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Google Street View takes you aboard the ISS
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station just got an adorable floating camera, but what do we get? While nobody's handing out free rides to the ISS, you can digitally explore it now that it's up on Google Street View.
Meet the International Space Station’s adorable camera drone
Astronauts on board the International Space Station have a new robotic companion to play around with. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released the first images shot by the "Int-Ball," a spherical camera that floats around alongside the rest of the crew. With its monochrome paint job and blue, circular eyes, it looks a little like Wall-E's Eve — or at least her head, in some kind of prototype form. Notably, the Int-Ball can move around autonomously or be controlled by operators back on Earth. The images are transferred in near real-time allowing JAXA staff to quickly evaluate problems and offer possible solutions to ISS residents.
SpaceX's capsule 're-flight' is a space travel milestone
SpaceX just took one step closer to making reusable private spacecraft seem entirely ordinary. The company has confirmed that its previously used Dragon capsule splashed down on the morning of July 3rd, making it the first commercial spacecraft to re-fly to and from the International Space Station. There wasn't a lot of drama involved (the biggest challenge was getting the vessel into orbit), but that's arguably the point -- it's supposed to be a non-event.
NASA goes all-out with livestreaming for this summer's total eclipse
The US will experience its first continent-wide total solar eclipse in 99 years on August 21st, and NASA wants to make sure you see it... including perspectives you just couldn't get otherwise. It's promising an hours-long livestream that will cover the eclipse from seemingly every angle. There will be video on the ground as the sky briefly goes dark, of course, but there will also be views from aircraft, high-altitude balloons and the International Space Station. If you don't live in an eclipse area or just can't afford to step outside, this is probably your best bet at seeing what the fuss is about.
ISS will carry artificial organs in hope of medical breakthrough
In the near future, the International Space Station (ISS) will serve as home to five organs-on-chips research experiments. Each one will tackle a different issue, but all of them are expected to shed light on the effects of microgravity on the human body and could lead to better treatments and drugs without the need for animal testing. Organs-on-chips are transparent slides about the size of an AA battery with microfluidic channels capable of reproducing blood and airflow that are lined with the cells of the organ begin studied. Aboard the ISS, astronauts can observe the cells as they grow in 3D, since the lack of gravity means they don't settle at the bottom or flatten against the channels' plastic walls.
This worm grew a second head after a trip to space
There are all kinds of experiments going on aboard the International Space Station, but they all probably don't produce results as strange as this one. An article published today in the journal Regeneration details a recent experiment in which an amputated flatworm grew two heads -- twice.
SpaceX's re-launched Dragon capsule arrives at the ISS
This weekend's big SpaceX news has nearly reached its logical conclusion point: the reused Dragon cargo capsule has been successfully captured by the International Space Station. While that sounds an awful lot like the opening scene of a certain space opera, it's all par for the course. From here, the ISS' ground crew will take control of the station's robotic arm and dock the capsule, according to NASA.
Watch SpaceX re-launch used Dragon capsule for the first time (updated)
Today, SpaceX will launch another Falcon 9 rocket on a resupply trip to the International Space Station. However, it's the first time the group will use a refurbished Dragon cargo capsule for one of its missions -- a capsule that's already been to space and back.
The first 4K livestream from space starts at 1:30PM ET
Astronaut Peggy Whitson has already broken plenty of new ground in her current role as a commander aboard the International Space Station, but she's about to break some more. As promised, Whitson will star in the first-ever 4K livestream from space today (April 26th) at 1:30PM Eastern. Her part will mainly involve a chat with Amazon Web Services exec Sam Blackman (AWS is hosting the event), but the panel as a whole should be worth viewing: it's a chat with NASA and tech industry luminaries about the effects that imaging and cloud technology are having on both science and movie-making.
Peggy Whitson breaks the US record for cumulative time in space
US astronaut Peggy Whitson has officially broken the US record for cumulative time spent in space. As of 1:27 AM ET today, she had spent 534 days, 2 hours and 49 minutes in space -- a number that has obviously increased since then. But that amount of time spent in space broke the record previously held by Jeff Williams. Her current run on the International Space Station started on November 17th, 2016, and her mission was recently extended from March until September. By the time she returns to earth, she'll have accumulated more than 650 days in space. Whitson has also spent more than 53 hours outside the ISS doing spacewalks, a record for female astronauts.
Dr. Peggy Whitson set to shatter another NASA record
As the first woman in command of the International Space Station, NASA's Dr. Peggy Whitson is already a proven pioneer. Last month, Whitson set the record for most spacewalks by a female astronaut and later this month she will set yet another record for most cumulative time spent space by any US astronaut. Now, thanks to an agreement with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Whitson will extend her lead even further and stay in orbit for another three months.
Visit the ISS in virtual reality with an Oculus Rift
Most of us will (sadly) never be able to visit the ISS in person and will have to make do with photos and videos of the orbiting lab. If you have an Oculus Rift, though, you have a far more immersive choice: a true-to-life simulation you can visit in virtual reality. Oculus has teamed up with NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency to create the Mission:ISS VR experience. You can explore the virtual station like you're actually in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), but you can do more than that, as well. So long as you're using an Oculus Touch controller, you can dock incoming spacecraft, go out on spacewalks and even perform mission-critical tasks like a real crew member.
SpaceX aims to launch ISS resupply mission on February 18th
After one of its Falcon 9 rockets exploded on the launch pad last September, SpaceX sprinted to get back on track, and achieved a successful comeback launch in mid-January. To deal with the backlog of launches delayed by the accident, the company set an ambitious schedule of liftoffs every two to three weeks. The first of these, they announced today, will be an ISS resupply mission using one of their Dragon capsules set to fly on February 18th.
NASA expands emerging space economy with a commercial airlock
The first commercially funded airlock is coming to the International Space Station, and luckily it's not being built by Weyland-Yutani.
British astronaut Tim Peake will return to the ISS
Tim Peake's adventures in space are far from over. At the Science Museum in London, the British astronaut announced this morning that he'll be returning to the International Space Station (ISS). There, like before, he'll be tasked with conducting new scientific research. Peake will be working with the European Space Agency (ESA), the same organisation that handled his original training and Prinicipia mission. The timing of his trip is unclear, however -- the UK government has merely said it will be "confirmed by the ESA in line with normal mission selection protocol." NASA currently has four ISS-bound launches in its diary, ending in October.
Space Station gets its first African-American crew member
The International Space Station may be in its twilight years, but that isn't precluding it from adding more to the history books. NASA has revealed that Jeanette Epps will be the first African-American ISS crew member when Expedition 56 reaches orbit in May 2018. It'll be the Syracuse-born astronaut's first spaceflight, but she has an extremely strong pedigree going in. On top of aerospace engineering and science degrees, she spent most of her pre-NASA career working as a CIA intelligence officer.
Japanese cargo ship set to dock with the ISS at 4:30 AM ET
Less than two weeks after Russia's Progress 65 ISS cargo ship blew up on route to the International Space Station (ISS), the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) is coming to save the day. After a successful launch, JAXA's Kounotori ("White Stork") HTV-6 has caught the ISS and is slowly moving toward the Harmony Module. Crew members Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet, stationed in the "Cupola," will use the Canadarm2 to wrangle it onto Harmony's Earthward dock. NASA will broadcast the attempt starting at 4:30AM ET, with the initial capture around 6AM ET. Broadcast of the final docking will start at 9:15 AM.
Tim Peake's space capsule will live on at London's Science Museum
Tim Peake's voyage to the International Space Station (ISS) made plenty of headlines over the past year for good reason: he was the first British astronaut to explore space in over 20 years. While floating 220 miles above the earth, Peake took some time out to help the BBC make its first broadcast into space and completed a marathon, helping inspire millions of young children across the UK (and the world). In an attempt to build on that momentum, the Science Museum Group announced today that it has bought the spacecraft that made it all possible.
NASA hopes for five more year-long ISS missions
Just because Scott Kelly has landed and retired doesn't mean that NASA is done with long-term stays in space. The agency informs Ars Technica that it's aiming for five more year-long missions aboard the International Space Station, with the first starting as early as September 2018 and the last finishing by the station's expected shutdown in 2024. There may be some overlap to fit all of them into the schedule.
Watch the Earth from the ISS observatory in a 4K 360 video
International Space Station (ISS) crew work pretty hard, but when they do get time off, they often head to the "Cupola," according to Andrey Borisenko. The Russian cosmonaut shows us what it's like to hang around the space station's observational dome, thanks to a new 360 degree, 4K video from Russia's RT News. He dryly mocks flat-Earth types, saying "you can see from here that the Earth is round -- no elephants or whales holding it up.
