All posts tagged: astronauts

ISS Astronauts Told To Prepare For Possible Evacuation As Air Leak Worsens

ISS Astronauts Told To Prepare For Possible Evacuation As Air Leak Worsens

Published by Jenni Sidey

NASA senior adviser and press secretary Bethany Stevens wrote on X that astronauts aboard the International Space Station have quickly shifted into SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and are prepared to evacuate if needed, after cracks and leaks in the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel appeared to worsen. “The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date. The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely,” Stevens said. According to NASA, the Zvezda service module is 43 feet long and contains living quarters, life support systems, communications systems, electrical power distribution systems, data processing systems, flight control systems, and propulsion systems. The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date. The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely. NASA and Roscosmos have been working… — Bethany Stevens (@NASASpox) …

New CPR simulator could help save astronauts in space

New CPR simulator could help save astronauts in space

Published by Jenni Sidey

The race to return humans to the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars has forced scientists to confront a difficult reality. Space is dangerous, isolated and unforgiving. When a medical emergency happens millions of miles from Earth, there is no nearby hospital waiting to help. One of the greatest concerns is sudden cardiac arrest. On Earth, doctors and first responders use cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, to keep blood flowing after the heart stops. In space, however, performing CPR becomes far more difficult because gravity itself changes how blood moves through the body. Now, researchers at Concordia University have developed a new high-fidelity simulator designed to study how CPR works in reduced gravity environments. Their findings, published in the journal npj Microgravity, could help future astronauts survive cardiac emergencies during long missions in deep space. The project combines engineering, medicine and space science into a system that mimics blood flow inside the human body. The simulator allowed scientists to track how artificial blood moved during CPR under both Earth gravity and hypogravity conditions. 3D-printing of …

Mars astronauts may do laundry by blasting clothes with a plasma beam

Mars astronauts may do laundry by blasting clothes with a plasma beam

Published by skeptic

White shirt material being cleaned with cold plasma University of Alabama in Huntsville, Propulsion Research Center Astronauts in space can’t do laundry – but that may be about to change. And it could mean that those on longer-duration missions will be able to have more of the comforts of home on the surfaces of the moon or Mars. Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts tend to wear the same clothes for days on end and then pack them up to be thrown back towards Earth where they burn up in the atmosphere. That’s all well and good for missions lasting a few weeks or even months, but it is not a viable solution for missions that last longer and that aren’t regularly resupplied from Earth. That’s where Gabe Xu at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Chelsi Cassilly at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama come in. They have developed a sort of “laundry gun” that can be used to blast fabrics with cold plasma, killing off the microbes that cause unpleasant …

China launches spacecraft with 1 of 3 astronauts set for yearlong stay : NPR

China launches spacecraft with 1 of 3 astronauts set for yearlong stay : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

The Shenzhou-23 manned mission launches from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwestern China on Sunday, May 24, 2026. Ng Han Guan/AP hide caption toggle caption Ng Han Guan/AP JIUQUAN, China — China launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft Sunday night with three astronauts heading to its space station, including one set to stay in space for a year. The spacecraft blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China. The much-anticipated launch comes as China prepares for its first crewed lunar landing by 2030. The astronauts on the mission are Zhu Yangzhu, the commander, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, also identified by Chinese authorities as Li Jiaying using the Mandarin transliteration of her name. Lai, who was born and raised in Hong Kong and has a doctoral degree in computer forensics, is the first astronaut from the city on a space mission. The crew is set to conduct dozens of science and application projects, state media said. They are also expected to complete an in-orbit rotation with the crew of Shenzhou 21, …

Customizable drinks help astronauts get nutrients they miss in orbit

Customizable drinks help astronauts get nutrients they miss in orbit

Published by Jenni Sidey

Flat, fruit-flavored drinks may not sound like a breakthrough in spaceflight. But for astronauts headed into longer missions, they could solve two stubborn problems at once: how to make food less monotonous, and how to deliver nutrients that are hard to get from standard space meals. That is the idea behind a new study in ACS Food Science & Technology, where researchers designed fortified beverage emulsions that could be made both on Earth and in microgravity. The drinks are built to carry omega-3 fatty acids, offer different sweetness levels and flavor profiles, and remain stable when mixed through a low-energy microfluidic process. Current space menus still rely heavily on ultrastable foods such as dehydrated and thermostabilized meals. Those products meet basic nutritional needs, but they do not fully solve a problem astronauts have reported for years: reduced appetite during space travel. If crews eat less than they should, meeting calorie and nutrient targets becomes harder, especially on missions lasting more than six months. Svenja Schmidt from the School of Chemical Engineering at Adelaide University and …

ISS astronauts pose with fresh fruit in microgravity

ISS astronauts pose with fresh fruit in microgravity

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Astronaut food has come a long way from the freeze dried packets aboard the Apollo missions. During their historic lunar fly-by in April, the Artemis II crew dined on beef brisket, mac and cheese, quiche, and a lot of tortillas. The same can be said for the hungry inhabitants of the International Space Station (ISS). With regularly scheduled restocks, the astronauts don’t have to worry as much about issues like shelf life. That means that even when nearly 250 miles above Earth, ISS residents can still snack on fresh fruit and vegetables. NASA highlighted one such astronaut grocery delivery in a photo released on May 14. Taken on April 19, astronauts Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir, Chris Williams, and Sophie Adenot are seen in microgravity alongside what are presumably upcoming snacks like oranges, apples, peppers, and one conspicuous onion. Food wasn’t the only precious cargo on the Cygnus XL spacecraft visit that month, however. In addition to the colorful produce, …

Researchers find no significant joint damage in astronauts after short spaceflights

Researchers find no significant joint damage in astronauts after short spaceflights

Published by Jenni Sidey

Eighteen days in orbit did not appear to leave a measurable mark on the hips, knees, or ankles of three astronauts from Axiom Mission 4, according to new research from National Jewish Health. The result is reassuring on its own. Just as important, the work points to a portable imaging tool. This could help doctors keep closer watch on joint health during future missions. This is especially relevant as space agencies look toward longer stays in orbit and eventual trips to the Moon and Mars. That tool is musculoskeletal ultrasound, a noninvasive scan more often associated with clinics on Earth than with astronaut medicine. In this pilot study, rheumatologists used it to examine cartilage, synovial fluid, tendons, and ligaments before launch. They also examined the astronauts again within four hours after splashdown. They found no statistically significant changes in the astronauts’ lower-extremity joint structures after the short mission aboard the International Space Station. For a field concerned about what microgravity does to the human body, that matters. Scientists have long known that reduced loading in …

Apollo astronauts saw UFOs from the Moon, new files reveal

Apollo astronauts saw UFOs from the Moon, new files reveal

Published by Sam Flores

Apollo astronauts landing on the Moon saw unidentified flying objects (UFO) floating nearby on two separate missions, newly released files reveal. A photograph from the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, the last time humans set foot on the lunar surface, shows three mysterious dots in a triangular formation floating in the sky. Another image, captured from the Moon’s surface during the Apollo 12 mission in November 1969, appears to show a vertical blue hazy phenomenon. The photos are among files that were declassified on Friday by the Pentagon, as it invited the public to draw their own conclusions about decades of possible evidence regarding what it now refers to as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). The Pentagon said: “No other president or administration in history has followed through on this level of UAP transparency.” It added that Donald Trump – whose department of justice was criticised over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files – was “focused on providing maximum transparency to the public, who can ultimately make up their own minds about the information …

Artemis II astronauts welcome a 5-year-old space fan to the team

Artemis II astronauts welcome a 5-year-old space fan to the team

Published by Jenni Sidey

Jack already had the outfit. When NASA’s Artemis II crew lifted off last month, the 5-year-old aspiring astronaut showed up in his own white spacesuit, complete with the rank of commander. During a CBS interview near the launch, he cheerfully explained that he was “so obsessed with space,” a line that quickly spread online and turned him into one of the mission’s youngest unofficial stars. On Friday, that enthusiasm came full circle. During a CBS Sunday Morning town hall hosted by Gayle King and Tony Dokoupil, Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen surprised Jack with a signed orange flight suit modeled after the one they wore on their mission. For a child who had already been following the crew from launch to splashdown, it was less a souvenir than a kind of invitation into the world he clearly dreams about. The Artemis II crew surprised 5-year-old Jack, a space superfan, with a signed flight suit. (CREDIT: Gail Schulman/CBS Mornings) Koch made that invitation explicit. “It says commander just like …