Category: Space Stations

Space stations in orbit or planned

NASA’s Mars exploration plans need ‘paradigm shifts’ to succeed, report finds

NeRD

NASA has released a new document that highlights planned programmatic paradigm shifts in Mars exploration over the next 20 years. This plan was prepared for the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Mars Exploration Program (MEP). The report is titled “Expanding the Horizons of Mars Science: A Plan for a Sustainable Science Program at Mars — Mars Exploration Program 2024-2044.” Core questions Highlighted in the document are several “paradigm shift” prospects to further address several core questions, which include: You may like How has the habitability of Mars evolved over the history…

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‘SALLY’ at Sundance: NatGeo film to reveal ‘hidden love’ of 1st US woman in space

NeRD

A new documentary about the life and love of America’s first woman in space will premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. “SALLY,” from National Geographic and director Cristina Costantini, reveals the legacy of NASA astronaut Sally Ride. Featuring archival footage filmed both on the ground and in space, along with new interviews with Ride’s close friends and colleagues, the documentary allows access to the “real Ride,” who struggled with the “limits and sacrifices true heroism demands.” “‘SALLY’ is the story of pioneering astronaut Sally Ride, who was the first…

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‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ brings back fan-favorite characters for ‘Multiverse of Madness’-style hijinks in latest episode

NeRD

Ever wondered what happened to Bradward Boimler’s transporter duplicate? We already knew his death was faked by Section 31 and now we know the reason why: he’s leaping between multiverses as if he’s Doctor Strange, trying to stop whatever — or whoever — is tearing rifts between dimensions. And who else to accompany him on this mission but a crack team of operatives plucked from previous “Star Trek”s, alternative universe duplicates who bring their own unique set of skills to the job in hand. “Fissure Quest” is the latest super-smart…

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What causes volcanic eruptions on Jupiter’s moon Io? Scientists aren’t so sure anymore

NeRD

Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io doesn’t appear to have a subsurface ocean of magma, resolving some issues about how Io’s volcanoes erupt and raising broader questions about similar magma oceans within other moons and planets. Data from previous missions had made planetary scientists wonder whether, rather than just pockets of melt, Io contained a 31-mile (50-kilometer) deep layer of magma: a moon-wide ocean of molten rock. In the 1990s, NASA’s Galileo mission performed magnetic induction measurements that suggested there was such a layer, while more recently, the distribution of volcanoes on…

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Science Photo Album Showcases Space Station Research in 2024

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NASA Astronauts (from left) Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Loral O’Hara take photographs of Earth from inside the cupola aboard space station. Credit: NASA That’s a wrap! Astronauts aboard the International Space Station conducted hundreds of science experiments and technology demonstrations during 2024. Crew members participated in research across a variety of scientific disciplines and accomplished milestones demonstrating benefits for future missions and humanity back on Earth. Their work included snapping thousands of images of Earth to understand our planet’s changing landscape, bioprinting cardiac tissues to validate technology for organ…

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‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ episode 3: What’s Jod Na Nawood’s true identity?

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Skeleton Crew, the latest live-action Star Wars show on Disney Plus, debuted last week with a pretty fun and uncomplicated two-episode premiere. In its third chapter, we get to venture further into a swashbuckling adventure full of scallywags and alien locales. But, more surprisingly, we also obtain more answers than we’d expected this early on. Some might take this as a sign of co-creators and writers Jon Watts and Christopher Ford not really knowing what to do with the mysteries they’d set up, but it’s quite obvious they’re toying with…

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2 huge asteroid strikes 36 million years ago didn’t change Earth’s climate over the long haul, study finds

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Two enormous asteroids that struck Earth about 36 million years ago did not cause any long-lasting shifts to our planet’s climate, according to new research. The space rocks, both estimated to be no larger than 5 miles (8 kilometers) wide, impacted Earth within 25,000 years of each other. Geologically speaking, that’s a relatively short period of time, offering scientists a unique opportunity to study how our planet’s climate responded to such an onslaught. Isotopes in the fossils of tiny marine organisms that lived at the time suggest that Earth’s climate…

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‘MechWarrior 5: Clans’ offers the stompy robot fights you expect, and a surprisingly strong story that you probably don’t

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MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries firmly ranks among the best mech games of all time, but at a glance, it’s also a daunting proposition for casual gamers. With the follow-up, MechWarrior 5: Clans, Piranha Games has sought to make a more accessible sequel to serve as an onboarding ramp into the BattleTech universe. What’s the BattleTech universe anyway? Launched in 1984 by FASA Corporation, it’s become a franchise that spans the original wargame, several board games, role-playing games, collectible card games, more than 100 novels (yes, really), an animated TV series, and…

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Space Meets Sound: NASA Lands in 2024 Spotify Wrapped

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NASA’s podcasts let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth. Credit: NASA NASA’s audio storytelling reached new frontiers in 2024, with Spotify Wrapped revealing the agency’s podcasts as a favorite among listeners worldwide. In celebration of the milestone, NASA astronaut Nick Hague spoke with Spotify about what space sounded like this year. “Music is one of those things that connects us to the planet,” said Hague, in the video released on Spotify and NASA social accounts. “Music is a vital part of life up here. The…

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NASA tests high-tech software for future mission to search for life on Jupiter’s moon Europa

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Artificial intelligence is being developed to provide a robotic brain for a future NASA mission to land on the icy surface of one of the solar system’s ocean moons, such as Europa or Enceladus. The autonomous software is being developed by teams of researchers who are making use of a robotic arm, mimicking that belonging to a lander or rover, and a virtual reality simulation at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Ames Research Center, respectively. Imagine that you’re a robotic lander designed to study Jupiter‘s moon Europa, which hosts…

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