Want Pizza? Don't Call the International Space Station

If the president of the United States wants pizza, you'd think someone could get him a slice.

President Barack Obama used that most American of experiences as his opening line when he spoke Friday morning to the crew members of STS-135 Atlantis and the International Space Station.

"That's funny, because I was just dialing out for pizza and I didn't expect to end up in space," Obama quipped.

But in addition to their brief conversation with the president, the four-member crew of the Atlantis and the six-members of the ISS teleconferenced into the various NASA sites, including Ames Research Center for a press conference.

The video of the event will be archived and available on NASA TV.

A variety of experiments created at Ames arrived at the ISS with Atlantis and included some that will help develop an understanding of how robots can help humans live and work in space.

Other experiments will look at the affects of space travel on humans bones, cells, yeast and plants. 

Several smartphone related technologies will study the usefulness of robots and how they can support future missions.

Also, experiments with water will be done to see if dirty water, that is, sweat and urine, can be converted, cleaned up and made safe to drink.

Space Shuttle Atlantis, in its final mission, will remain in space one extra day. It is now expected back on July 21.