The first ISS module was launched in 1998. Major modules have been launched by Proton and Soyuz rockets and by the Space Shuttle launch system. The first long-term residents, Expedition 1 , arrived on 2 November 2000. Since then, the station has been continuously occupied for 24 years and 26 days, the longest continuous human presence in space. As of March 2024 , 279 individuals from 22 countries have visited

7616-515: The Wherigo player software, installed on either a GPS unit or smartphone. The player and story take advantage of the location information provided by the GPS to trigger in-game events, such as using a virtual object or interacting with characters. Completing an adventure can require reaching different locations and solving puzzles. Cartridges are coded in Lua . Lua may be used directly, but a builder application

7728-429: The ability to read GPX files directly, thus eliminating the need for a PDA . Other methods include viewing real-time information on a portable computer with internet access or with an Internet-enabled smart phone. The latest advancement of this practice involves installing dedicated applications on a smart phone with a built-in GPS receiver. Seekers can search for and download caches in their immediate vicinity directly to

7840-403: The application and use the on-board GPS receiver to find the cache. A more controversial version of paperless Caching involves mass-downloading only the coordinates and cache names (or waypoint IDs) for hundreds of caches into older receivers. This is a common practice of some cachers and has been used successfully for years. In many cases, however, the cache description and hint are never read by

7952-425: The cache and signing the logbook at anytime. However a geocacher is not allowed to log a find on the geocaching website unless they qualify for the challenge specified in the cache description. Examples include finding a number of caches that meet a category, completing a number of cache finds within a period of time, or finding a cache for every calendar day. Since 2017, Groundspeak has required new challenges to have

8064-539: The connection of two modules built on different continents, by nations that were once bitter rivals was a significant milestone, these two initial modules lacked life support systems and the ISS remained unmanned for the next two years. At the time, the Russian station Mir was still inhabited. The turning point arrived in July 2000 with the launch of the Zvezda module. Equipped with living quarters and life-support systems, Zvezda enabled continuous human presence aboard

8176-435: The creation of 1 set of 5 waypoints, with each of the 5 waypoints counting towards a cache find. If selected, Adventure Labs can be created using the Adventure Lab builder. Adventure Labs, unlike all other geocaches, are not subject to review and are published at will by the creator. However, Adventure Labs can at anytime be archived by Groundspeak if they are in violation of terms of use. For example, placing an Adventure Lab in

8288-461: The diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions in space. Usually, there is no physician on board the ISS and diagnosis of medical conditions is a challenge. It is anticipated that remotely guided ultrasound scans will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care situations where access to a trained physician is difficult. In August 2020, scientists reported that bacteria from Earth, particularly Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria, which

8400-442: The early history documents several controversial actions taken by Jeremy Irish and Grounded, Inc., a predecessor to Groundspeak, to increase "commercialization and monopolistic control over the hobby". More recently, other similar hobbies such as Munzee have attracted some geocachers by rapidly adopting smart-phone technology, which has caused "some resistance from geocaching organizers about placing caches along with Munzees". For

8512-405: The effects of long-term space exposure on the human body, including muscle atrophy , bone loss , and fluid shift. These data will be used to determine whether high duration human spaceflight and space colonisation are feasible. In 2006, data on bone loss and muscular atrophy suggested that there would be a significant risk of fractures and movement problems if astronauts landed on a planet after

8624-682: The evolution, development, growth and internal processes of plants and animals. In response to some of the data, NASA wants to investigate microgravity 's effects on the growth of three-dimensional, human-like tissues and the unusual protein crystals that can be formed in space. Investigating the physics of fluids in microgravity will provide better models of the behaviour of fluids. Because fluids can be almost completely combined in microgravity, physicists investigate fluids that do not mix well on Earth. Examining reactions that are slowed by low gravity and low temperatures will improve our understanding of superconductivity . The study of materials science

8736-403: The finder. Aside from the logbook, common cache contents are unusual coins or currency , small toys, ornamental buttons, CDs, or books. Although not required, many geocachers decide to leave behind signature items, such as personal geocoins , pins, or craft items, to mark their presence at the cache location. Disposable cameras are popular as they allow for anyone who found the cache to take

8848-431: The first crewed space flight around the Earth. By matching the orbit of the ISS to that of Vostok 1 as closely as possible, in terms of ground path and time of day, documentary filmmaker Christopher Riley and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli were able to film the view that Yuri Gagarin saw on his pioneering orbital space flight. This new footage was cut together with the original Vostok 1 mission audio recordings sourced from

8960-419: The following types: GPX files containing information such as a cache description and information about recent visitors to the cache are available from various listing sites. Geocachers may upload geocache data (also known as waypoints ) from various websites in various formats, most commonly in file-type GPX , which uses XML . Some websites allow geocachers to search (build queries) for multiple caches within

9072-452: The following year. Each year, eligible geocachers can opt-in to a drawing and some selected with the opportunity to submit a virtual cache for publication. From 2005 to 2017, the geocaching website no longer listed new caches without a physical container, including virtual and webcam caches (with the exception of earthcaches and events); however, older caches of these types have been grandfathered . Similar to virtual geocaches, an Earth cache

9184-400: The geocacher gathers information that leads them to the next stage or to the final container. Multi-caches can consist of physical stages (i.e. the first stage contains coordinates for the next stage and so forth) or virtual stages (i.e. the first stage is a historical marker where geocachers have to answer questions to calculate the coordinates to the final physical container). Also called

9296-562: The geocaching mascot, Signal the Frog, at Mega- and Giga-Events during 2020. The cache was made available to log starting 1 January 2020. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic , nearly all planned Mega- and Giga-events were cancelled for the year, including the planned 20th anniversary celebration event in Seattle, Washington . Therefore, Groundspeak decided to extend the deadline to log this geocache through 1 January 2023. With 22,500 finds it

9408-423: The hider, and the next finder continues the cycle. This cache has been discontinued at geocaching.com and those that have been grandfathered in are solely declining and are being archived. Also known as a wireless beacon cache . This is a Garmin -created innovative on multi-caches using wireless beacon technology. It is a physical game piece, about the size of a half dollar that can be hidden anywhere. Powered by

9520-455: The important materials for this. Typically, letterbox hybrid caches are not found at the given coordinates which only act as a starting location. Instead, a series of clues are given as to where to find the cache such as "take a left past the bridge" or "about 25 paces past the big oak tree". Also known as Ape caches , these are a special type of traditional cache that were hidden in conjunction with 20th Century Fox and Groundspeak to promote

9632-444: The logbook and online, but then must return the cache to the same coordinates so that other geocachers may find it. Geocachers are free to take objects (except the logbook, pencil, or stamp) from the cache in exchange for leaving something of similar or higher value. Typical cache "treasures", also known in the geocaching world as SWAG (a backronym of "stuff we all get"), are not high in monetary value but may hold personal value to

9744-545: The occasion, Groundspeak allowed specialized geocaching events to be published across the world, allowing attendees to obtain a virtual souvenir on their profile. The second geocaching trackable in space is TB5EFXK which is attached to the SHERLOC calibration target on board the Mars Perseverance Rover , which landed on Mars on 18 February 2021. Geocachers were given the opportunity to virtually discover

9856-478: The original container was later found by a Groundspeak led survey in April of that year. What remains of "Tunnel of Light" is an "official" replacement of the original ammo can that was left in 2001. This cache type does not contain a physical logbook. They are normally hidden at a rather interesting or unique location, usually with a described object such as an art sculpture or a scenic lookout. Validation for finding

9968-432: The question to move on to the next waypoint. Many Adventure Labs caches have a physical bonus cache associated with them that are listed as a "mystery cache". Coordinates to the bonus cache, if applicable, can be seen in the journal entries once a user has correctly answered the question at a waypoint. Geocachers can create their own Adventure Lab, but must first opt-in to receive an "Adventure Lab credit" which allows for

10080-601: The rising costs or they would cancel the entire project outright. Simultaneously, the USSR was conducting planning for the Mir-2 space station, and had begun constructing modules for the new station by the mid-1980s. However the collapse of the Soviet Union required these plans to be greatly downscaled, and soon Mir-2 was in danger of never being launched at all. With both space station projects in jeopardy, American and Russian officials met and proposed they be combined. The ISS

10192-412: The routinely scheduled launches of resupply craft allows new hardware to be launched with relative ease. Crews fly expeditions of several months' duration, providing approximately 160 person-hours per week of labour with a crew of six. However, a considerable amount of crew time is taken up by station maintenance. Perhaps the most notable ISS experiment is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), which

10304-514: The rules of most geocache listing sites. Food is also disallowed, even if sealed, as it is considered unhygienic and can attract animals. If a geocache has been vandalized or stolen by a person who is not familiar with geocaching, it is said to have been "muggled". The term plays off the fact that those not familiar with geocaching are called " muggles ", a word borrowed from the Harry Potter series of books which were rising in popularity at

10416-420: The same launches and crew time. Research is conducted in a wide variety of fields, including astrobiology , astronomy , physical sciences , materials science , space weather , meteorology , and human research including space medicine and the life sciences . Scientists on Earth have timely access to the data and can suggest experimental modifications to the crew. If follow-on experiments are necessary,

10528-545: The same time geocaching started. Geocaches vary in size, difficulty, and location. Simple caches that are placed near a roadside are often called "drive-bys", "park 'n grabs" (PNGs), or "cache and dash". Geocaches may also be complex, involving lengthy searches, significant travel, or use of specialist equipment such as SCUBA diving , kayaking , or abseiling . Different geocaching websites list different variations per their own policies. Container sizes range from nano , particularly magnetic nanos , which can be smaller than

10640-518: The seeker before hunting the cache. This means they are unaware of potential restrictions such as limited hunt times, park open/close times, off-limit areas, and suggested parking locations. The website geocaching.com now sells mobile applications which allow users to view caches through a variety of different devices. Currently, the Android , iOS , and Windows Phone mobile platforms have applications in their respective stores. The apps also allow for

10752-521: The space station. The ISS is expected to have additional modules (the Axiom Orbital Segment , for example) and will be in service until the end of 2030, after which it is planned to be de-orbited by a dedicated NASA spacecraft. As the space race drew to a close in the early 1970s, the US and USSR began to contemplate a variety of potential collaborations in outer space. This culminated in

10864-475: The station is divided into two sections: the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) assembled by Roscosmos, and the US Orbital Segment (USOS), assembled by NASA, JAXA, ESA and CSA. A striking feature of the ISS is the Integrated Truss Structure , which connects the large solar panels and radiators to the pressurized modules. The pressurized modules are specialized for research, habitation, storage, spacecraft control, and airlock functions. Visiting spacecraft dock at

10976-404: The station via its eight docking and berthing ports . The ISS maintains an orbit with an average altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi) and circles the Earth in roughly 93 minutes, completing 15.5 orbits per day. The ISS programme combines two prior plans to construct crewed Earth-orbiting stations: Space Station Freedom planned by the United States, and the Mir-2 station, planned by

11088-531: The station with Ku band communications, additional attitude control needed for the additional mass of the USOS, and additional solar arrays. Over the next two years, the station continued to expand. A Soyuz-U rocket delivered the Pirs docking compartment . The Space Shuttles Discovery , Atlantis , and Endeavour delivered the American Destiny laboratory and Quest airlock , in addition to

11200-554: The station's main robot arm, the Canadarm2 , and several more segments of the Integrated Truss Structure. Tragedy struck in 2003 with the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia , which grounded the rest of the Shuttle fleet, halting construction of the ISS. Assembly resumed in 2006 with the arrival of STS-115 with Atlantis , which delivered the station's second set of solar arrays. Several more truss segments and

11312-517: The station, which was released on YouTube. It was the first music video filmed in space. In November 2017, while participating in Expedition 52 / 53 on the ISS, Paolo Nespoli made two recordings of his spoken voice (one in English and the other in his native Italian), for use on Misplaced Pages articles. These were the first content made in space specifically for Misplaced Pages. In November 2021,

11424-472: The station. The first crew, Expedition 1 , arrived that November aboard Soyuz TM-31 . The ISS grew steadily over the following years, with modules delivered by both Russian rockets and the Space Shuttle. Expedition 1 arrived midway between the Space Shuttle flights of missions STS-92 and STS-97 . These two flights each added segments of the station's Integrated Truss Structure , which provided

11536-416: The third locationless cache to be logged since 2005 (GC9FAVE). Instead of finding Signal or picking up trash, this cache encouraged geocachers from around the world to share their favorite geocaching story. This geocache was archived and locked on 1 January 2024. A type of virtual cache whose coordinates provide the location to a public webcam . The finder is required to capture an image of themselves through

11648-806: The tip of a finger and have only enough room to store the log sheet, to 20-liter (5 gallon) buckets or even larger containers, such as entire trucks. The most common cache containers in rural areas are lunch-box-sized plastic storage containers or surplus military ammunition cans. Ammo cans are considered the gold standard of containers because they are very sturdy, waterproof, animal- and fire-resistant, and relatively cheap, and have plenty of room for trade items. Smaller containers are more common in urban areas because they can be more easily hidden. Over time many variations of geocaches have developed. Different platforms often have their own rules on which types are allowed or how they are classified. The following cache types are supported by geocaching.com. The simplest form of

11760-528: The trackable after the WATSON camera sent back its first photographs of the calibration target that contained the tracking code number. The code is printed on a prototype helmet visor material that will be used to test how well it can withstand the Martian environment. This will help scientists in creating a viable Martian spacesuit for future crewed missions to Mars . The activity was originally referred to as

11872-490: The traditional geocache, a geocacher will place a waterproof container containing a log book, often also a pen and/or pencil and trade items or trackables , then record the cache's coordinates . These coordinates, along with other details of the location, are posted on a listing site (see list of some sites below). Other geocachers obtain the coordinates from that listing site and seek out the cache using their handheld GPS receivers. The finding geocachers record their exploits in

11984-852: The universe. Examples of Earth-viewing remote sensing experiments that have flown on the ISS are the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 , ISS-RapidScat , ECOSTRESS , the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation , and the Cloud Aerosol Transport System . ISS-based astronomy telescopes and experiments include SOLAR , the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer , the Calorimetric Electron Telescope ,

12096-405: The webcam for verification of the find. New webcam caches are no longer allowed by Groundspeak as it is a legacy cache. Webcam caches are a category at Waymarking.com. A type of virtual cache that typically consists of a set of 5 waypoints, with each waypoint counting as a "cache find". The waypoints usually have an overall theme such showcasing the history of a small town and are often created as

12208-411: Was a black plastic bucket that was partially buried and contained various items, such as software, videos, books, money, a can of beans , and a slingshot . The geocache and most of its contents were eventually destroyed by a lawn mower , but the can of beans was the only item salvaged and was later turned into a trackable item known as the "Original Can of Beans". Another geocache and plaque, called

12320-401: Was originally intended to be a laboratory, observatory, and factory while providing transportation, maintenance, and a low Earth orbit staging base for possible future missions to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. However, not all of the uses envisioned in the initial memorandum of understanding between NASA and Roscosmos have been realised. In the 2010 United States National Space Policy ,

12432-403: Was possible to create a challenge cache to find 10 caches that have a food item in the title. Under current guidelines, this is no longer allowed because it restricts geocachers to find specific geocaches. Instead, Groundspeak has encouraged new challenges to be more creative. Acceptable challenges include finding caches in 10 states, finding 100 traditional geocaches, or finding 1000 geocaches with

12544-550: Was the Skylab-Salyut Space Laboratory, which proposed docking the Skylab B to a Soviet Salyut space station. Falling budgets and rising Cold War tensions in the late 1970s saw these concepts fall by the wayside, along with another plan to have the Space Shuttle dock with a Salyut space station. In the early 1980s, NASA planned to launch a modular space station called Freedom as a counterpart to

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