News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
The astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station are marking the New Year, becoming only the 37th crew in history to be in space as Earth begins another revolution around the Sun. Expedition 66 crew members Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Mark Vande Hei of NASA, Matthias Maurer of the European Space … Read more
The International Space Station is a state-of-the-art laboratory where astronauts perform hundreds of important experiments every year — but that does not mean that life on orbit is all work and no play for the outpost’s crews. In between their other assignments, NASA astronauts take part in in-flight educational downlinks with schools around the country, answering … Read more
The first two seats of the sixth full-fledged NASA crew mission launched by SpaceX have been filled. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg will both fly aboard the Crew-6 mission, which is due to blast off to the International Space Station in 2023, according to a NASA statement published Dec. 16. Bowen will serve … Read more
Beijing on Tuesday accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space over two “close encounters” between the Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk‘s SpaceX. Tiangong, China’s new space station, had to maneuver to avoid colliding with one Starlink satellite in July and with another in October, according to … Read more
China’s Shenzhou 13 astronauts ventured outside the orbiting Tianhe module on Sunday and installed a new panoramic camera for monitoring the space station. Rookie astronaut Ye Guangfu opened the hatch of the Tianhe airlock on Dec. 26 at 5:44 a.m. EST (1044 GMT, 6:44 p.m. Beijing time) and reported feeling well shortly after exiting. He … Read more
NASA astronaut Cady Coleman shows the habitat that golden orb spiders Esmeralda and Gladys occupied on the International Space Station in 2011. (Image credit: NASA) From insects to primates, from dogs and cats to cold-blooded reptiles, animals have played a significant role in space exploration since the first fruit flies launched to Earth’s upper atmosphere … Read more
Astronauts on the International Space Station shared a festive message for people on Earth as they prepare to spend the holidays in orbit. Expedition 66 crew members, including NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and Mark Vande Hei, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, will be celebrating … Read more
Laura Shepard Churchley is not sure if she is now an astronaut. The eldest daughter of Alan Shepard, America’s first astronaut to fly into space, Churchley followed in her father’s footsteps — and trajectory — lifting off on Dec. 11 aboard the New Shepard, Blue Origin’s suborbital launch vehicle named after her dad. The 10-minute … Read more
China broadcast a live classroom from its new space station on Dec. 9, in an effort to both inspire students and present a friendly image of the country’s space ambitions. The three Shenzhou 13 astronauts aboard the orbiting Tianhe module connected with 1,420 students on Earth in five classrooms across China in Beijing, Guangxi Zhuang … Read more
An image of the Apollo 17 moon rock troctolite 76535. (Image credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center) A lunar rock brought to Earth nearly half a century ago is revealing new information about the moon’s complex history. NASA’s Apollo 17 mission left the moon to return to Earth 49 years ago Tuesday (Dec. 14) and humanity hasn’t … Read more