Medicine & TechnologyWhile NASA already knows many of the affects on the human body while in space, when astronaut Scott Kelly launches for the beginning of his year long mission at the International Space Station, he has one long-range goal on his mind.
There is nothing like coming home after a long day at work or even after a nice long trip. What this means for most of us is a car ride or plane trip home. While these journeys may seem long and sometimes even tedious, it is nothing compared to the return home of an astronaut from space.
Should the vapors be cause for concern? Well it certainly has been a question that has crossed NASA and the astronauts’ aboard the International Space Station minds. Since the snafu on Wednesday, Feb. 25, when a routine spacewalk led to water leaking into space station flight engineer Terry Virts’ helmet, the team has been buzzing with news of whether or not they will be cleared to walk again this weekend.
How’d you spend your weekend? Bet you didn’t have as great of a time as NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who clocked a couple of hours this Saturday, Feb. 21, in the void of space. While Virts and his colleague Barry Wilmore have been aboard the International Space Station for a couple of months now, the duo spent their weekend commemorating their first spacewalk with a collage of space selfies, posted on their Twitters.
Scott and Mark Kelly, identical twin brothers and astronauts for NASA are participating in a new study that is the first of its kind. The study will look at the effects of long-term space missions on the human body, with the hopes of gaining insights on what will happen to humans on a mission to Mars.
Astronauts on the U.S. side of the International Space Station had quite a scare today after an apparent false alarm raised concerns about an ammonia leak on that side of the station; forcing a partial evacuation.
Knowing the waste associated with space exploration, the millions of dollars invested in early flight stages merely shelled off into space, private-sector rocket company SpaceX has decided to rework how the space exploration game is played. Developing reusable pieces, that if brought back with a spacecraft could be used on yet another mission, the company not only intends to change their role in the rocket industry, but the way our tax dollars are spent as well.
In terms of discoveries and technological advancements, 2014 marked an important year for NASA. In fact the US space agency made huge strides towards its goal of sending astronauts to Mars. And these achievements were reached through a combination of front-line testing and scientific findings, while at the same time examining our own planet and the vast universe around it.
Christmas is a time of the year when we can all gather around a warm, natural gas fed fire and talk about what we've all been up-to this past year. But, if you're in space, a fire probably isn't a good idea.
The launch of the Antares rocket carrying supplies and scientific equipment to the International Space Station was rescheduled from Monday evening to Tuesday evening due to a wayward sailboat entered the restricted zone underneath the rocket's flight path. The launch is now scheduled to 6:22 p.m. ET on Tuesday night.
Elon Musk's SpaceX keeps on completing milestones on its way to building that city on Mars ASAP, but first it must prove it can handle reliably traveling to somewhere much closer: the International Space Station, currently orbiting Earth.