Space debris — detritus orbiting Earth from satellites — is a growing problem which threatens the future of human space exploration. To tackle this issue, the Business Secretary Alok Sharma has announced £1million in funding, via the UK Space Agency (UKSA), for seven space-cleaning programmes. Astronomers are concerned that high-value craft in low-Earth orbit, such … Read more
Crew members on the International Space Station still haven’t found the source of an air leak that was first detected a year ago. NASA officials first detected air leaking from the space station, which floats in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 254 miles, in September 2019. Despite getting more severe in the past … Read more
A group of Canadian students used ham radio technology to have a once-in-a-lifetime conversation with a crew member aboard the International Space Station. Young members of the Airdrie Space Science Club in Alberta connected with NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, who was conducting experiments aboard the ISS some 240 miles above Earth’s surface. The students, who … Read more
NASA astronaut will make history as the first black woman to go on extended mission to the International Space Station next year NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will become the first black woman to go on an extended trip to the International Space Station She will be joining astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for the six-month … Read more
Alien life could hop from planet to planet, scientists claim after proving bacteria can survive for three YEARS on the outside of the International Space Station Researchers studied bacteria on the outside of the International Space Station They found that colonies of microbes can resist the cold and radiation in space Bacteria is able to … Read more
BREAKING: Astronauts successfully depart ISS aboard SpaceX Dragon to head home before splashdown tomorrow Two Nasa astronauts will make the first splashdown return in 45 years after SpaceX’s astronaut carrier the Crew Dragon successfully undocked from the ISS Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley began their journey back to Earth amid the threat of Hurricane Isaias, … Read more
There are an estimated 170 million pieces of so-called ‘space junk’ – left behind after missions that can be as big as spent rocket stages or as small as paint flakes – in orbit alongside some US$700 billion (£555bn) of space infrastructure. But only 22,000 are tracked, and with the fragments able to travel at … Read more
NASA is preparing to send a unisex toilet to the International Space Station (ISS) that better accommodates female astronauts. A recurring problem with microgravity toilets is they’d been designed predominantly with men in mind, due to the historically higher proportion of male astronauts. The new toilet, called the ‘universal waste management system’ (UWMS), is designed to … Read more
Russia aims to build its own orbiting space base when the International Space Station (ISS) is no longer serviceable – to launch missions to the Moon and Mars. The ISS has been under constant occupation by astronauts since November 2000 but due to structural fatigue needs to be decommissioned by 2030. After this Roscosmos plans … Read more
International Space Station Commander Chris Cassidy has spoken out about the significance of NASA’s upcoming space flight, which will be the first launched from US soil since the space shuttle program ended. ‘It’s a gigantic deal,’ says Cassidy during a live interview from space as he spoke about the Wednesday launch that will bring astronauts Bob … Read more