Asteroids, which are typically found between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt of our solar system, can sometimes become nudged out of their typical orbit because of the gravitational forces at work throughout our solar system. At times, some of these space rocks and other Near Earth Objects (NEOs) strike the Earth, but usually they will miss the Earth and head in another direction or hit another object in space instead. For the ones that do come our way, our atmosphere does a pretty good job of keeping the smaller space rocks at bay. But how about the space rocks that head towards the Sun? Are they destroyed on impact, or much sooner? We’ve known for a long time that the intense heat of the Sun has the power to essentially vaporize objects that get too close to it, but new research suggests that could actually be destroyed from the intense heat when they’re much further away from the Sun than originally thought. Published in the journal Nature, researchers went on with a project to create a model of NEOs in our solar system. Interestingly, the amount of NEOs found in space was less than the amount of NEOs predicted to be found, which means they were going somewhere. The models depicted some of the NEOs being relatively close to the Sun – within 10 solar distances – and many of these were now nonexistent, suggesting that NEOs that spend too much time this close to the Sun are subject to the extreme temperatures and will eventually succumb to it. Also found in the research was that darker asteroids would be more easily destroyed than lighter ones, suggesting that the composition of the asteroid has a lot to do with how much endurance it will have against the Sun’s intense heat. The findings help reveal more information about asteroids that could make modeling their existence and studying those around us more accurate in the future. Source: Nature

If you’ve been following NASA, then you’ve undoubtedly heard about the American space agency’s Artemis mission. Artemis is all about launching humankind into a new era involving deep space exploration, and it aims to begin with a place that might sound familiar – the Moon. NASA first put the first humans on the Moon in 1969 as a part of its Apollo missions, and several follow-up launches resulted in crewed lunar surface explorations afterward. But Artemis will stand apart from the Apollo missions by encouraging much longer stays on the lunar surface. In fact, the long-term goal is to build a lunar base much like the International Space Station called Gateway that facilitate longer stays on the lunar surface for scientific exploration. Although humans have been to the Moon before and surface samples have been collected, the overall goal of Artemis is to prepare humans for deep space travel and longer stays on another world besides Earth. In fact, NASA aims to use the Artemis mission to develop new technologies that could help with sending astronauts to Mars for the first time. During the first crewed mission of Artemis, astronauts will ride aboard an Orion spacecraft situated at the top of NASA’s upcoming SLS rocket, which will supersede the Saturn V as the world’s most powerful rocket. It’ll carry up to four astronauts along with oodles of supplies into space, after which the spacecraft will orbit Earth until it is ready to intercept the Moon. Once orbiting the Moon, this is where Gateway comes into play, working as a go-between for astronauts coming from and returning to Earth.

Less than two weeks ago, NASA sent an inflatable module known as the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM for short, to the International Space Station by way of a SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable rocket. Within no time at all, the crew aboard the International Space Station had the thing attached to the outside of the space vehicle and ready to be inflated. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well during the first attempt to inflate the module, as it was expanding one way and not another due to friction between the module’s fabric layers. Soon after, NASA attempted a second inflation attempt after they established that the technical difficulties weren’t severe. The second attempt went much smoother, and NASA was pleased to watch the BEAM inflate to its full size as astronaut Jeff Williams pumped it with air, slowly but surely. Now, Williams has taken his steps, or should we say floated, into the inflatable module on board the International Space Station. His duties were to take measurements of various aspects of the inflatable module to ensure that it was safe. Among the things that were checked are temperature, air composition, and pressure among other aspects that deal directly with whether or not it leaks or poses any threat to being used for storage or habitation. Williams noted that the air inside was “pristine,” but the temperature was showing a bit on the colder side. NASA hopes to see the inflatable module last quite a long time, as this type of collapsible equipment could be just what human beings need to explore other bodies in space, such as the Moon, Mars, and more because they pack away nicely into cramped spaces, such as those of a spacecraft, and then expand into habitable containers. The International Space Station serves as the initial testing grounds for this type of equipment, and some day when the International Space Station is retired due to an inevitable expiration date, NASA may rely on this type of equipment to set up bases on the Moon, or even on other planets for astronauts to live inside of. With that being said, ensuring they are a safe way to travel and live in are among the highest of priorities in these types of experiments. Source: The Verge

When astronomers measure the distance between two distant objects in outer space, the term ‘light-year’ gets tossed around somewhat frequently. A light-year is the distance that light can travel in one year, and for those unaware, that’s approximately 5.88 trillion miles. Light is perhaps one of the fastest-traveling things humankind is aware of today, and yet even light struggles to get from point A to point B when it comes to distances on a galactic scale. To give you some perspective, it takes light from the Sun just over eight minutes to reach the Earth, and that means that if the Sun were to suddenly disappear from the center of the solar system, it’d take us eight minutes to notice anything. Comparatively, it takes Sunlight more than 12 minutes to reach Mars, and so the same patterns apply there. Perhaps unsurprisingly, space telescopes that gaze deep into the night sky to look at distant objects aren’t seeing those objects in their current form, but rather as they appeared at the time it took that object’s light to reach us. In other words, if the Hubble Space Telescope was glancing at an object 10 light-years away, then we’d be seeing what it looked like 10 years ago. Some objects are millions, or even billions of light-years away. With that in mind, we have absolutely no idea what many of the universe’s most distant objects look like today, and we might never know.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth last week with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko after a long 340-day stay in space aboard the International Space Station. During the trip, Kelly broke a record for the longest time spent by an American in space while performing over 450 experiments in space, and now he recalls his stay on the International Space Station and talks a little about how returning to Earth made him feel and what the ride back to Earth was like. As you might expect, Kelly has “mixed feelings” about returning to Earth, mostly because he enjoyed what he was doing on the International Space Station and didn’t particularly want to leave a place where he’d gotten comfortable, but he also missed the Earth so much for the fresh air and the personal contact with his family. Also, just looking at Kelly’s face, you can tell he’s exhausted. The trip back to Earth has left him with a type of ‘jet lag’ similar to that of what you’d expect from travelling from one part of the world to another via airplane. Moving at these speeds confuses your body’s circadian rhythm, and makes it desperate to catch up with missed sleep. Kelly recalls some details in the video below: While aboard the International Space Station for so long, Kelly was a test subject for NASA. NASA was taking bodily samples from his twin brother, Mark Kelly, as well as Scott, in order to see what the effects of long-term space travel would be on the human body. This information is very valuable for carefully tailoring new equipment to improve the safety of future missions, which may involve deep space travel such as missions to Mars or additional long stays aboard the International Space Station. Source: BBC

It’s been 50 years since the late former NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface and muttered those famous words: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” but all that time passed hasn’t reduced NASA’s interest in exploring the Moon – not even in the slightest. 2024 is the magic year that NASA intends to send astronauts back to the Moon, and the mission is being codenamed Artemis. Unlike the Apollo missions that transpired five decades ago, however, Artemis has a much broader scope with the long-term goal of getting humankind ready for complex deep space missions. Artemis will involve multiple tiers of scientific deployment, including building and deploying the world’s most powerful rocket system (the Space Launch System, or SLS for short), landing humans on the Moon’s South Pole for the first time in history, and building a lunar-orbiting space lab and deep space hub known as the Lunar Gateway. As you might come to expect, Artemis won’t be a repeat of the Apollo missions, but rather an attempt to spearhead a movement that will push space exploration further than it has ever gone before. With a little luck, perhaps we’ll learn important lessons regarding deep space travel, and this will make pushing further to Mars and beyond possible.

In the middle of June, three astronauts, including British astronaut Tim Peake, came back home from the International Space Station; that’s the space-based laboratory that zooms around the Earth about 16 times per day. On Wednesday, NASA is preparing to send three more astronauts to the International Space Station. Among them is NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls The three are currently stationed in the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and will all depart from planet Earth at 9:36 P.M. EDT. Known as Expedition 48-49, the three astronauts will spend approximately four months on board the International Space Station, where they’re conduct experiments and perform maintenance across the space station. Among some of the things they’re expected to work on are biology experiments, physical experiments, technological experiments, and even human research. A lot of the things that we are currently learning will be helpful in future deep space missions, such as the upcoming major goal of putting mankind on Mars. The three astronauts that are heading to the International Space Station later today are scheduled return to Earth in October, where a new set of astronauts can replace them. These three will join the existing astronauts, Jeff Williams of NASA and Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, who were left behind on the International Space Station following the return of Tim Peake, Tim Kopra, and Yuri Malenchenko. NASA will begin its complimentary live coverage on NASA TV starting at 8:30 P.M. EDT, so be sure to tune in if you’re interested in watching the rocket lift off and take the astronauts into space. Source: NASA

The Moon is familiar territory to NASA and to a handful of other space agencies from around the globe, but not so much to the private sector. On the other hand, that could all change as soon as next year. An Israeli non-profit organization dubbed SpaceIL and a company known as Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) are poised to work together to put an unmanned spacecraft on the lunar surface by February 13th, 2019. Image Credit: Eliran Avital Not only would this be the first time that a privately-funded spacecraft reaches the lunar surface, but because the U.S., Russia, and China are the only countries to send a spacecraft to the lunar surface to date, it would also be a first for Israel as a nation. "This is a tremendous project," SpaceIL President Morris Kahn said. "When the rocket is launched into space, we will all remember where we were when Israel landed on the Moon." Related: This is what the Earth and Moon look like from Mars Citing SpaceIL, the 1,300-pound unmanned spacecraft will hitch a ride atop one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets sometime in December to reach its destination. There’s no specific launch date in mind just yet, but we do know that the rocket will take off from SpaceX’s famed Cape Canaveral, Florida-based launchpad. When the spacecraft touches down on the Moon, it will perform various tasks. The first of these tasks will be to plant an Israeli flag into the Moon’s soil to symbolize the nation’s presence there. After that, the spacecraft will capture photos and videos of the lunar surface and employ a magnetometer to study the Moon’s magnetic field. Related: Just how old is the Moon anyway? It should indeed be interesting to see whether Israel will be successful in deploying this mission. Not only will it be a significant achievement for the nation, but it could also advance our understanding of Earth’s closest neighbor in space. Source: SpaceIL via BBC

On Earth, we have a very comfortable atmosphere that makes life possible, but one other thing our atmosphere does for us is provide a medium for sound waves to travel. Indeed, our very own air can carry sound waves so we can hear the things around us. While sound waves can't travel in the vacuum of outer space, that's not to say that we can't hear things on other planets. There is definitely an interest in knowing just how sound might behave on other planets however, as the atmospheric conditions on each planet is different. One such example is Venus, which has an incredibly dense atmosphere that puts Earth's to shame. While Venus is inhabitable, as anyone who tried to step foot on the planet's surface would end up being crushed to death from the intense pressures, the question about whether or not sound could travel in the dense air on Venus continues to rattle scientists' minds. Experts seem to agree that the ultra-dense atmosphere might carry sound waves in a similar fashion to what you would experience while trying to talk under water. Of course, air is still lighter than water, so it might sound a little bit less muffled than being underwater, but it should be far more muffled than sound here on Earth; a happy median between the two. As every planet has different circumstances, there is surely interest in learning for sure what sound might behave like on other planets. Fortunately, the Mars 2020 rover will come with its own microphone, so we can at least learn how sound might behave on the red planet. Perhaps in a few more decades, when we actually visit another planet, we will have a chance to find out for sure.

A recent study published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces investigates the potential for using 3D printing in weightlessness, also known as microgravity, with titania foam. This study was conducted by a team of researchers in the Microgravity Research Team at West Virginia University (WVU) and holds the potential for scientists and astronauts to better understand how they can produce vital components on long-term space missions to the Moon and even Mars. Study co-authors, Renee Garneau, Trenton Morris and Ronan Butts, who are also WVU engineering students and Microgravity Research Team (MRT) members, seen testing a 3D printer the MRT lab, which is designed to operate in microgravity like the International Space Station, the Moon, or Mars. (Credit: WVU Photo/Brian Persinger) “A spacecraft can’t carry infinite resources, so you have to maintain and recycle what you have and 3D printing enables that,” said Jacob Cordonier, who is a mechanical and aerospace engineering PhD student at the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources and lead author of the study. “You can print only what you need, reducing waste. Our study looked at whether a 3D-printed titanium dioxide foam could protect against ultraviolet radiation in outer space and purify water.” The Microgravity Research Team is led by Dr. Konstantinos Sierros, who is an associate professor and associate chair for research in WVU’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. This research with titania foam began in 2016 with flights on a Boeing 727 where students used the 20 seconds of weightlessness during the parabolic flight to print lines of foam on glass slides but has since transitioned into a laboratory setting at WVU. Through this, the team has demonstrated that such 3D-printed objects can be used to both purify water and protect astronauts and equipment from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light, since both the Moon and Mars lack Earth’s protective ozone layer and magnetic field that shields us from such harmful, space-based phenomena. The goal is to provide a cheap and easy method to help future astronauts on long-term missions. Image of the custom 3D printer for microgravity experiments developed by the Microgravity Research Team at WVU. The printer operates by spraying foam out of the nozzle (right) onto substrates housed in the sample holder (left). (Credit: WVU Photo/Brian Persinger) “Transporting even a kilogram of material in space is expensive and storage is limited, so we’re looking into what is called ‘in-situ resource utilization,’” said Dr. Sierros, who is also a co-author on the study. “We know the moon contains deposits of minerals very similar to the titanium dioxide used to make our foam, so the idea is you don’t have to transport equipment from here to space because we can mine those resources on the moon and print the equipment that’s necessary for a mission.” In-situ resource utilization, also known as ISRU, is the practice of using available resources to manufacture additional resources that are vital to mission success on long-term space missions. Examples of using ISRU on the Moon include using water ice for oxygen and fuel or the lunar regolith to make bricks. For Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover recently demonstrated how carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere can be used to make oxygen. “Our approach can help extend space exploration, allowing astronauts to use resources they already have available to them without necessitating a resupply mission,” said Renee Garneau, who is a WVU undergraduate engineering student and a co-author on the study. Garneau says she envisions the team’s 3D printer conducting its work on a six-month stay on the International Space Station. Study co-author, WVU undergraduate student, and MRT team member, Renee Garneau, seen working with the 3D printer in the MRT lab. (Credit: WVU Photo/Brian Persinger) What new discoveries will researchers make about 3D printing in microgravity, and how will this technology help future astronauts on long-term space missions in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! As always, keep doing science & keep looking up! Sources: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, EurekAlert!, WVU Today, WVU Today (1), Labroots, Labroots (1)

Through the Human Research Program (HRP), NASA wants to find the safest ways to move humans through space. Charged particles are particularly interesting to scientists working in this area. Astronauts are exposed to a tremendous amount of those tiny particles as radiation when they’re in space, and it’s important to know the effect it has on the human body. The video below features NASA Space Radiation Element Scientist Lisa Simonsen, Ph.D. discussing what space radiation is. "One of our biggest challenges on a mission to Mars is protecting astronauts from radiation," explained Simonsen. "You can't see it; you can't feel it. You don't know you're getting bombarded by radiation." We think of radiation as being harmful, and might assume that the radiation in space is similar to what’s on Earth, but that’s incorrect. Our atmosphere and magnetic field have a major blunting effect on the radiation that actually gets through to us. We might also get exposed to X-rays at the doctor’s office, and can be protected from harmful effects caused by the rays simply by wearing a heavy lead shield. Space radiation is not the same though. It contains enough energy to violently collide with nuclei that are the basis of matter, the stuff human cells and metal shields are made of. These nuclear collisions result in the breakup of both incoming space radiation and the nuclei it hits. New particles are thus created, called secondary radiation. "In space, there is particle radiation, which is basically everything on the periodic table, hydrogen all the way up through nickel and uranium, moving near the speed of light," said NASA Research Physicist Tony Slaba, Ph.D. "NASA doesn't want to use heavy materials like lead for shielding spacecraft because the incoming space radiation will suffer many nuclear collisions with the shielding, leading to the production of additional secondary radiation. The combination of the incoming space radiation and secondary radiation can make the exposure worse for astronauts." The focus of the HRP is to determine how space radiation impacts the human body, particularly what effects galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) have. "There are three main sources of space radiation, but GCRs are of most concern to researchers for a mission to Mars," explained NASA Research Physicist John Norbury, Ph.D. "GCRs that come from exploding stars known as supernovae outside the solar system are the most harmful to the human body." Other sources of space radiation exist, like the Van Allen Belts, or during solar particle events that are associated with times of intense solar activity, coronal mass ejections and solar flares. GCRs are the primary problem, however, for HRP researchers who are tasked with protecting astronauts from space radiation. Accurate data collection remains a challenge for the HRP scientists. While NASA has a Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) to simulate conditions, it’s difficult to accurately reproduce the experience of an astronaut who may be in space for an entire year. NASA continues to prepare for a mission to Mars and will utilize every technology at its disposal to protect astronauts. There are a variety of critical instruments, like Orion's Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor, to monitor some very tiny particles with a big impact. Sources: AAAS/Eurekalert! Via NASA

SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 to space earlier this month with a previously-used commercial Dragon capsule attached to it. It broke a record for modern spaceflight, as a commercial capsule has never went into space more than once, until now. While it did undergo refurbishing, just like a used Falcon 9 rocket would before flying for a second time, the Dragon capsule was still carrying important supplies and experiments for International Space Station astronauts. Among the science experiments is a new foldable solar array system that could someday power our future spacecraft. Dubbed ROSA (Roll Out Solar Array), these solar arrays are packed away from technological origami until they’re needed; then, they deploy to absorb the Sun’s energy to convert it into power. Image Credit: Space Systems Loral (SSL) via NASA Because they are more compact when folded up, NASA could pack more solar power into their spacecraft without giving up too much valuable cargo space inside of the shipping containers that send them into space. That said, we can get more power out of our spacecraft, opening a new realm of possibilities. Related: Juno spacecraft breaks record for most distance traveled on solar power “We get more power by using larger solar arrays. But efficiently packaging them for launch and then deploying those big arrays by a spacecraft has been the challenge.” Al Tadros, SSL vice president for Civil and Department of Defense Business explains. “What the work on ROSA has done is develop a technique to deploy very large surface areas of flexible solar arrays, doing that efficiently with low risk. It’s more power without increasing the mass dramatically.” The solar arrays don’t fold up how you might think; instead, they’re wound around a spindle similarly to the way a roll of packaging tape is rolled around a cardboard cylinder. From there, it can unwind. This cylindrical shape will make it more compact and easily shipped via cylindrical shipping containers on modern commercial rocket systems. One of the possible deployment methods is illustrated in the animation below: NASA has been pondering about ways this kind of technology could be used, and according to the space agency, it might be perfect for asteroid redirect missions. For that reason, they’ve teamed up with Space Systems Loral (SSL) to make its development happen. Having the solar array tucked away would enable the spacecraft to get to its destination without critical parts of the solar array being damaged along the way, and then it could be deployed to power ion thrusters that could tug potentially-dangerous asteroids into safer new orbits. Related: How solar-powered electric propulsion could be used for asteroid redirects and Mars missions ROSA also has potential for future missions to Mars, as we already know that getting supplies to Mars is going to be both difficult and expensive, so all the space we can save equates to saved money and a safer and more prepared venture to the red planet. ROSA will be deployed at the International Space Station to test out its folding and un-folding capabilities, and also to ensure its longevity while in space. The end result should be nothing more than rewarding considering all the work that has gone into developing this new kind of solar power system. Source: NASA via Popular Science

Anyone who follows Elon Musk knows he often uses Twitter to summarize his plans for SpaceX, Tesla, and his other ventures. Recently, Musk Tweeted about SpaceX, underscoring some exciting near-future plans for his commercial space company. Image Credit: SpaceX/Elon Musk/Instagram In the spotlight of Musk’s most recent SpaceX-themed Tweets were upcoming plans concerning the Falcon Heavy rocket. For those unaware, Falcon Heavy is a heavy-lifting behemoth that looks a lot like three Falcon 9 boosters strapped together, as shown above. As it would seem, SpaceX is currently preparing a Falcon Heavy rocket for its maiden flight “next month,” and it will take off from the same Cape Canaveral-based launch pad that Apollo 11 did more than four decades ago. Worthy of note, Falcon Heavy was supposed to launch in November, but those plans got scrubbed. Musk isn’t entirely sure whether the Falcon Heavy will see a successful launch or not, but he goes on to say how the event is “guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another.” Related: Watch SpaceX test-fire the Falcon Heavy's engines The worst-case scenario is that Falcon Heavy could blow up right before launching, which would level the launch pad even more catastrophically than the recent Falcon 9 mishap since there's more rocket fuel involved this time around. Another possibility is that the Falcon Heavy rocket could explode in mid-air, just after taking off and right before reaching space. If that total uncertainty isn’t exciting enough to raise the hairs on the back of your neck, then just wait until you learn about the payload Musk intends to pack into the Falcon Heavy's storage quarters: It’s a bit unorthodox for space travel, but one of Tesla’s midnight cherry Roadsters – the newly-unveiled electric supercar capable of 0-100 kilometers per hour in just 1.9 seconds – could make it into space. And to make things even more interesting, Musk plans to send it into orbit around Mars. If you've never seen a Tesla Roadster before, then prepare to feast your eyes: Related: SpaceX wants to launch Falcon 9 rockets every couple of weeks Whether you love or hate SpaceX, this is a show worth watching. Either the Falcon Heavy will blow up (taking its payload with it) as it ascends or it will set history by ferrying the first electric supercar car to Mars. Assuming everything goes according to plan, all three Falcon Heavy boosters will return to Earth to make controlled upright landings so they can get refurbished and reused for future Falcon Heavy launches. Given just how complicated the next-generation rocket system is, the level of uncertainty surrounding the launch isn't surprising. Nevertheless, it's imperative to test and perfect the Falcon Heavy rocket system if we want any chance at sending astronauts to Mars within the next several decades. Are you excited to see how the launch goes? We know we are. Source: Elon Musk (1), (2), (3) via Space.com

Astronaut Scott Kelly will be spending a year on the International Space Station to study the effects of long-duration space missions on the human body. He'll be paired with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, who will be with him on the ISS, but, in a way, he'll also be paired with someone else: his twin brother, Mark Kelley. Mark, also an astronaut, will be here on Earth as a sort of control subject. Kelly and Kornienko's year-long mission will be the longest so far on the International Space Station. It will not be the longest space mission ever. That record is held by Russian Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437.7 days on the now defunct Russian space station Mir from 1994 though 1995. Kelley's mission will, however, be the first mission of its type, with one twin in space for a year and the other here on Earth. In order for humans to undertake a space mission anywhere beyond the Moon, astronauts will most likely have to spend long periods of time in space. Current plans for a trip to Mars, for example would require eleven months in space. What happens to the human body when it spends that kind of time in a weightless environment? Could a team of astronauts still be in shape to carry out a mission on the surface of Mars after enduring such prolonged periods in zero gravity? What will the effects of isolation, radiation, zero-g exercise, and a diet of space rations do to the human body and mind over the course of a year in space? And how does, for all intents and purposes, a copy of an astronaut who remains here on Earth compare to his twin in space during that time? These are all questions that will be addressed during Kelly and Kornienko's mission. Scientists who will be observing the Kelley twins will be studying the pair's epigenetics, meaning the way DNA expresses itself in different environments and under different conditions. Scott Kelly, the twin who will be going into space, will take blood samples and send them back to earth with each returning ship during his one-year stay. Meanwhile, his earthbound twin, Mark will provide samples of his own. Each time scientists will compare the two sets of samples. The twins will also undergo a series of analog psychological and cognitive tests. Scientists are particularly interested in the effects on the pulmonary and respiratory systems, as well as the effects of long-term space missions on eyesight. It is extremely important that astronauts have good vision. Needing to adjust your glasses inside your space helmet could be a real problem."Obviously, this is a tiny sample size," says Andrew Feinberg, one of the scientists who will be studying the twins, "so we're not really looking at how Scott and Mark are different during the year, exactly. It's not statistically valid to say that differences between them must be due to the spaceflight."So, Feinberg and his team will be watching how each brother changes over the course of the year."If something happens after Scott departs," Feinberg says, "increases during his trip, and then goes back to normal after he comes back to Earth - if we don't see that kind of sequential change in his twin, well, it's not proof of anything, but it certainly suggests something interesting is going on.""NASA is working on this science project that's the greatest in the history of civilization," the clearly excited Feinberg continues. "They're turning humankind from an Earth-dwelling species into a space-exploring species. One day, humankind will be a species that can settle on other planets. It might be a hundred years before we have humans living on Mars, but this is a whole new kind of science."(Source: The Washington Post)

It wasn’t that long ago that NASA outlined their plans to send humans to Mars within the next few decades, where they would be able to permanently settle themselves on the planet. As of this week, Europe and Russia are planning to do something similar, but on the more familiar territory of the Moon, which mankind has already stepped foot on multiple times. The European Space Agency and Russian Federal Space Agency would like to cooperate to launch a mission dubbed Luna 27 within the next five years, which would involve sending a lander with astronauts and cosmonauts to the South surface of the Moon (possibly permanently). First, the agencies will have to work together to determine whether or not there are enough resources on the Moon to create fuel and air, and if there is, equipment will have to be built that will make the Luna crew capable of being self-sustaining on the Moon. "We have to go to the Moon. The 21st Century will be the century when it will be the permanent outpost of human civilization, and our country has to participate in this process," Prof. Igor Mitrofanov told BBC News. Achieving this kind of feat on the Moon is a great way for scientists to learn what’s involved in making something big like this happen without being too far away from the Earth. After all, come NASA’s Mars mission within a few decades, we’ll need this kind of data to understand what it takes to put a person on another planet and keep them alive there. Once we feel like we have it down, we’ll be able to dabble in more distant trips, such as one to Mars. Although the ESA would like to eventually create a type of 3D-printed, air-tight Moon base for humans, the first missions will involve robots that can investigate what the chemical makeup of the Southern region of the Moon actually is. This way, no humans will be harmed in the mission’s unfolding. The plan is to drill into the surface to collect samples of what the Moon’s surface has to offer in the incredibly cold Southern Moon regions. Because it’s so cold there, the cold surface acts as a time capsule that could have important clues frozen in ice. These samples will tell scientists what kind of environment the Moon has, and whether or not it’ll be possible to have mankind living on the Moon. “We are currently looking at the technologies we would need to penetrate that type of material and are looking at having both rotation and hammering functions. The final architecture has yet to be decided - but this combination of rotation, hammering and depth is a step beyond what we have already flown or is in development today,” Mitrofanov continued. There have been several manned Moon missions since the first in 1969, but each time, astronauts have had to return to Earth afterwards due to the insufficient resources at hand. If this mission goes according to plan, we could be able to have people living on the Moon, assuming we are able to harness the Moon’s own natural resources similarly to how we harness the natural resources here on Earth. Source: BBC

While NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is primarily known for capturing breathtaking infrared images of the universe using its NIRCam Instrument, it has been known to examine the planets of our solar system from time to time, as demonstrated in a most recent series of images of Saturn, which hold the potential to offer new insights into the second largest planet in the solar system, its rings, and even its moons. Infrared image of Saturn and three of its moons taken on June 25, 2023 by the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument. (Credit: Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Tiscareno (SETI Institute), M. Hedman (University of Idaho), M. El Moutamid (Cornell University), M. Showalter (SETI Institute), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), H. Hammel (AURA); image processing by J. DePasquale (STScI)) As noted, these images of Saturn were taken in infrared, as JWST wasn’t designed to capture light in visible wavelengths, but this has allowed JWST to image Saturn like never before, showing bright rings encircling a much darker, and cooler, Saturn, along with three of its 124 moons: Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys. The ring details include the A Ring, B Ring, C Ring, F Ring, Encke Gap, and the dark Cassini Division. “We are very pleased to see JWST produce this beautiful image, which is confirmation that our deeper scientific data also turned out well,” said Dr. Matthew Tiscareno, who is a SETI Institute senior research scientist and was the lead architect behind this observation. “We look forward to digging into the deep exposures to see what discoveries may await.” While the much fainter G and F rings are not visible in these images, scientists will still be able to study these objects, nonetheless. They will also be able to examine the seasonal changes on Saturn, as the both the north and south polar regions of Saturn appear darker in these images, but scientists note the north pole is darker than normal despite it presently being summertime in the northern hemisphere of the ringed planet. It is currently unknown what’s causing this unusual darkness in the north polar regions, but the speculation is the seasonal processes could be affecting aerosols present in that location of the planet. While only three of the known 124 moons are visible in this image, scientists hypothesize they could be able to observe the much smaller and fainter moons of Saturn in future JWST observations, which could help paint a clearer picture of the Saturnian system, as well as its formation and evolution history. These images come after NASA released raw images of Saturn taken by JWST, which can be seen below. While this marks the first time JWST has imaged Saturn, this is not the first time it has imaged one of the moons visible in this most recent image, as JWST recently captured images of large water plumes being discharged from the south pole of the icy moon, which continues to provide evidence that it possesses a liquid water ocean beneath its cy crust. Along with Saturn, JWST also used its NIRCam Instrument to capture breathtaking images of Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus, revealing exquisite, never-before-seen details of each of these mysterious worlds. For Mars, JWST revealed temperatures variances between latitudes, along with a darkened Hellas Basin caused by atmospheric effects. For Jupiter, JWST captured the giant planet’s cloud layers in incredible detail, its northern and southern auroras, two of Jupiter’s smaller and fainter moons, its faint ring system, and even the aurora’s diffraction, as well. For Uranus, JWST captured intricate details of the rings of the solar system’s only sideways-rotating planet, along with several of its moons. Webb’s first images of Mars, captured by its NIRCam instrument Sept. 5, 2022 [Guaranteed Time Observation Program 1415]. Left: Reference map of the observed hemisphere of Mars from NASA and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). Top right: NIRCam image showing 2.1-micron (F212 filter) reflected sunlight, revealing surface features such as craters and dust layers. Bottom right: Simultaneous NIRCam image showing ~4.3-micron (F430M filter) emitted light that reveals temperature differences with latitude and time of day, as well as darkening of the Hellas Basin caused by atmospheric effects. The bright yellow area is just at the saturation limit of the detector. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Mars JWST/GTO team Composite image of the Jupiter system from Webb’s NIRCam using two filters – F212N (orange) and F335M (cyan). (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Ricardo Hueso (UPV/EHU) and Judy Schmidt) Image of the Uranian system captured with Webb’s NIRCam instrument featuring the planet Uranus as well as six of its 27 known moons (most of which are too small and faint to be seen here). Additionally, there are a few background objects, including many galaxies. (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)) What new discoveries will JWST make about Saturn, its rings, and moons in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! Sources: NASA, SETI Institute, NASA, NASA (1), Wikipedia, EurekAlert!, NASA (2), Sky & Telescope, NASA (3), NASA (4), NASA (5), NASA (6) As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

Following a recent spacewalk mission that was intended to fix the ‘mobile transporter’ system aboard the International Space Station earlier this week when a brake handle got stuck and made it so a rail car aboard the International Space Station couldn’t move where it needed to, repairs were officially put to the test on Wednesday. Wednesday morning, the Progress 62 spacecraft, which was launched by a Russian rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan two days ago, made it to the International Space Station with a fresh delivery of supplies at 10:27 GMT, just in time for the holidays. Aboard the spacecraft are nearly 5,500 pounds of food, water, oxygen, and other necessities that are required for the astronauts to stay aboard the International Space Station for long periods of time. Supply trips take place relatively often to maintain living conditions in space; rockets don’t always make it, but when they do, it’s a sigh of relief for everyone on board the International Space Station. Before the new supplies that arrived on Wednesday can be loaded onto the International Space Station, the team aboard the International Space Station will have to check the seals to ensure that supplying the International Space Station won’t compromise the system’s pressurized air supply, allowing it to leak into the vacuum of space. Only when the seal tests pass will the doors open. Currently aboard the International Space Station are NASA’s Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra, ESA’s Tim Peake, and Rocsosmos’ Yuri Malenchenko, Mikhail Kornienko, and Sergey Volkov. Kopra, Malenchenko, and Peake all just recently arrived at the International Space Station by way of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, replacing United States’ Kjell Lindgren, Russia’s Oleg Kononenko, and Japan’s Kimiya Yui. Aboard the International Space Station, and now replenished with important supplies, the astronauts will continue performing experiments that will help us better understand how space works and help us better prepare for deep space travel missions, such as that of putting people on Mars, which NASA noted earlier this year that it had interest in doing. Source: BBC

The surface of the Earth and the surface of the Moon share similar surface compositions. One of the main differences between the two that has baffled scientists for years is that the Moon is significantly lacking something that the Earth has – volatile metals – such as potassium, sodium, and zinc. These elements are volatile because of the fact that they can react so easily when exposed to normal conditions. Since the Earth has a plentiful supply of these volatile metals, and the Moon seems to have very little, if any, it’s suggested in a new study that the formation of the Moon may have been due to a large Mars-sized object smashed into the Earth, causing not only a hunk of the Earth to go flying into Space, but also a large dust disk to accumulate around the Earth’s surrounding space. "One of the key differences, that's been known since the Apollo sample return, is that the Moon is much more depleted in so-called volatile elements - those that vaporize easily as you heat up material," said Dr. Robin Canup, the new study's lead author, from the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, US. "And the origin of this depletion has been essentially unknown.” This disk is the key to the Moon’s formation, and it’s also potentially the answer to why the Moon lacks the volatile materials the Earth has. The disk can be split into two parts – the inner and the outer. Because of all of the heat in the inner part of the disk where the chunk of rock was forming while orbiting the Earth, volatile metals were never able to build up on the surface of the young would-be Moon because they were being vaporized. The surface is the only part of the Moon that we’ve ever sampled, which would explain why the surface is lacking so much of the volatile materials that the Earth has. As for the volatile metals that were surrounding the Earth in the outer disk after the impact, rather than getting pulled towards the Moon and becoming a part of it, they likely rained back down to the Earth. Any volatile materials in the outer disk would have been kept cooler than those getting absorbed by the Moon in the inner disk. This theory could explain why our planet has such as volatile material-rich surface contrast to the Moon. So far, it’s the most detailed explanation to date. Source: Nature Geoscience

How will liquids boil under reduced gravity, specifically on the Moon and Mars? This is what a recent project hopes to address as a team of researchers led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and working with Texas A&M University investigated the behavior of boiling liquids under reduced gravity using parabolic flights that are designed to simulate reduced gravity conditions. This project holds the potential to help researchers and future astronauts better understand how to manage boiling liquids during long-term space missions to the Moon and Mars where the gravity is one-sixth and one-third of the Earth's, respectively. From left to right: SwRI Research Engineer, Emilio Gordon, Texas A&M University Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, and SwRI Research Engineer, Dr. Eugene Hoffman, examine the experimental payload right before its parabolic flight on April 24th, 2024. (Credit: Southwest Research Institute) “We have so little data about how boiling works in reduced gravity,” said Kevin Supak, who is a program manager at SwRI and the project lead. “Our experiment studies boiling in conditions that simulate lunar and Martian gravity levels using four different surfaces to examine how bubbles initiate and detach.” Parabolic flights are conducted in large aircraft and successfully simulate gravity by climbing and then rapidly falling, causing passengers to float around as if they’re in microgravity. This also enables a myriad of scientific experiments to be conducted under microgravity conditions, as well. In this case, examining the behavior of boiling water. For the experiments, which were conducted during two parabolic flights last month, the researchers used four different types of surfaces that were immersed in a particular fluid designed to boil at 135 degrees Fahrenheit (57 degrees Celsius), with the normal boiling point of liquid water being 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius). The goal of the experiments was to ascertain which surface type exhibits the best boiling behaviors in reduced gravity, which could prove beneficial for future human missions to the Moon and Mars. SwRI Research Engineer, Dr. Eugene Hoffman, seen enjoying the simulated gravity during the fluids engineering experiment aboard a parabolic flight. (Credit: Southwest Research Institute) “If we’re going to establish a sustained presence in space or on other worlds, boiling is a necessity,” said Supak. “On Earth, we rely on gravity to help separate liquids and gases through buoyancy. On the lunar or Martian surface, the lower buoyancy force will result in different boiling behavior. We need to know how hot to make surfaces to ensure efficient and safe heat transfer. This flight test will produce data that are directly applicable to improving our understanding of these processes.” This project comes as NASA plans to land the first women and person of color on the lunar surface before the end of the decade as part its ambitious Artemis program, which is an international effort aimed at expanding human presence beyond Earth and into the cosmos. What new discoveries will researchers make about boiling water under reduced gravity conditions in the coming years and decades, and how will this research influence future human missions to the Moon and Mars? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! As always, keep doing science & keep looking up! Sources: EurekAlert!, Southwest Research Institute, U.S. Department of Agriculture, NASA

It’s no mystery that we, as a civilization, eventually want to have a footprint on multiple planets in our solar system. NASA themselves announced they have plans to have astronauts settle on Mars permanently, but before we can get there, it would be a good idea to build some sort of go-between. The European Space Agency hadthe brilliant idea of building a space base in between the Earth and the Moon, just in between the fight between the gravitational pull of each. The positioning would keep the space base in between them at all times. Image Credit: NASA/BBC With the International Space Station’s expiration date set at some time in 2024, it’s a pretty good idea to start looking ahead with new space exploration possibilities. After all, the International Space Station has played a huge role in space exploration for more than two decades. There is still not enough known about other planets in our solar system to have humans inhabit them right now, and a base in between Earth and the Moon would provide astronauts with the challenges they would need to face to live in deep space conditions without actually being too far away. Among the things that astronauts would face are growing their own food in space for survival, as well as living off of 3D-printed supplies. Since the orbit between the Earth and the Moon isn’t as far away as Mars is from our planet, it would be easier to send emergency supplies via rocket and spacecraft if necessary. We came a long way this year with the first successful test of an inflatable module on the International Space Station. This module was compact, and its internal volume could be increased with pressure. Such habitation modules could make future deep space missions possible, by providing easy-to-pack storage units or places for humans in space space environments to survive in. The European Space Agency doesn't disagree with the importance of deep space exploration, but they seem to want to tackle it another way. "Let me take you on a thought experiment about 10 years into the future," David Parker of the ESA said last month. "After 25 years of service, the International Space Station is coming to the end of its life, but now 1,000 times further out in space a new star has risen. A human outpost in deep space, located far out, where Earth and the Moon's gravity balance, a kind of crossroads in space." "This is our deep space habitat, a new place to live and learn how to work in space, a kind of base camp for exploring the Solar System and reaching back down to the surface of the Moon," Parker continued. "Astronauts can look down on a Moon untroubled by humans in more than 50 years. We want to go back there; we've barely scratched the surface." We’re currently jumping to other bodies in space and still know so little about our local habitat. A space base in between the Earth and the Moon would provide us with a hub in between that would make travel between the two significantly easier. As pointed out by David Parker, the Moon has hardly been touched, and we still want to know more about it as well. One thing we know for sure is that the International Space Station is getting old, and some day it won’t be useful to us anymore. Things degrade, especially when they’re in space and are difficult to service. It would be a long, a decade or more, in time before a base was possible to build in between the Earth and the Moon, but it would certainly be possible. On the other hand, NASA and SpaceX are confident that they can put human beings on Mars within the next few decades, so it’ll be interesting to see whether we take baby steps to get there, like the ESA is suggesting, or if we’ll just dive right in. More plans for the ESA's space base idea are expected to come into light later in the year at a conference. Source: BBC, The Telegraph

As humanity prepares to send humans back to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years with the upcoming Artemis missions, a team of researchers have used a recent paper published in Geoarchaeology to discuss the start of a new subfield, which they refer to as planetary geoarchaeology, whose aim is to preserve and protect “this rapidly increasing archaeological record known as space heritage”, according to the study, with a current emphasis on the Apollo landing sites on the Moon. This study holds the potential to help future explorers be cognizant of past space exploration efforts while we continue to venture into the final frontier. Apollo 11 astronaut, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, looking back at the lunar lander during the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon. This site is one of many that a team of researchers hope to preserve via a new subfield known as planetary geoarchaeology. (Credit: NASA) “Until recently, we might consider the material left behind during the space race of the mid-20th century as relatively safe,” said Dr. Justin Holcomb, who is a postdoctoral researcher in the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kansas, and lead author of the study. “However, the material record that currently exists on the moon is rapidly becoming at risk of being destroyed if proper attention isn’t paid during the new space era.” Planetary geoarchaeology is something Dr. Holcomb began thinking about during the Covid-19 lockdown, and builds upon the ODYSSEY Archaeological Research Program, which was founded in 2003 with the goal of preserving natural sites on Earth as humans continue to migrate across this planet. Dr. Holcomb wishes to extend this thinking to other worlds as humans begin to slowly migrate off-Earth using the same geoarchaeological tools and techniques on Earth, but the methods on how such preservations could be maintained in outer space is still up for debate. “We’re trying to draw attention to the preservation, study and documentation of space heritage because I do think there’s a risk to this heritage on the moon,” Holcomb said. “The United States is trying to get boots on the moon again, and China is as well. We’ve already had at least four countries accidentally crash into the moon recently. There are a lot of accidental crashes and not a lot of protections right now.” While the current paper focuses on the Moon, specifically the various NASA Ranger crash sites and Surveyor and Apollo landings sites, the researchers note these same methods could be applied to Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn’s largest moon Titan, and various comets and asteroids, as well. On Mars, there are a multitude of extinct landers and rovers from NASA, including the Viking landers and Spirit and Opportunity rovers, and on Titan there’s the Huygens lander. Regarding the Spirit rover, the researchers note the increased risk of it becoming buried in Martian sand dunes ever since it got stuck in Martian dust in 2008 and ran out of battery power. Image of the front left wheel of NASA's Spirit rover being stuck in Martian regolith in May 2009, which led to the rover not being able to perform the necessary tilt to recharge its batteries. Researchers hope to use a new subfield known as planetary geoarchaeology to preserve the rover one day. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) “As planetary geoarchaeologists, we can predict when the rover will be buried, talk about what will happen when it’s buried and make sure it’s well documented before it’s lost,” said Dr. Holcomb. “Planetary scientists are rightfully interested in successful missions, but they seldom think about the material left behind. That’s the way we can work with them.” How will planetary geoarchaeology help preserve space heritage on the Moon and Mars in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! As always, keep doing science & keep looking up! Sources: NASA, Geoarchaeology, EurekAlert!, The University of Kansas, Kansas Geological Survey, NASA (1), NASA (2), NASA (3), NASA (4), NASA (5), NASA (6), National Geographic

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines an artificial intelligence-based technique capable of differentiating between present-day and ancient biological samples from non-living organisms, also known as abiotic organisms. Additionally, this new technique can accomplish this with 90 percent accuracy, which holds the potential to change how scientists search for signs of life on planets other than Earth, specifically Mars, which is a target for astrobiology and currently has a few robotic explorers searching for present and/or past life there. “This routine analytical method has the potential to revolutionize the search for extraterrestrial life and deepen our understanding of both the origin and chemistry of the earliest life on Earth,” said Dr. Robert Hazen, who is a scientist at the Carnegie Institute for Science, a co-author on the study “It opens the way to using smart sensors on robotic spacecraft, landers and rovers to search for signs of life before the samples return to Earth.” In addition to being a co-author, Dr. Hazen co-led the seven-member team funded by the John Templeton Foundation who was responsible for the study. For the study, the team used artificial intelligence (AI) on living and non-living samples through pyrolysis gas chromatography analysis and mass spectrometry, with the former separating and identifying the component parts of a sample and the latter identifying the molecular weight of those parts. In order to train the AI, the team introduced 134 known living or non-living carbon-rich samples into the AI’s algorithm so it could learn to predict the origins of new samples. In the end, the AI-driven technique successfully identified sample origins with 90 percent accuracy, including living, non-living, and ancient traces of ancient life. Additionally, the new technique also identified biological traces in some samples that were more than hundreds of millions of years old. Dr. Hazen said, “These results mean that we may be able to find a lifeform from another planet, another biosphere, even if it is very different from the life we know on Earth. And, if we do find signs of life elsewhere, we can tell if life on Earth and other planets derived from a common or different origin.” As noted, Mars currently has a few robotic explorers roaming its surface searching for signs of present and/or past life. Where this new AI-driven technique comes into play is with NASA’s Curiosity rover, which the team says can be used on the rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument. A selfie taken by NASA's Curiosity on Oct. 11, 2019, the 2,553rd Martian day, or sol, of its mission. Curiosity conducted two drillings in this location, which has been nicknamed "Glen Etive." (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems) “We’ll need to tweak our method to match SAM’s protocols, but it’s possible that we already have data in hand to determine if there are molecules on Mars from an organic Martian biosphere,” said Dr. Hazen. How will this new AI-driven technique help find signs of life outside of the Earth in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! As always, keep doing science & keep looking up! Sources: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, NASA, EurekAlert!, NASA (1), NASA (2)

Astronauts have been to the Moon before, but only for short periods. One of humankind’s long-term goals is to establish a science base on the lunar surface, one where astronauts could reside for long periods, or perhaps even permanently. But how close are we to achieving such a feat? The answer is complicated, mostly because we aren’t yet experts at colonizing other worlds, but most experts agree that the Moon, which resides just in our planetary neighborhood, is a great place to start learning before we tackle farther projects such as Mars. It would be incredibly expensive to ship raw materials from Earth to the Moon, so we’ll first need to learn to harness the raw materials on the Moon’s surface if we should ever want to build a lunar base. Some experts think that water ice trapped on the Moon could be extracted to produce rocket fuel and that fully-automated, solar-powered 3D printers could craft structures out of the widely-available regolith. Other experts think that we could ship International Space Station-like pre-manufactured modules to the Moon for use by astronauts and utilize underground lava tubes as bunkers, but it remains to be seen which method will be favored as interest in a lunar base grows. Either way, it’ll be essential to protect astronauts from space radiation, so shielding is a must. Albeit vital, radiation shielding isn’t the only thing astronauts will need; they’ll also require food and water, which will necessitate elaborate pressurized greenhouses that simulate the atmospheric and soil conditions here on Earth. We could be a long way from physically building our first lunar base, but large-scale experiments and simulations are already happening on Earth to determine what we’ll need to accomplish this seemingly monumental task. With that in mind, a lunar base isn’t out of the question, but it probably isn’t right around the corner either.

Labroots recently covered a hibernation study that examines how this technology can potentially protect future astronauts from cosmic radiation during long-term spaceflight. But what exactly is cosmic radiation, and what steps can be taken to mitigate the risks it poses to future astronauts? Cosmic radiation is exactly what it sounds like, as it is radiation emanating from space that is constantly hitting the Earth. While this radiation can be lethal, we are protected on Earth by the majority of this these deadly particles thanks to both our ozone layer and magnetic field, the latter of which deflects the majority of the radiation away from the planet, and some end up at our poles displaying as auroras. Per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average person on Earth gets about 5% of their annual radiation exposure from cosmic radiation, primarily because of the aforementioned planetary protections. However, while we are largely protected here on Earth, astronauts up in space aren’t so lucky, as they are often exposed to the radiation equivalent of 150 to 6000 chest x-rays, and this gets worse the farther away they venture from Earth. Long-term health risks from too much cosmic radiation can lead to degenerative diseases, effects on the central nervous system, and even cancer. These potential risks will only increase as we start sending astronauts back to the Moon and on to Mars, especially since neither of those planetary bodies lacks both an ozone and magnetic field to shield the astronauts. Thankfully, the space industry is taking these risks very seriously, as several studies have come out over the last few years examining how the risks of cosmic radiation can be mitigated for future astronauts on long-term space travel beyond low Earth orbit. Cosmic radiation is just one of many risks that future astronauts will endure when they go back to the Moon and on to Mars, but the rights steps could ensure they live long and healthy lives when they return to Earth. Sources: Labroots, Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, Eureka Alert As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

Modern science is teaching us that long-term exposure to microgravity, such as living on the International Space Station from ten days to several months at a time, might be enough to trigger herpes in astronauts. Wait… what? To be clear and upfront from the get-go, this doesn’t mean that outer space gives astronauts herpes. Instead, it just means that those astronauts already had a dormant herpes virus inside of them and that outer space stresses the human body enough to activate those viruses, sometimes to the point of shedding. The herpes virus comes in all sorts of different strains, and outer space appears to trigger at least four of those in astronauts after they return from outer space, including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Varicella-zoster virus (VZV), Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in saliva, and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) in urine. Many astronauts exhibited higher levels of stress hormones, including cortisol and epinephrine. Moreover, astronauts who stayed in space longer showed higher stress hormone levels and higher virus activation than those who stayed in space for shorter periods. The findings reveal that spaceflight alters the human body’s immune function in interesting and unexpected ways, and understanding this is vital if we’re going to put human beings on other worlds, such as Mars or the Moon, for extended periods.

Researchers have created plants that are capable of producing a type of nanomaterial called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Learn more about them and how MOF plant coatings work from the video. These kinds of engineered plants might be able to sense chemicals or efficiently harvest light. Plants can make MOFs, and once finished, the materials could be used as a plant coating that can aid in the conversion of harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays into light that works well in photosynthesis. “As we contemplate growing crops in space or on Mars where you don’t have an atmosphere and are bombarded by UV rays, something like this could be helpful,” said the leader of the research Joseph Richardson, Ph.D. “That’s because it not only protects the plants from the UV rays, but it also turns them into useful energy. Especially as you get farther away from the sun, it’s harder to capture all of the light you’d need for photosynthesis.” Source: ACS

Renewed interest in the Moon has become rather evident as of late. Not only do Russia and the United States share the common interest of building a lunar space station, but international scientists also want to colonize underground tunnels on the Moon (better known as lava tubes). While humans have landed on the moon previously, we still don't know everything about it. That said, scientists from around the world continue to brainstorm new ways to learn more about Earth’s planetary companion. Image Credit: CASC/China Ministry of Defense China is just one player in the game of lunar exploration, and citing Universe Today, the nation's space agency is working on the next stage of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP) aimed at furthering humankind’s understanding of the Moon. This next stage will involve sending a bevy of new equipment to the Moon for studying the lunar environment. It would start things off with an orbiter by the end of 2018, and then a lander and rover would follow a few months after. Related: China to send 13 different payloads to Mars by 2020 Just like other planetary science projects, the lander and rover would explore the surface while the orbiter acts as a communication hub between Earth and the surface-based equipment. But it doesn’t stop there; the rover will tout another unsuspecting purpose… As it would seem, China plans to encase insect eggs and plant seeds inside of a sealed container on the rover to learn more about how the Moon’s minimal gravity impacts development. Furthermore, the two would support one another once fully-developed and form a miniature ecosystem directly inside of the container. “The container will send potatoes, arabidopsis seeds, and silkworm eggs to the surface of the moon,” explained Zhang Yuanxun, the container’s designer. “The eggs will hatch into silkworms, which can produce carbon dioxide, while the potatoes and seeds emit oxygen through photosynthesis. Together, they can establish a simple ecosystem on the moon.” Related: Will the ESA have a Moon-based research lab by 2030? This mission could potentially teach humanity a lot about the Moon. Not only should we receive details about the landing site, but we should also learn how various life forms might fare in the vastly-different environment. The results of this mission might spark ideas to follow-up experiments – not just from China, but from other countries' space agencies too – so it should be interesting to see how it pans out in the long run. Source: Universe Today

NASA seems to be moving quickly to get the ball rolling for its lunar-centric initiative dubbed Artemis. The program aims to reignite humanity’s presence on the Moon in what can only be described as a long-term effort to expand humankind’s deep space capabilities. More importantly, the things we learn from the Artemis program could potentially assist with crewed missions to Mars and beyond in the distant future. Image Credit: Pixabay Artemis will involve a plethora of complex components, including but not limited to a Moon-orbiting space station called the Lunar Gateway and a presence on the lunar surface itself. In an announcement shared just this past week, NASA announced that it would count on the efforts of commercial companies Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX to develop the lunar lander systems that will be used throughout the Artemis mission. “With these contract awards, America is moving forward with the final step needed to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, including the incredible moment when we will see the first woman set foot on the lunar surface,” explained Jim Bridenstine, NASA’s lead administrator. “This is the first time since the Apollo era that NASA has direct funding for a human landing system, and now we have companies on contract to do the work for the Artemis program.” Related: Learn why NASA’s Artemis program is so important NASA apparently expects the three aforementioned contractors to refine their lunar lander concepts by February 2021. For Blue Origin, this means developing the previously demonstrated Integrated Lander Vehicle (ILV), while for Dynetics, it means developing the Dynetics Human Landing System (DHLS), and for SpaceX, it means furthering development on the young but potentially capable Starship system. Later on, the American space agency will determine which of the project(s) appear most sustainable. It will then fund those project(s) for demonstration missions that will help determine whether they’re safe enough for use in the official lunar missions or not. If they are, then they could help propagate humankind’s presence in deep space. Related: The Moon is close, so why not colonize it? It’s worth mentioning that the Artemis program won’t be a repeat of the original Apollo missions that already transpired five decades ago. Instead, NASA will use what it learned during the Apollo missions to help develop flight-proven technologies that can transport humans to and from the Moon safely for the sake of scientific research, economic exploitation, and to construct the diving board for a new generation of space flight. We’re still a long way off from achieving everything Artemis sets out to do, but with all these experienced professionals working together, it almost seems like nothing is impossible. It’ll be interesting to see what becomes of all this. Source: NASA