International Space Station – Page 5

International Space Station astronauts show off creative outfits for Halloween

October 31, 2023 NeRD

The International Space Station crew dressed up in Halloween costumes one day ahead of their next spacewalk. The four astronauts working in the U.S. segment posed, trick-or-treating style, with costumes in the Japanese Kibo module of the International Space Station on Wednesday (Oct. 31). Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency posted the costumes on X (formerly Twitter) and invited the audience to guess what the crew is wearing. Two of the astronauts, NASA’s Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, will then don very different outfits — spacesuits — on Thursday…

Record-setting NASA astronaut lands with Russian crewmates after 1 year on space station

September 27, 2023 NeRD

The first American to spend a full year in space and the first two Russians to do the same on the International Space Station (ISS) have landed safely back on Earth. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of the Russian federal space corporation Roscosmos returned from the space station aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on Wednesday (Sept. 27). Their touchdown at 7:17 a.m. EDT (1117 GMT or 5:14 p.m. local time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan ended an extended 371-day stay in space for all…

Heating and cooling space habitats isn’t easy – one engineering team is developing a lighter, more efficient solution

September 25, 2023 NeRD

China, India and the U.S. have all achieved landing on the Moon in the 2020s. Once there, their eventual goal is to set up a base. But a successful base – along with the spacecraft that will carry people to it – must be habitable for humans. And a big part of creating a habitable base is making sure the heating and cooling systems work. That’s especially true because the ambient temperature of potential places for a base can vary widely. Lunar equatorial temperatures can range from minus 208 to 250 degrees Farenheit (minus 130 to 120…

Spending time in space can harm the human body — but scientists are working to mitigate these risks before sending people to Mars

September 24, 2023 NeRD

When 17 people were in orbit around the Earth all at the same time on May 30, 2023, it set a record. With NASA and other federal space agencies planning more manned missions and commercial companies bringing people to space, opportunities for human space travel are rapidly expanding. However, traveling to space poses risks to the human body. Since NASA wants to send a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s, scientists need to find solutions for these hazards sooner rather than later. As a kinesiologist who works with astronauts, I’ve spent years studying the…

After 1 year in space, what’s next for an astronaut? ‘Peace and quiet’ on Earth, Frank Rubio says (video)

September 20, 2023 NeRD

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is about to do what no other American has done before: Celebrate an entire year in space. The record-breaking NASA astronaut spoke to reporters from the International Space Station on Tuesday (Sept. 19), just two days ahead of the 365-day mark for his current mission. The Salvadoran-American physician, born in Los Angeles, also paid tribute to the mentors in the military and at NASA that helped him reach space. “You have the opportunity to work with a tremendous breadth of great individuals (in the military), and…

What’s Next After the International Space Station?

December 7, 2021 NeRD

NASA will end support for the International Space Station by 2030, transitioning low-Earth orbit to commercial operations. The post What's Next After the International Space Station? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.