Browsing: International Space Station

Space offers incredibly fascinating experimental conditions for various scientific studies, otherwise very hard or practically impossible to replicate on Earth. Microgravity is something of great interest to scientists, and even simple experiments with fire are extremely insightful. Combustion in space occurs at much lower temperatures and with a lower amount of required oxygen, and to […]

Baseball is typically a team sport, but for innovative scientists like the ones staged at the International Space Station, there aren’t such things as rules; maybe just the laws of physics. During his six month stay on the International Space Station (ISS), 47-year-old Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa decided to kill time by indulging himself into one of […]

Earlier this morning, the Soyuz spacecraft successfully containing three excited new members for the ISS docked, thus bringing the space station to full effectiveness. Dan Burbank from the US and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin are the new people lucky enough to be on the International Space Station for the next for months. […]

Almost one year and a half ago six volunteers embarked on a fictive mission to Mars, designed to simulate the harsh conditions of interplanetary travel and isolation from the rest of the world. Today, November 4th, the team composed of volunteers from Europe, Russia and China is set to end their mission, hypothetically land back […]

If the Americans and NASA are having some issues regarding their space program at the moment, the Russians are doing just fine; recently an unmanned Russian Progress cargo ship loaded with 2.9 tons of supplies and equipment traveled and docked the International Space Station without any notable incidents or accidents. “Capture. We have indicator mode,” […]

Back in 2008, the Japanese Kaguya spacecraft made a fascinating discovery when it found a metres-deep cave in the Sea of Tranquility. Amazed by the find, NASA had its orbiting Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) to have in the depth scan of the area, which came back with high res images, like the one above. Scientists believe […]

After hurricane Irene, the wildfires ravaging through texas are also visible for astronauts on the International Space Station, as these new pictures sent by them reveal. It was especially sad for NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, because Bastrop State Park, one of the damaged areas, is a favorite spot of his. He specifically asked to be […]

A few days ago we were telling you about the possibility of the International Space Station being temporarily evacuated, given the recent failures of the Russian Soyuz spacecrafts. NASA International Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffred says evacuation is a certain possibility if the Soyuz rockets don’t fix their problems until then, which is very […]

Following the recent failed launch of an unmanned vehicle in a three stage Soyuz rocket this past Wednesday, the International Space Station might become temporarily devoid of its crew by November, if NASA, who is in charge of the outpost, doesn’t deem the Russian spacecraft fit anymore to transport astronauts. A Soyuz rocket  crashed Wednesday […]

I was lucky enough this weekend to be away from the city and at an altitude of about 1800m, deep in the mountain side. The rare, clean atmosphere allowed for an uncanny view of the night sky, at least for an urbanite as myself, filled with the most distinguishable stellar bodies I’ve ever been granted […]