Space

NASA: No current plan for return of space station parts for museums

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A recently-released plan for how NASA will dispose of the International Space Station makes no mention of preserving historically-significant components from the orbiting complex. But it is not just an omission from a report: the space agency says it has no current plans to return potential artifacts to Earth. The International Space Station (ISS) Transition … Read more

Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping celebrates Lantern Festival with traditional music from space (video)

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China’s Tiangong space station is still under construction but the astronauts aboard are already bringing aspects of Chinese traditions and culture into space. Shenzhou 13 mission astronaut Wang Yaping, China’s second woman in space and the first aboard the space station, played a song with a guzheng, a traditional Chinese string instrument, aboard the Tianhe … Read more

Star twinkles 18 times in new James Webb Space Telescope image

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The James Webb Space Telescope finished the first major stage in its long process of aligning the observatory’s 18-segmented primary mirror. A single star that the observatory looked at was deliberately rendered 18 times into a hexagonal shape. Eventually, those 18 images will perfectly align into a single, sharp focus, but the interim result portrays … Read more

Cosmonaut brains are ‘rewired’ by space missions, scientists find

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Our brains change as we age and grow here on Earth. But what happens to the human brain after being in space for a long time? In a new study, a collaborative effort between the European Space Agency and Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, researchers have explored how cosmonauts’ brains change after traveling to space and … Read more

Astronauts snap stunning views of February’s Full Snow Moon from space (photos)

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Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) captured stunning views of February’s Full Snow Moon this week. Full moons occur when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, which happens roughly every 29.5 days. The Full Snow Moon arrived on Wednesday (Feb. 16) at 11:57 a.m. EST (0457 GMT), … Read more

‘Space Force’ returns to Netflix for a 2nd season of high-flying hilarity

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Science fiction comedy is a television sub-genre that’s getting more and more popular. For example, we now have “The Orville,” “Resident Alien,” “Red Dwarf” and even “Avenue 5.”  “Star Trek” even experimented in this arena with the epic “Short Trek” episode “The Trouble With Edward.” And now, thankfully, we also have “Star Trek: Lower Decks.” … Read more

When the next interstellar object comes, James Webb Space Telescope will be there to study it

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The next time a space rock races through our solar system from beyond, humans will be a little more prepared to unlock its secrets. To date, astronomers have identified two interstellar objects that came from other neighborhoods and rushed through the solar system. In 2017, there was ‘Oumuamua, and in 2018, Borisov followed, giving scientists … Read more

Let’s hear it for the space Cinderellas – Earth-observing satellites

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We celebrate probes that look out at the universe, but rarely give a thought to the army of craft that peer down at our planet and make our lives better, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein Space | Columnist 16 February 2022 By Chanda Prescod-Weinstein NASA/NOAA WHEN we think about space launches, we tend to picture telescopes and … Read more

Coca-Cola launches ‘Starlight’ limited-edition drink inspired by space

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Coca-Cola is returning to space, in a new and different way. The iconic soft drink, which was one of the first carbonated beverages to be taste-tested by astronauts in orbit, is now attempting to bring the taste of space down to Earth as a first-of-its-kind, limited edition. “Coca-Cola Starlight,” as revealed on Thursday (Feb. 17), … Read more