While working in the most hazardous environments known to humankind, it’s vital that intrepid astronauts and brave galactic voyagers not only have the skills, training and courage to execute their mission objectives in extreme conditions, but they should also look darn good while doing it! The sci-fi gaming world is well aware of this universal maxim and has always had its fair share of awesome spacesuit designs as seen in popular video game titles like “Starfield,” “Mass Effect,” “Halo,” “Destiny,” “Dead Space,” “Gears of War,” and countless others featuring…
Read MoreEndeavour lifted onto space shuttle stack for California Science Center exhibit
A complete space shuttle is standing upright for the first time in more than a decade. Overnight Monday into the early hours of Tuesday (Jan. 29-30), two large cranes carefully lifted NASA’s retired winged orbiter Endeavour off a Los Angeles side street into the air and then lowered it onto an already-standing external tank with twin solid rocket boosters. The stacking process, which was commonly done to prepare for launches when the space shuttle program was active, was carried out this last time to erect Endeavour’s display in the still…
Read MoreBioNutrients: A Five-Year Experiment in Space Nears Completion
Research scientists Sandra Vu, left, Natalie Ball, center, and Hiromi Kagawa, right, process BioNutrients production packs. NASA/Brandon Torres NASA’s bio-manufacturing experiment called BioNutrients is testing a way to use microorganisms to produce on-demand nutrients that will be critical for human health during future long-duration space missions. Launched to the International Space Station in 2019, the experiment assesses the stability and performance of a hand-held system – dubbed a production pack – to manufacture fresh vitamins and other nutrients in space over a five-year span. About once a year, scientists at NASA’s Ames…
Read MoreStation Science 101: Epigenetics Research in Space
A growing body of research suggests a link between epigenetic mechanisms and a wide variety of illnesses and behaviors, including cancer, cardiovascular and autoimmune illnesses, and cognitive dysfunction. Epigenetics also plays a role in the changes humans and other living things experience in space. This phenomenon has become part of studies in a wide variety of fields, including microgravity research conducted aboard the International Space Station. So just what is epigenetics? According to a paper from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, it includes any process that alters gene…
Read MoreAre they exomoons or not? Scientists debate existence of 1st moons seen beyond our solar system
Astronomers always knew spotting moons around planets outside the solar system would be no mean feat — but a debate currently raging in planetary science circles shows just how tough detecting these so-called exomoons is going to be. The story begins in 2018, when astronomers including David Kipping, an assistant professor of astronomy at Columbia University, believed they’d made their first detection of an exomoon. The subject was found around exoplanet Kepler-1625b, a Jupiter-like world located around 8,000 light years from Earth. It was initially spotted with the Kepler Space…
Read MoreHubble Spies a Spinning Spiral
2 min read Hubble Spies a Spinning Spiral This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the face-on spiral and Seyfert galaxy, ESO 420-G013. NASA/ESA/A. Evans (University of Virginia)/Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Looking like a baseball lobbed into the depths of the universe, ESO 420-G013 is a face-on spiral galaxy and a Seyfert galaxy. Dark lanes of dust are visible against the background glow of the galaxy’s many stars. About 10 percent of all the galaxies in the universe are thought to be Seyfert galaxies. They are…
Read MoreNASA Space Tech Spinoffs Benefit Earth Medicine, Moon to Mars Tools
Squishy Robotics’ Tensegrity Sensor Robots help first responders determine their approach to a disaster scene. Firefighters used the robots during a subway attack exercise at the 2021 Unmanned Tactical Application Conference to detect gas leaks and other hazards. Credits: FLYMOTION LLC As NASA innovates for the benefit of all, what the agency develops for exploration has the potential to evolve into other technologies with broader use here on Earth. Many of those examples are highlighted in NASA’s annual Spinoff book including dozens of NASA-enabled medical innovations, as well other advancements.…
Read MoreA New Home for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Prototype
The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, in Chantilly, Va. The prototype, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was donated to the museum on Friday.
Read More1st gravitational wave detector in space ‘LISA’ will hunt for ripples in spacetime
Humanity’s first space-based gravitational wave detector has received the go-ahead. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, which consists of three spacecraft that together form a single gravitational wave detector, is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). It’s set to launch in the mid-2030s. The adoption of LISA was announced by ESA on Jan. 25, and recognizes that the mission concept and associated technology are sufficiently advanced. Getting the green light means scientists can start building the spacecraft as well as its required instruments; work will…
Read MoreAxiom Space Tests Lunar Spacesuit at NASA’s Johnson Space Center
An Axiom Space engineer wearing the AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) spacesuit kneels to collect simulated lunar samples using a scoop during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Axiom Space As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency is working to land astronauts on the lunar surface during Artemis III, laying the groundwork for a long-term human presence at the Moon for the benefit of all. When the Artemis astronauts take their first steps near the South Pole of the Moon, they will be wearing a spacesuit developed by Axiom Space. In…
Read More