Tag: Physical Sciences

NASA Sends More Science to Space, More Strides for Future Exploration

NeRD

New experiments aboard NASA’s Northrop Grumman 21st cargo resupply mission aim to pioneer scientific discoveries in microgravity on the International Space Station. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, filled with nearly 8,500 pounds of supplies, launched Aug. 4 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Biological and physical investigations aboard the spacecraft included experiments studying the impacts of microgravity on plants (grass), how packed bed reactors could improve water purification both in space and on Earth, and observations on new…

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NASA’s Cold Atom Lab Sets Stage for Quantum Chemistry in Space

NeRD

7 min read NASA’s Cold Atom Lab Sets Stage for Quantum Chemistry in Space This animation depicts six finely tuned lasers used inside NASA’s Cold Atom Lab to slow down atoms, lowering their temperature. Scientists can now use the lab to see how different types of atoms interact with each other at these cold temperatures. NASA/JPL-Caltech The remotely operated facility aboard the International Space Station has created another tool that researchers can use to probe the fundamental nature of the world around us. For the first time in space, scientists…

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Investigations launching aboard SpaceX-29 will help humans go farther and stay longer in space

NeRD

The SpaceX-29 commercial resupply spacecraft will deliver numerous physical sciences and space biology experiments, along with other cargo, to the International Space Station. The research aboard this resupply services mission will help researchers learn how humans, and the plants needed to sustain them, can thrive in deep space. The biological and physical sciences investigations headed to the Space Station are: Plant Water Management-5 and 6 (PWM-5 and 6) NASA has grown plants on the Space Station even without the help of gravity. But microgravity does present challenges and affects Space…

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