In microgravity, without the continuous load of Earth’s gravity, the tissues that make up bones reshape themselves. Bone cells readjust their behaviors—the cells that build new bone slow down, while the cells that break down old or damaged bone tissue keep operating at their normal pace so that breakdown outpaces growth, producing weaker and more brittle bones. For every month in space, astronauts’ weight-bearing bones become roughly 1% less dense if they don’t take precautions to counter this loss. Muscles, usually activated by simply moving around on Earth, also weaken…
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NASA Conducts Annual Moon to Mars Architecture Concept Review
Architecture Concept Review attendees listen to welcome remarks from NASA leadership on Nov. 14, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Attendees included representatives from all of NASA’s centers, leaders from all of NASA’s mission directorates, various technical authorities, and other stakeholders across the agency. NASA/Kim Shifflett NASA hosted its second annual Architecture Concept Review in mid-November, bringing together leaders from across the agency to discuss progress on and updates to NASA’s Moon to Mars architecture since NASA released outcomes from its first such review in April. As NASA…
Read MoreArtemis II Crew Signs NASA Moon Rocket Hardware at Marshall
NASA/Charles Beason Artemis II NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch of NASA, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen signed the Orion stage adapter for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Nov. 27. The hardware is the topmost portion of the SLS rocket that they will launch atop during Artemis II when the four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft will venture around the Moon. From left, Artemis II astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid…
Read MoreNASA Releases Its First International Space Station Tour in Spanish
Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. Record-breaking NASA astronaut Frank Rubio provides the agency’s first Spanish-language video tour of humanity’s home in space – the International Space Station. Rubio welcomes the public aboard the microgravity science laboratory in a behind-the-scenes look at living and working in space recorded during his 371-day mission aboard the space station, the longest single spaceflight in history by an American. The station tour is available to watch on the agency’s NASA+ streaming platform, NASA app, NASA Television, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Continuously…
Read MoreScience on Station: November 2023
7 min read Science on Station: November 2023 Inspiring Students with Ham Radio, Other Educational Programs As an orbiting microgravity laboratory, the International Space Station hosts experiments from almost every scientific field. It also is home to educational programs to encourage young people worldwide to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These programs aim to inspire the next generation of space scientists and explorers and experts who can solve problems facing people on Earth. The first and longest running educational outreach program on the space station is ISS Ham…
Read MoreNASA to Talk Science Highlights of First Artemis Robotic Moon Landing
Teams with Astrobotic install the NASA meatball decal on Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA/Isaac Watson NASA will host a What’s on Board media teleconference at 2 p.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 29, to discuss the science payloads flying aboard the first commercial robotic flight to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative under the Artemis program. Carrying NASA and commercial payloads to the Moon, Astrobotic…
Read MoreCelebrating Astronaut Alan Shepard’s 100th Birthday
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., attired in his Mercury pressure suit, poses for a photo on May 5, 1961, prior to his launch in a Mercury-Redstone 3 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral on a suborbital mission – the first U.S. manned spaceflight. NASA Born barely 20 years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight, Alan Shepard grew up to fly combat missions in World War II, test multiple new aircraft, become the first American in space, and ultimately hit the first golf shot on the Moon. Born on Nov. 18, 1923, Shepard…
Read MoreArtemis II Astronauts View SLS Core Stage at Michoud
NASA / Michael DeMocker Artemis II NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch of NASA, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen view the core stage for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Nov. 16. The three astronauts, along with NASA’s Victor Glover, will launch atop the rocket stage to venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed flight for Artemis. The SLS core stage, towering at 212 feet, is the backbone of the Moon rocket and includes…
Read MoreNASA Astronaut to Speak with Florida Students from Space Station
NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli replaces cables on the advanced resistive exercise device inside the International Space Station’s Tranquility module. Students from the Creative Learning Academy in Pensacola, Florida, will have an opportunity this week to hear from a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station. The space-to-Earth call will air live at 9:30 a.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 15. Watch the NASA+ streaming service at no cost on demand. The briefing also will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream…
Read MoreNASA, International Astronauts to Speak with Tennessee Students
(Oct. 3, 2023) — Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) assists NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli as she dons her spacesuit and tests its components in the Quest airlock in preparation for an upcoming International Space Station spacewalk. Credits: NASA Students from Brighton Elementary School in Brighton, Tennessee, will have an opportunity this week to hear from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The space-to-Earth call will air live at 11:45 a.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 8, on NASA Television, the NASA app,…
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