Last week, the Curiosity rover detected its largest yet measurement of methane. It’s exciting because microbial life is an important source of methane on Earth, though it can also be created in other ways. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/unusually-high-methane-levels-detected-mars…
Tag: Spaceflight
Spaceship Concordia
Science for the benefit of space exploration does not only happen off planet. While some studies require the weightless isolation of the International Space Station, another location provides the right conditions for investigating the consequences of spaceflight, and it is right here on Earth. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-06-spaceship-concordia.html…
AR Recreation of Apollo 11 Mission in Celebration of 50th Anniversary of Moon Landing
edX and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library have partnered to bring an exciting experience to the edX community. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library is launching the JFK Moonshot, a first-of-its-kind augmented reality app experience. From July 16th to the 20th, the app will provide users anywhere in the…
How NASA prepares spacecraft for the harsh radiation of space
In a small, square room walled by four feet of concrete, the air smells as if a lightning storm just passed through—crisp and acrid, like cleaning supplies. Outside, that’s the smell of lightning ripping apart oxygen in the air, which readily reshuffles into ozone. But belowground in one of the rooms at NASA’s Radiation Effects Facility, the smell of ozone lingers…
Lunar gold rush is about to start—and we could exhaust the solar system in less than 500 years
The US president, Donald Trump, has stuck to his plan to send humans back to the moon in the next five years, recently giving the project a US$1.6 billion shot in the arm. Whether he succeeds or not, the first successful landing on the lunar far side by China, the European Space Agency’s recent “lunar village” concept and a myriad of…
Space travel and your joints
A novel Henry Ford Hospital study of mice aboard a Russian spaceflight may raise an intriguing question for the astronauts of tomorrow: Could traveling in space be bad for your joints? Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-05-space-joints.html…
Lightsail 2 set to launch in June
“We are go for launch!” said Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye. Funded by space enthusiasts, LightSail 2 aims to accomplish the 1st-ever, controlled solar sail flight in Earth orbit next month. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/lightsail-2-1st-controlled-solar-sail-flight…
Building better life support systems for future space travel
Astronauts on future long-duration spaceflight missions to the Moon and Mars could rely on microalgae to supply essentials including food, water and oxygen. A new investigation aboard the International Space Station tests using the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris as a biological component of a hybrid life support system (LSS). Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-05-life-future-space.html…
‘It Feels Awesome’: NASA Astronaut Learns She Will Spend Record-Breaking 328 Days in Space
Christina Koch has spent the past month orbiting Earth aboard the International Station. Earlier today, the NASA astronaut learned she won’t be coming home for another 10 months. Her prolonged stay—at an estimated 328 days—will establish a new record for the longest spaceflight completed by a woman.Read more…Source: https://gizmodo.com/it-feels-awesome-nasa-astronaut-learns-she-will-spend-1834118108…
Male scientists are often cast as lone geniuses. Here’s what happened when a woman was.
The sexist backlash against the woman involved with the black hole image, explained. Just after the Event Horizon Telescope project announced last week that its astronomers had managed to capture the first-ever image of a black hole, MIT tweeted this image. Here’s the moment when the first black hole image was processed, from the eyes… Continue reading Male scientists are often cast as lone geniuses. Here’s what happened when a woman was.