Tag: Missions

NASA tests cellphone-sized underwater robots for future ocean world missions (video)

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A swarm of tiny robots destined to search for life on a faraway moon recently began its journey in a swimming pool here on Earth. The SWIM robots — short for Sensing With Independent Microswimmers — demonstrated impressive maneuverability during recent tests in the swimming pool at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Pushed along by propellers, the miniature, wedge-shaped robots steered themselves to stay on course, executed a back-and-forth “lawnmower” pattern, and even spelled out “J-P-L,” according to a NASA statement.   Designed to one day search for evidence…

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How a mini-team of NASA archivists is restoring astronomical history

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Precious data from space missions, going back decades, is being carefully restored and archived by scientists at NASA’s Space Science Date Coordinated Archive, allowing researchers today to make new discoveries by delving into the history books. “What’s surprising is how much of this information is either lost or at least not in a condition that anybody can use it in,” planetary scientist David Williams of the National Space Science Data Center Archive (NSSDCA) told Space.com. “We’ve got tons of photography, reels of film from various missions, a lot of microfilm…

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SpaceX’s Starship will fly Lunar Outpost’s rover to the moon

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SpaceX’s Starship megarocket just added another moon mission to its docket. Colorado company Lunar Outpost announced today (Nov. 21) that it has chosen Starship to launch its new moon rover, known as Eagle, and land the wheeled vehicle on the lunar surface. The news comes two days after the 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship flew for the sixth time ever, on a suborbital test flight from Texas that achieved all of its main objectives. “Having experienced the recent groundbreaking Starship test flight firsthand, we’re confident that SpaceX is advancing the most…

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Will astronauts need to be rescued from the moon? NASA wants to be prepared just in case

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NASA wants ideas on how to create emergency response plans for future missions to the moon. The space agency’s South Pole Safety challenge focuses on the development of innovative solutions for a compact, efficient system that astronauts can use in the event of an emergency during extravehicular activities (EVAs) on the lunar surface. Participants are asked to submit technical design concepts that could be adapted for NASA’s Artemis program. “If an astronaut crew member becomes incapacitated during a mission, the ability to return them safely and promptly to the human…

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Shooting for the Stars: NASA Lights Up the Court at Toyota Center 

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On Nov. 6, 2024, NASA Night brought cosmic excitement to the Toyota Center, where Johnson Space Center employees joined 16,208 fans who interacted with NASA as they watched the Houston Rockets claim victory over the San Antonio Spurs.  Energy soared as International Space Station Program Manager Dana Weigel stepped up to take the first shot.  International Space Station Program Manager Dana Weigel takes the first shot on Nov. 6, 2024, as the Houston Rockets go up against the San Antonio Spurs at Toyota Center. NASA/Helen Arase Vargas The ceremonial first…

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Station Science Top News: Nov. 15, 2024

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Anthocyanins protect seeds in space After exposure to space outside the International Space Station, purple-pigmented rice seeds rich in anthocyanin had higher germination rates than non-pigmented white rice seeds. This result suggests that anthocyanin, a flavonoid known to protect plants from UV irradiation, could help preserve seed viability on future space missions. Plants are key components for systems being designed to produce nutrients and recycle carbon for future sustained space habitation, but space has been shown to reduce seed viability. Tanpopo-3, part of a series of investigations from JAXA (Japan…

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NASA dealing with aging ISS and spacewalk hardware: ‘None of our spacesuits are spring chickens’

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The commander of SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronaut mission says that NASA continues to prioritize safety while co-managing an aging space station. The International Space Station (ISS) and the spacesuit that spacewalking NASA astronauts wear, known as the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), are both decades old. And it’s the age of this hardware that has led to issues with both recently, NASA astronaut and Crew-8 commander Matthew Dominick told reporters on Friday (Nov. 8). “None of our spacesuits are spring chickens, as we would say, and so we will expect to see…

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Station Science Top News: Nov. 8, 2024

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Researchers demonstrated the feasibility of 3D bioprinting a meniscus or knee cartilage tissue in microgravity. This successful result advances technology for bioprinting tissue to treat musculoskeletal injuries on long-term spaceflight or in extraterrestrial settings where resources and supply capacities are limited. BFF Meniscus-2 evaluated using the BioFabrication Facility to 3D print knee cartilage tissue using bioinks and cells. The meniscus is the first engineered tissue of an anatomically relevant shape printed on the station. Manufactured human tissues have potential as alternatives to donor organs, which are in short supply. Bioprinting…

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NASA still mum about SpaceX Crew-8 astronaut’s medical issue

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NASA is not yet ready to tell us why one of its astronauts was hospitalized shortly after returning to Earth last month. That astronaut was one of the four members of SpaceX‘s Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which ended with a splashdown off the coast of Florida on Oct. 25. Everything appeared to go well with the landing. Shortly thereafter, however, all four astronauts — NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, and Alexander Grebenkin of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos — were taken to a Florida hospital for…

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Beyond the Console: Kenneth Attocknie’s Mission to Bridge Cultures at NASA

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From the Mission Control Center to community celebrations, Kenneth Attocknie blends safety expertise with a commitment to cultural connection.  For the past 25 years at NASA, Attocknie has dedicated his career to safeguarding the International Space Station and supporting real-time mission operations at Johnson Space Center in Houston.   As a principal safety engineer in the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate, Attocknie ensures the safe operation of the space station’s environmental control and life support system. This system is vital for maintaining the life-sustaining environment aboard the orbiting laboratory— a critical…

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