The new research found that human bones, like the wrist bone pictured here, suffers from accelerated loss of density as the result of long-duration missions in space. Image: L. Gabel et al., 2022 Long-term exposure to microgravity results in the loss of bone density, and new research reveals the disturbing extent to which this happens … Read more
The new research found that human bones, like the wrist bone pictured here, suffers from accelerated loss of density as the result of long-duration missions in space. Image: L. Gabel et al., 2022 Long-term exposure to microgravity results in the loss of bone density, and new research reveals the disturbing extent to which this happens … Read more
LightSail 2 spacecraft captured this image on June 11, 2022, which shows Madagascar and a portion of Mozambique.Image: The Planetary Society For the past three years, a tiny loaf-of-bread-sized spacecraft with gigantic wings has been sailing on sunbeams in low Earth orbit. LightSail 2 has far exceeded its life expectancy and proven that solar sails … Read more
SpaceX’s massive Super Heavy booster stage is now standing (very) tall on the company’s launch pad in south Texas, as it awaits a series of tests and final checks. The company is eager to launch the fully stacked Starship rocket for a flight test as early as July, but a number of regulatory hurdles still … Read more
A view of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef from low Earth orbit (shown at 8x normal speed). gif: NanoAvionics/Gizmodo Proprietary space-grade cameras are expensive, limited, and a pain to develop. Smallsat manufacturer NanoAvionics recently sidestepped any development issues and opted for something off the shelf instead. The company used a GoPro Hero 7 mounted to a … Read more
A tiny satellite is poised to set the stage for something far grander: a full-blown lunar space station. NASA’s CAPSTONE satellite is scheduled to launch on Monday and then travel to a unique lunar orbit in a pathfinder mission for the Artemis programwhich is seeking to return humans to the Moon later this decade. CAPSTONE … Read more
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched Germany’s SARah 1 military imaging satellite into orbit on June 18.Photo: SpaceX It was a busy weekend for SpaceX, with the private space company launching three of its Falcon 9 rockets into orbit over a period of three days. SpaceX’s final launch may even have been carrying a classified government … Read more
The upper stage of the Astra rocket shut down before delivering the payload to orbit.Photo: NASA NASA lost two small satellites on Sunday after a rocket malfunctioned en route to orbit. The two TROPICS CubeSats were the first pair of a six-satellite constellation designed to study tropical cyclones, but the space agency is still hoping … Read more
Krys Marshall and Joel Kinnaman in For All MankindPhoto: AppleTV+ “The Men of Earth came to Mars,” Ray Bradbury wrote, “because they were afraid or unafraid, because they were happy or unhappy, because they felt like Pilgrims or did not feel like Pilgrims. There was a reason for each man.” You could say the same … Read more
The Dragon launch was expected to bring two tons of supplies to the ISS as part of a resupply mission.Photo: NASA The upcoming launch of an uncrewed SpaceX Dragon to the International Space Station has been postponed following a potential propellant leak, in what is a rare glitch for the reliable cargo vehicle. NASA revealed … Read more