Tag: ISS Research

Climate Change Research

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6 Min Read Climate Change Research The Kibo laboratory module from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (comprised of a pressurized module and exposed facility, a logistics module, a remote manipulator system and an inter-orbit communication system unit) pictured as the International Space Station orbits over the southern Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand. Credits: NASA Science in Space: April 2024 Everyone on Earth is touched by the effects of climate change, such as hotter temperatures, shifts in rain patterns, and sea level rise. Collecting climate data helps communities better plan…

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Astronauts To Patch Up NASA’s NICER Telescope

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4 min read Astronauts To Patch Up NASA’s NICER Telescope NASA is planning to repair NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, during a spacewalk later this year. It will be the fourth science observatory in orbit serviced by astronauts. In May 2023, scientists discovered that NICER had developed a “light leak.” Unwanted sunlight was entering the instrument and reaching the telescope’s sensitive detectors. While the team took immediate steps to mitigate the impact on observations, they also began thinking about a potential…

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NASA to Host a Pair of Briefings for Starliner Crew Flight

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NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare for their mission in the company’s Starliner spacecraft simulator at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credits: NASA/Robert Markowitz NASA will host two media opportunities on Thursday, April 25, in preparation for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. The mission is targeting launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will lift…

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NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara to Discuss Space Station Mission

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NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara is pictured inside the cupola aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA After spending six-and-a-half-months aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara will participate in a news conference at 10:45 a.m. EDT Monday, April 15, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The news conference will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. Media interested in participating in person must contact the…

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NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara, Crewmates Return from Space Station

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Expedition 70 NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara gives a thumbs up inside the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft after she, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya, landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Saturday, April 6, 2024. O’Hara is returning to Earth after logging 204 days in space as a member of Expeditions 69-70 aboard the International Space Station and Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya return after having spent the last 14 days in space. NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara returned to Earth after a six-month…

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NASA Sets Coverage for Astronaut Loral O’Hara, Crewmates Return

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NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara uses a portable glovebag to replace components on a biological printer, the BioFabrication Facility (BFF), that is testing the printing of organ-like tissues in microgravity. NASA Three crew members are scheduled to begin their return to Earth on Friday, April 5, from the International Space Station. NASA will provide live coverage of their departure from the orbital complex and landing. NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus will depart from the station’s Rassvet…

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NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara, Expedition 70 Science Highlights

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara is returning home after six months aboard the International Space Station. During her time on the orbiting laboratory, O’Hara contributed to dozens of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to prepare for future space exploration missions and generate innovations and benefits for humanity on Earth. Here is a look at some of the scientific activities O’Hara conducted during her mission: Biking for Better Health NASA NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara is among the first astronauts participating in…

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NASA Astronaut Don Pettit to Conduct Science During Fourth Mission

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NASA astronaut Don Pettit poses for a crew portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. NASA During his fourth mission to the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit will serve as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 71/72 crew. After blasting off to space, Pettit will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare crew for future space missions. Pettit will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft in September 2024, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The trio will spend approximately six…

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Optical Fiber Production

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Science in Space: March 2024 Optical fibers are used on Earth and in space for applications in medicine, defense, cybersecurity, and telecommunications. Parabolic research showed that optical fibers produced in microgravity can be higher quality than those made in normal gravity, and the International Space Station provides a potential platform for commercial production of these fibers. The Production of Flawless Space Fiber (Flawless Space Fibers-1) investigation is using the space station to demonstrate new manufacturing technology developed by Flawless Photonics to improve the quality and length of optical fiber produced…

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International Space Station welcomes biological and physical science experiments

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3 min read International Space Station welcomes biological and physical science experiments NASA is sending several biological and physical sciences experiments and equipment aboard SpaceX’s 30th commercial resupply services mission. Studying biological and physical phenomena under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth. Not only can these experiments provide pioneering scientific discovery – they enable sustainable deep space exploration and support transformative engineering. The commercial resupply launch took place Thursday, March 21,…

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